Getting Started with SolidJS

SolidJS is a lightweight and modern JavaScript library for building web applications. It offers a reactive programming model and a component-based architecture that make it easy to develop high-performance and scalable user interfaces. In this article, we’ll walk you through the basics of getting started with SolidJS.

Install SolidJS

The first step in getting started with SolidJS is to install it. You can do this by adding it to your project using npm or yarn.

If you’re using npm, you can run the following command in your project directory:

npm install solid-js

If you’re using yarn, you can run:

yarn add solid-js

Bootstrap a SolidJS Project

Run the following commands in the CLI to get started.

mkdir my-app && cd my-app
npm init solid@latest

Choose template and if you’d like to use Server Side Rendering and TypeScript.

npm install
npm run dev

Now you’ll find the project running on http://localhost:3000/

Now you are ready to start developing  

Create a SolidJS component

The next step is to create a SolidJS component. A component is a reusable piece of user interface that can be composed with other components to create a complete user interface. A SolidJS component is just a function that returns a template, which is a virtual representation of the user interface.

Here’s an example of a SolidJS component that displays a “Hello, World!” message:

import { createSignal } from 'solid-js';

function App() {
 const [message, setMessage] = createSignal('Hello, World!');

 return (
 <div>
 <h1>{message()}</h1>
 </div>
 );
}

export default App;

  In this example, we use the createSignal function to define a state variable called message. We then use the return statement to define the template for the component, which consists of a div element containing an h1 element that displays the value of the message variable.  

Render the SolidJS component

Now that we have created a SolidJS component, we need to render it to the DOM. To do this, we use the render function from the SolidJS library.

Here’s an example of how to render the App component:

import { render } from 'solid-js/web';
import App from './App';

render(() => <App />, document.getElementById('root'));

  In this example, we import the render function from the solid-js/web module, which is used to render SolidJS components to the DOM. We also import the App component that we created earlier. We then call the render function, passing in a function that returns the App component, and the document.getElementById('root') method to specify where in the DOM the component should be rendered.  

Update the SolidJS component

One of the key benefits of SolidJS is its reactive programming model, which makes it easy to update the user interface in response to changes in state. To update a SolidJS component, we simply update the value of the state variable using the set method.

Here’s an example of how to update the message variable in the App component:

import { createSignal } from 'solid-js';

function App() {
 const [message, setMessage] = createSignal('Hello, World!');

 setTimeout(() => setMessage('Hello, SolidJS!'), 1000);

 return (
 <div>
 <h1>{message()}</h1>
 </div>
 );
}

export default App;

  In this example, we use the setTimeout function to update the value of the message variable after 1 second. We then call the setMessage function to set the new value of the variable.  

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve covered the basics of getting started with SolidJS. We’ve shown you how to install the library, bootstrap a SolidJS Project, create a SolidJS component, render it to the DOM, and update it dynamically in response to changes in state. With these fundamental concepts, you can begin to explore the many features of SolidJS and build more complex and powerful web applications.

Some other features of SolidJS that you may want to explore include:

• JSX syntax: SolidJS uses a syntax similar to HTML, called JSX, to define the virtual representation of the user interface. JSX allows you to write declarative code that is easy to read and understand.
• Hooks: SolidJS provides a set of built-in hooks that allow you to manage state, effects, and context in your components. Hooks are a powerful way to build reusable and composable components.
• Server-side rendering: SolidJS supports server-side rendering, which can improve the performance and accessibility of your web applications.

To learn more about SolidJS and its features, you can check out the official documentation and tutorials on the SolidJS website. You can also explore the many open-source projects and examples on GitHub and other online communities.

In summary, SolidJS is a lightweight and modern JavaScript library that offers a reactive programming model and a component-based architecture for building web applications. By following the steps in this article, you can get started with SolidJS and begin to explore its many features and capabilities.

This Github Repo contains the App Component and the Counter Example from Start Solid. Also this CodePen shows a basic counter example. I hope this gets you started with SolidJS. Happy developing