Book 7 · Lesson 7.9 · deep-dive
Deep-dive — Solid signals vs React hooks
- Contrast fine-grained Solid subscriptions with React re-renders
- Relate signals to live metric cards on radar
- Defend SolidJS choice for teaching dashboards
Prerequisites: 1.13 · 7.1
Appendix 7.A1 — optional 60-minute rabbit hole on reactivity models.
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MetricCard text
—Core difference
| SolidJS | React | |
|---|---|---|
| Unit of update | Signal subscriber graph | Component function re-run |
| Dependency tracking | Read count() → subscribe | useEffect deps array manual |
| DOM work | Patch only bound nodes | Reconcile virtual tree |
Radar polls metrics every few seconds — Solid updates one text node per card.
When React wins at work
Large design-system teams, hiring pool, ecosystem — valid enterprise reasons. Book 7.8 rubric covers context, not religion.
Teach-back prompt
Why did PDF6 pick Solid for Team Radar given React at Snyk?