Isomorphic React with Spring boot

Start

• Build and start the app: gradle bootRun (http://localhost:8080)
• Develop a feature and watch for front-end changes: npm run watch (http://localhost:9090)

Tech stack

• Java Spring Boot Backend
• Server side rendered frontend with isomorphic React (rendered via .ejs template view engine).
• Progressively enhanced (works without javascript)
• Using Server Sent emitters when javascript is enabled, using post/redirect when javascript is disabled (without noticing any difference in the frontend)

Setup

• Gradle for Java back-end
• Npm & webpack for bundling Javascript (instead of the default WebJars used in Java/Gradle)

Prerequisites

• Be sure to use JDK 8u60 or later in order to have the better Nashorn version available.

Plusses

• Reusing front-end javascript validation files in the back-end becomes possible
• Serverside rendering of modern javascript libraries/frameworks (like React) becomes possible in Java
• Usage of - easy to implement - Server Sent Emitters in stead of Sockets..for one way communication only

Downsides, or things to improve:

• Performance of Nashorn for rendering seems very slow
• TO DO: use J2V8 in stead of Nashorn

Links used to make this possible:

How to Use javascript in java

Isomorphic Webapps on the JVM with React.js and Spring Boot

Server Sent Events

Spring-react-isomorphic presentation

Webjars

Integrate webpack and npm in this setup

Script template views in spring + J2V8 in stead of Nashorn

More details about Spring Script Templating in Spring Framework reference manual.