Explanation

Answer Example

React's virtual DOM is a lightweight representation of the actual DOM. Whenever a component's state or props change, React creates a new virtual DOM tree and compares it with the previous one using a process called reconciliation. Only the differences, or "diffs," are calculated, and React updates only the necessary parts of the real DOM. This minimizes direct manipulation of the DOM, which is a costly operation, and ensures efficient updates. For instance, in a large application with frequent UI updates, the virtual DOM ensures that only the affected components are re-rendered instead of the entire page. This results in faster updates, smoother interactions, and better overall performance.