Next.js and tRPC for Web Applications

tRPC is the most modern and simplest way to build an API in projects that involve TypeScript. Its type-safety feature allows developers to move fast and break nothing as they handle client-to-server communication. With tRPC, you don't need to worry about complex API schemas or contracts. That's why so many developers love using it over REST or Gatsby. On the other hand, Next.js is another cutting-edge tool that has completely revolutionized web development. It has many powerful features to build modern and fast web apps. In this post, we'll explore why tRPC and Next.js are perfect for each other to build high-quality products.

What is Next.js?

Next.js is a modern React.js framework developed by Vercel for building fast and search-engine-optimized web apps. It leverages React.js' power with unique features like server-side rendering (SSR) and static-side generation (SSG). SSR improves performance, faster load times, and better browser support. Similarly, running pre-rendered static HTML files at build time boosts loading and performance. That's why it's perfect for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Next.js combines the best of both worlds, fully-rendered content for crawler bots and highly interactive content that users love.

Another awesome feature is Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR), which allows developers to update and create new content on an existing website easily. The best part is that it doesn't require a complete re-rendering to ensure your content is up-to-date. Additionally, this hybrid solution embraces SSR and SSG's power, which means the page regenerates itself whenever the server gets a request. Besides, Next.js seamlessly integrates with TypeScript and EsLint with advanced developer features like automatic code splitting and hot module replacement.

What is tRPC?

There are many reasons for you to think of TypeScript Remote Procedure Calls (tRPC) as the future of client-to-server communication. Well, at least on projects that involve TypeScript in the Front and Back-End. tRPC procedures made possible almost anything that devs wanted from REST and GraphQL. It got rid of the need for manual type definitions ensuring end-to-end type safety. tRPC stands for TypeScript Remote Procedure Call and is a versatile library for building APIs. Simply put, developers can use TypeScript functions to connect the client to the server without schemas.

tRPC can smoothly integrate modern JavaScript frameworks and libraries if they support TypeScript. It is ideal for building modern web applications with stacks like MERN or MEAN. It takes the developers' experience to a new level eliminating the need for complex API contracts. The best part is that it makes refactoring and maintenance much easier, as it works well with projects involving a single codebase. In other words, it's a perfect match for monorepos. That's one of the reasons why it's also a perfect match for Next.js.

Best tRPC and Next Development Projects

Next.js and tRPC are some of the latest tools for web development. Next.js' search engine optimization and interaction capabilities make it ideal for marketing websites. That includes blogs, eCommerce, Single Page Apps (SPAs), social media platforms, etc. With tRPC's help, developers can easily connect the client and server sides, offering high quality and performance. Therefore, Next.js and tRPC are ideal for small to medium-sized web apps that require strong marketing efforts, including high speed and on-page SEO.

Why do tRPC and Next Work Well Together?

tRPC and Next.js are the most popular and modern tools for building high-performance modern applications. They have brought us the easiest way to connect an app's client and server using TypeScript. On the other hand, Next.js is a wonderful choice for any project involving JavaScript tools and makes it easy to install and configure TypeScript. In this manner, Next.js and tRCP create a robust toolkit with stellar developer experience and huge community support. It even has a "Using Next.js" section on its official site, offering seamless integration with it and an adapter.

tRPC, Next, and Prisma

There's one more aspect I haven't mentioned. The database management system you may want to use with both technologies. Before we proceed, I must admit that implementing MongoDB to complete the MERN stack is an excellent choice. However, there's an elegant alternative you might want to consider. Prisma is an open-source Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) that you can easily integrate with Node.js and TypeScript.

Think of it as an awesome and fun tool that improves how you work and manage your database system. It lets you define your database relations and models using its intuitive schema language, which is intuitive and easy to read. Prisma simplifies migrations, data access, and modeling, eliminating SQL queries. It currently works with PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, and Microsoft SQL Server.

Prisma with Next.js and tRPC are revolutionizing web development as we know it. People have even referred to it as The Power Trio.

Conclusion

tRPC and Next.js are state-of-the-art tools for building rich web applications. They both work particularly with a single codebase and require TypeScript (or JavaScript if we only consider Next.js), which makes them great for each other. They're a natural fit, like coffee and donuts. There's a new web stack involving tRPC and Next.js that has gained much popularity lately. They called it the T3 stack because it includes Tailwind CSS (and Prisma CLI). Some large companies like Vercel are already using it. Bottomline, tRPC, and Next.js are powerful combinations for modern, fully typesafe rich web applications.