React Apps Using Flux and Backbone

React.js is a fantastic library. Sometimes it seems like the best thing since sliced Python. React is only one part of a front-end application stack, however. It doesn’t have much to offer when it comes to managing data and state. Facebook, the makers of React, have offered some guidance there in the form of Flux. Flux is an “Application Architecture” (not a framework) built around one-way data flow using React Views, an Action Dispatcher, and Stores. The Flux pattern solves some major problems by embodying important principles of event control, which make applications much easier to reason about, develop, and maintain. Here, I’ll introduce basic Flux control flow, discuss what’s missing for Stores, and how to use Backbone Models and Collections to fill the gap in a “Flux-compliant” way.