---
title: A Simple Component
order: 0
example_name: helloExample
---

React components implement a `render()` method that takes input data and returns what to display. This example uses an XML-like syntax called JSX. Input data that is passed into the component can be accessed by `render()` via `this.props`.

**JSX is optional and not required to use React.** Try the [Babel REPL](http://babeljs.io/repl#?babili=false&browsers=&build=&builtIns=false&code_lz=MYGwhgzhAEASCmIQHsCy8pgOb2vAHgC7wB2AJjAErxjCEB0AwsgLYAOyJph0A3gFABIAE6ky8YQAoAlHyEj4hAK7CS0ADxkAlgDcAfAiTI-hABZaI9NsORtLJMC3gBfdQHpt-gNxDn_P_zUtIQAIgDyqPSi5BKS6oYo6Jg40A5OALwARCHwOlokmdBuegA00CzISiSEAHLI4tJeQA&debug=false&circleciRepo=&evaluate=false&lineWrap=false&presets=react&prettier=true&targets=&version=6.26.0) to see the raw JavaScript code produced by the JSX compilation step.