Web Development Intermediate

What is SPA (Single Page Application)?

A web application that loads a single HTML page and dynamically updates content without full page reloads.

SPAs load once and use JavaScript to render content dynamically. Navigation happens client-side using the History API, creating a smooth, app-like experience without page refreshes. Data is fetched via AJAX/fetch API calls.

Popular SPA frameworks include React, Vue.js, and Angular. Challenges include SEO (solved by SSR/SSG), initial load time (code splitting), and browser history management. SPAs communicate with backends via REST or GraphQL APIs.

Related Terms

DOM (Document Object Model)

A programming interface for HTML documents that represents the page structure as a tree of objects that can be manipulated with JavaScript.

A vocabulary for validating the structure and content of JSON data, ensuring API requests and responses conform to expected formats.

A typed superset of JavaScript that adds static type checking, interfaces, and advanced IDE support to JavaScript development.

MVC (Model-View-Controller)

An architectural pattern that separates an application into three components: data (Model), interface (View), and logic (Controller).

Content Negotiation

An HTTP mechanism where client and server agree on the best representation of a resource based on format, language, or encoding preferences.

Software that sits between the request and response in a web application, performing processing like authentication or logging.

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