Why RxJS Is The Hottest Way To Handle Async

Written by ladyleet | Published 2017/01/16
Tech Story Tags: javascript | rxjs | reactivex | reactive-programming | front-end-development

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I recently guest blogged on The Polyglot Developer talking about RxJS! Below are some excerpts, but you can find the original post here.

With RxJS growing rapidly, and the recent release of RxJS 5, it’s easy to see why Observables are becoming a more important part in app development. Soon, Observables will be fully native to the web, and with that, it will become clear to everyone that RxJS isn’t just something for Angular 2.

Observables. Native To The Web Platform?

One of the common misconceptions in the web world is that RxJS is an “Angular 2 thing”.

What most developers don’t realize is that Observables are on their way to becoming native to the web, and if you aren’t already using them to handle asynchrony, you are not adequately preparing yourself for the future.

The Best Way To Handle Asynchrony

RxJS allows you to solve hard problems with less code, promotes maintainability, readability, flexibility, and composability. These are just some of the reasons RxJS is the hottest way to handle async right now.

Learning how to handle asynchrony the reactive way instead of using promises and callbacks will also greatly reduce the probability that you are leaking resources. And because RxJS works with any framework (angular.js, react.js, ember.js, vue.js), node, and even without frameworks, it’s easy to future proof your applications and have confidence in using this technology.

Increase Functionality Without A Refactor

If you think it’s difficult to use Observables, or a large refactor may have to take place, you’re wrong. With the power of RxJS operators, you can easily add functionality to existing code without altering it.

RxJS allows you to increase the power of your application with reactive programming techniques. In just a few lines of maintainable code, you can have multiplex web sockets and easily coordinate multiple ajax requests.

RxJS is also great for state management with asynchronous data flows. With Rx, you can handle this in a declarative and flexible way alongside redux or as a replacement for redux.

PS you can find me on twitter @ladyleet or helping mentor developers and building cool things at This Dot Labs.

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Published by HackerNoon on 2017/01/16