block()

Syntax: block((props) => vnode)
Example: block((props) => <div>{props.foo}</div>)

Million.js is a library that enables you to create blocks. A block is a special Higher Order Component (HOC) (opens in a new tab) that can be used as a React component but is hyper-optimized for rendering speed.

Blocks are essentially components wrapped by block().

import { block } from 'million/react';
 
const LionBlock = block(function Lion() {
  return <img src="https://million.dev/lion.svg" />;
});
 
export default LionBlock;

Custom Tags

The as prop can be used to specify the tag name of the For. By default, it is slot.

import { block } from 'million/react';
 
const LionBlock = block(
  function Lion() {
    return <img src="https://million.dev/lion.svg" />;
  },
  { as: 'div' },
);

Using Block With SSR

If you are using Million.js on the server, you may encounter a hydration mismatch error. This is because Million.js uses a different algorithm for rendering on the server than it does on the client. To fix this, you can disable SSR.

const NoSSRBlock = block(
  function NoSSR() {
    return <div>{Math.random()}</div>;
  },
  { ssr: false },
);

Rules of blocks

<div>
  <YourBlock>Uh oh...</YourBlock>
            ^
</div>

There are three common reasons you might be seeing it:

1. Breaking rules of blocks
2. Not adding the compiler
3. Encountering unsupported behavior

Breaking Rules of Blocks

You may have heard of "progressive enhancement," (opens in a new tab) which is the idea that tools progressively use features based on what is supported. Similarly, Million.js has "progressive degradation," or the concept that if you use features that are not supported, it will degrade to default React rendering gracefully.

This section highlights some of the possible warnings you might encounter using blocks. Note that this is not an exhaustive list.

Declaring blocks

The above usually occurs when you have a block that is not declared as a variable. This prevents the compiler from analyzing the block correctly.

console.log(block(() => <div />)) // ❌ Wrong
export default block(() => <div />) // ❌ Wrong
 
// 👇👇👇
 
const Block = block(() => <div />) // ✅ Correct
console.log(Block);
export default Block;

Calling block()

The above usually occurs when you have an actual JSX component like <Component /> passed into the block() function instead of a reference to the Component itself.

const BadBlock = block(<Component />); // ❌ Wrong
 
const GoodBlock = block(App); // ✅ Correct

Using <For /> instead of map()

The above will occur when you use <Array>.map within a block. This is not ideal, especially if the component that holds the list is a block. The right pattern is to remove the block on the current component and use a <For /> component instead for the children.

<div>
  {items.map((item) => (
    <div key={item}>{item}</div>
  ))}
</div>
 
// 👇👇👇
 
<For each={items}>
  {(item) => <div key={item}>{item}</div>}
</For>

Deterministic returns

Returns must be "deterministic," meaning there can only be one return statement at the end of the block that returns a stable tree.

Some examples of non-deterministic returns:

function Component() {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(initial.count);
 
  if (count > 10) {
    return <div>Too many clicks!</div>; // ❌ Wrong
  }
 
  // ❌ Wrong
  return count > 5 ? 'Count is greater than 5' : <div>Count is {count}.</div>;
}
 
const ComponentBlock = block(Component);

UI Component libraries 🙅‍♀️

Many React applications use UI component libraries like Material UI, Chakra UI, or Tailwind UI. These libraries are great, but they are not optimized for Million.js.

Million.js requires that you use DOM elements instead of components. This is because components can introduce non-deterministic returns, which can cause degraded performance.

// ❌ Bad
<Stack>
  <Text>What's up my fellow components</Text>
</Stack>
 
// 🤨 Maybe
<div>
  <Text>What's up my fellow components</Text>
</div>
 
// ✅ Good
<div>
  <p>What's up my fellow components</p>
</div>

Spread attributes/children

You can't use spread attributes/children that change safely or reference a binding within the component inside Million.js, as they can introduce non-deterministic returns.

const arr = ['Hello'];
 
<div>{...arr}</div>; // Ok if arr never changes
 
// ❌ Bad
arr.push('World');

Unsupported import

This may be caused by importing the block from the wrong place. Make sure you import the block from million/react instead of million.

import { block } from 'million'; // ❌ Wrong
 
import { block } from 'million/react'; // ✅ Correct

Using the compiler

You may have forgot to use the compiler, a necessary part in ensuring that your JSX is compiled to Million.js compatible code. You can view the instructions at the installation guide.

On a side note, Million.js is technically usable without the compiler, but it's significantly more limited in scope, and there is a more limited set of features available. This is not recommended.

Unsupported behavior

If none of this worked, please create an issue (opens in a new tab) and we'll try to help. Try to create a small reproducing example — you might discover the problem as you're doing it.