What's a React Component?

chantastic - Dec 3 '19 - - Dev Community

A React Component is a function that returns a React Element.

What's a React Element?

Great question!
A React Element is anything between angle brackets:

<h1>Title</h1>
<div>...content...</div>
<App />
<Pokemon />
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These are all React Elements because they're wrapped in JSX angle brackets.

These elements look like HTML tags but aren't.
Those tags get converted to function calls:

React.createElement("h1", null, "Title");
React.createElement("div", null, "...content...");
React.createElement(App);
React.createElement(Pokemon);
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So React Elements can be created from host elements like h1 and div or Components like App and Pokemon.

How do I Create a Component?

A React Component is just a function that returns a React Element.

function MyComponent() {
  return <h1>Look what we did!</h1>;
}
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You can then use it by creating a React Element from it:

function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      <MyComponent />
    </div>
  )
}
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Now you know how to create a component!

Give it a Try!

Give your newfound knowledge a try.
Open this CodeSandbox directly in your browser and extract a component.

Find the <h1>Bulbasaur</h1> React Element and turn it into a component.


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