JSX and Babel (React Interview Essentials)
What is JSX? Simple Explanation: JSX lets you write HTML-like code inside JavaScript. It looks like HTML, but it's really JavaScript. Why It’s Useful: You don’t need to separate your HTML and JS into different files. You can easily build UI components that show and update data dynamically. Example: const element = Hello, React; This looks like HTML, but it's JSX — and React understands how to handle it. Q2: What happens to JSX behind the scenes? JSX doesn't run in the browser directly. React apps use Babel to convert JSX into regular JavaScript. Behind the scenes, this: const element = Hello, React; Becomes this: const element = React.createElement('h1', null, 'Hello, React'); This is how React builds a virtual DOM node that it uses to render things to the real DOM. Q3: What is Babel and why do we need it? Babel is a tool that translates JSX and modern JavaScript (like ES6) into plain JavaScript (ES5) that browsers can understand. Why Babel is critical: Browsers don’t understand JSX. Some older browsers don’t support the latest JavaScript syntax. Babel ensures that all your React code (JSX + modern JS) works everywhere.

What is JSX?
Simple Explanation:
JSX lets you write HTML-like code inside JavaScript. It looks like HTML, but it's really JavaScript.
Why It’s Useful:
- You don’t need to separate your HTML and JS into different files.
- You can easily build UI components that show and update data dynamically.
Example:
const element = <h1>Hello, Reacth1>;
This looks like HTML, but it's JSX — and React understands how to handle it.
Q2: What happens to JSX behind the scenes?
JSX doesn't run in the browser directly. React apps use Babel to convert JSX into regular JavaScript.
Behind the scenes, this:
const element = <h1>Hello, Reacth1>;
Becomes this:
const element = React.createElement('h1', null, 'Hello, React');
This is how React builds a virtual DOM node that it uses to render things to the real DOM.
Q3: What is Babel and why do we need it?
Babel is a tool that translates JSX and modern JavaScript (like ES6) into plain JavaScript (ES5) that browsers can understand.
Why Babel is critical:
- Browsers don’t understand JSX.
- Some older browsers don’t support the latest JavaScript syntax.
- Babel ensures that all your React code (JSX + modern JS) works everywhere.