React Router w/ .Net Backend

[chrisryanouellette]

Is it possible to use React Router as a framework with SSR where the routing is not handled by the package? The .Net backend handles all the routing then renders a view. These views know what entry component needs to be rendered. Would it be possible for React Router to use these component names instead of a url? Then on navigation, a new component name would be used to get the next page (we could handle setting the url some other way).

For what it is worth I know this is not the point of React Router but my org made their choices, I'm just here to try and make them better 😅

[sergiodxa]

React Router is a router, if you don't want to handle the router with React Router, then why use React Router? I think you will prefer something like Inertia, that AFAIK it's not specifically tied to Laravel as there's a Rails version too so it may be possible to use it with .NET, but I'm not expert so you may need to build a .NET version.

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That said, the common way to integrate RR with a separate backend is to use the backend as an API and the RR app as a Backend for Frontend, the Remix docs has a short guide about this and the idea applies basically the same to RR.

[chrisryanouellette]

Backends for Frontends would be an amazing long term approach we are looking into moving towards. We all know how slow corporations move.
What we are trying to get out of RR is the code splitting, dynamic module loading, and SSR + Client side hydration. And all the loader goodies! So basically everything but the routing.
I'll look at the resource you sent over. Thank you for the recommendation!

[sergiodxa]

All those features redone around the router, as to know what to SSR you need the router to route the URL to the correct components

I think in your case you will need a custom setup, with some Node/Deno/Bun process in background that can receive the data and component to render and return to the HTML for your .NET app to send to the browser, then you will need some bundler to pass generate the client side JS bundles.

IMO adopting a BFF is going to be simpler, even in a large company, than building SDK of that yourself.