Flux and MVC (Model-View-Controller) are both architectural patterns used in building web applications, but they differ significantly in how they manage data flow and handle updates within the application.
MVC Architecture
MVC is a traditional architectural pattern used for developing user interfaces. It divides the application into three interconnected components, each responsible for separate aspects of the application's functionality:
Model: Manages the data and business logic of the application. It responds to requests for information about its state (usually from the view), and responds to instructions to change state (usually from the controller).
View: Displays the data provided by the Model in a specific format. It has a passive role, only displaying data and sending user inputs to the controller.
Controller: Acts as an intermediary between the Model and the View. It listens to events triggered by the View and executes the necessary reactions, which often involve requesting data changes from the Model.
The data flow in MVC is bidirectional. This means that the View can update the Model, and the Model can update the View directly. This can lead to complexities when the application scales, as it can be difficult to track which part of the system is updating which part due to the circular dependencies[1][7][10][11][12][17][18].
Flux Architecture
Developed by Facebook, Flux provides an alternative to the MVC pattern, particularly for dealing with complex data flows in React applications. Flux introduces a unidirectional data flow, which simplifies the tracking of changes within the application:
Dispatcher: Serves as the central hub through which all actions pass. This component manages the distribution of all actions to the stores.
Stores: Contain the application's state and logic. Each store registers itself with the dispatcher and updates its state in response to actions it receives. Stores notify the views when their data changes.
Views (React Components): React components that listen to changes from the stores and re-render themselves accordingly. They also create actions based on user interactions, which they send to the dispatcher.
