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Frame from React.js Conf 2015 - Beyond the DOM: How Netflix plans to enhance your television experience Plays via YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed

React.js Conf 2015 - Beyond the DOM: How Netflix plans to enhance your television experience

9 videos recommended on HN
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2 HN users recommended this talk2 months2015–2017 score 2
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

Cited as the primary source on React with a custom rendering backend and on Netflix's Gibbon engine.

Jafar Husain of Netflix explains at React.js Conf 2015 how Netflix runs React-style rendering without the DOM on smart TVs and game consoles. It uses a canvas-like API for performance.

“There's an interesting video by Netflix where they discuss using React in their stack.” (HN, 2015)

2 recommendations · 4 citations · Talks · intermediate · partly dated

6 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@peterhunt Feb 2015 Recommends
on HN thread First Impressions Using React Native
If you're interested in doing it with React, here's a video explaining how to do a custom backend: [this video] You basically need to change BackendIDOperations and ReactEventListener to send/receive messages vs talking to the real APIs. It's already set up in the codebase to do this (because it actually worked at one time). Webpack, per usual, already thought of this and has an answer for you :) [link]
Explains how to do a custom React backend.
@mikeryan Jun 2015 Recommends
on HN thread Is ReactJS really fast?
There's an interesting video by Netflix where they discuss using React in their stack. To increase performance on many of Netflix's TV or Console based UI's they have their own rendering engine they're using instead of the manufacturer's browser engine. This means any of React's "speed" improvements are a moot point so instead they use it because of its simplicity for UI layouts. [this video]
Netflix discusses React with its own rendering engine on TVs.

Citations, criticism and jokes

@mjjohnston Feb 2015 Cites it
on HN thread Flipboard releases React Canvas
It's worth mentioning that much of the code that integrates with React internals is based on the work in react-art: [link] This is the same technique used by Netflix for their React-based television UI. [this video]
Netflix uses the same technique for its TV UI.
@mikeryan Nov 2015 Cites it
on HN thread A View of the Entire Netflix Stack
Picking a nit, they don't use React in the browser across all devices. They actually use an internal rendering engine called Gibbon on some devices with client code written JavaScript with React but not rendering to HTML or a browser instead using their internal engine. Interestingly this has become easier with React breaking out React and ReactDOM. Interesting to note that Netflix must see Gibbon as a competitive advantage, I've been told its not likely to see an open source release. [this video]
Netflix's Gibbon engine runs React without a browser.
@sscotth Mar 2017 Cites it
on HN thread JavaScript once had a JSX-like syntax called E4X
Read more
Its also important to consider the environment as well since JSX is potentially much bigger than the web. JSX is much like other generic user interface markup languages[0] and like many other is simply a dialect of XML. Any interface that can be represented with XML/HTML or any other markup language can use JSX and optionally react. We are already seeing this boom with in native mobile environments with React Native, NativeScript, Titanium... Here are several examples where JSX is used that is not a browser: - Native desktop apps for Linux, Mac, and Windows (Not including Electron/NW.js)[1][2][3][4] - TVs with AppleTV apps or Netflix's Gibbon[5][6] - Command line apps as stdin/stdout with react-blessed[7]/mylittledom[8] - Direct to Canvas[9]/pixi.js[10] - Latex documents[11] - Web Audio[12] - Conole.logs[13] - Truly custom direct to hardware[14] as some C code like: `digitalWrite(led, HIGH)` I definitely believe JSX could use standardization separate from any implementation, JavaScript or otherwise. [0]: [link] [1]: [link] [2]: [link] [3]: [link] [4]: [link] [5]: [link] [6]: [this video] [7]: [link] [8]: [link] [9]: [link] [10]: [link] [11]: [link] [12]: [link] [13]: [link] [14]: [link]
Example of JSX used outside browsers, Netflix's Gibbon.

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