React Router DOM: BrowserRouter vs Router

In this article, we will explore the difference between React Router's `BrowserRouter` and `Router`. Both components are designed to handle client-side routing in React applications, but they serve different purposes.

When using `Router`, the application will refresh the entire page whenever a new route is navigated. This can lead to issues with performance and user experience, especially in modern web browsers that support HTML5 history API. To overcome this limitation, React Router introduced `BrowserRouter`.

`BrowserRouter` is designed to work seamlessly with the HTML5 history API, allowing for client-side routing without requiring a full page reload. When using `BrowserRouter`, navigating between routes will update the URL in the browser's address bar without refreshing the entire page.

Let's take a look at an example of how `BrowserRouter` works. In our code, we have created a new component called `BrowserRouterApp`. This component imports React Router's `Link` and `Route` components, which are used to define routes for our application.

When we navigate between routes using the `Link` components, the browser URL will update without refreshing the page. We can verify this by logging the current date in our dev tools whenever a new route is navigated. As expected, the date string will be updated without triggering a full page reload.

In addition to `BrowserRouter`, React Router also provides other preconfigured routers, such as `MemoryRouter` and `HashRouter`. Each of these routers serves a specific purpose, allowing developers to choose the best solution for their application's needs.

In conclusion, `BrowserRouter` is a powerful tool for handling client-side routing in React applications. By using this component, we can provide a seamless user experience without sacrificing performance or reliability.

React router dom browserrouter vs router