A preliminary empirical study of react library related questions shared on stack overflow

Abstract

React is a JavaScript library to develop user interfaces for single-page applications. Developers utilize react to build large web apps that allow users to update data without refreshing the page. Despite its benefits, many developers face react-related issues in the implementation. To find a solution, developers commonly shared and discussed their issues on stack overflow (SO). Although recent studies have demonstrated the benefits of utilizing react in web development, the trends of the users’ attentions remain unknown. In this study, we conducted a preliminary empirical study of react library-related questions shared on SO. We applied an exploratory data analysis technique to investigate the distribution of problems shared by the developers. The findings reveal that although the quantity of react-related topics on SO has risen over time, community interest is beginning to decrease. This is shown by the increase of the unsolved questions and the decrease of the number of views per year. Regarding the react users’ activity, most of them are more active in providing answers rather than commenting and providing scores. The findings of this study might point to future research that recommends approaches to assist the react community in overcoming issues while using react in the early phases.