Next.js is the open-source web development framework designed by Vercel that enables react-based web applications along with server-side rendering and generates static websites.
The open-source Next.js JavaScript framework is obtaining a significant update which improves the font and image handling and boosts the performance. It also accelerates front-end web performance and image handling.
Vercel announced the Next.js 13 at its conference called Next.js, which was held on 25th October. This JS framework is now widely used on the web today, and it uses the React JavaScript library to help create user interfaces.
Besides all these features, one new feature is added in Next.js 13: the images that help the React experts quickly implement custom fonts and typefaces into the web pages. Also, integrating the new routing and rendering infrastructure aims to accelerate the delivery of web pages.
However, JavaScript remains the foundation of Next.js, and version 13 has the components written in other languages. A new Turbopack has created the system for JavaScript, previewed along with the Next.js 13 as it was written in the open-source programming language, i.e., Rust, and aims to deliver significant performance gains.
Each year, many of the leading applications are created in the web with the help of Next.js, especially in retail, SaaS and the media, because it is drawn by its balance between a professional developer experience and the excellent user experience,” Guillermo Rauch, creator of Next.js and CEO of Vercel, said in his Next.js conference 2022 keynote.
How TurboPack utilizes Rust to accelerate the Next.js JavaScript performance?
For the last ten years, one of the significant ways of bundling the JavaScript modules has been with the open-source Webpack technology.
“While the webpack permits the JavaScript to go from an sprinkling interactivity on the page to create an entire web application with only JavaScript,it is the time for the major upgrade,” said Raunch.
The primary upgrade is the Turbpack bundler, which Vercel makes in the Rust programming language. However, the Turbopack is quicker than the webpack, and it becomes possible with the highly-optimized machine code and the low-level incremental engine, Lee Robinson, vice president of the developer experience at Vercel, explained. However, Turbopack is only part of the complete replacement for the webpack, as it has only an alpha release and will still add more capabilities.
How will Next.js 13 handle the image improvements?
The big problem of image handling has now come with an improvement in the Next.js 13 version. This image-handling area has been the focus for many years by Next.js. However, when the Next.js 10 was released in 2020, they had a series of enhancements in this area.
“The introduction of the Next.js image component in version 10 was the essential step in the proper direction,” Lydia Hallie, the staff developer advocate with Vercel, said. “When we surveyed the next.js community, 70% of the respondents told us that they will use the Next.js image component in their web app development.
With upgraded version 13, it is giving the update to the image component in terms of performance and developer experience. Hallie said that a new image component would use client-side JavaScript, which would perform better.
However, the ability to easily use custom fonts is another area of image improvement. Previously, when the websites wished to use custom fonts, they had to reach an external service to load the fonts, which impacted their performance.
We are reimagining how developers use the fonts with the brand new font system developed in collaboration with the chrome team,” Hallie said. “This in-built module will optimize the fonts and remove the external network request for improved privacy and performance.
Conclusion
It was all about the new features implemented and introduced in the Next.js 13 conference in 2022. It is a great new release with some significant changes. I hope you liked this article, the Next.js 13. We at Bosc Tech Labs have years of experience developing React web applications for various industries. Feel free to contact us!
Content & Image resource: itprotoday.com
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