What is the difference between Dataflow programming and Reactive programming?

Question

I really can't see the difference between them. They are both about data flowing through instructions and the propagation of changes in the input data. I've read this book (authored by Matt Carcki) and it clearly says that they are both the same. On the other hand, the wikipedia establishes Reactive programming as a form of Dataflow programming and this StackOverflow answer does it too.

So, what is the conceptual difference between Reactive programming and Dataflow programming?

Stannfield

I think this question is opinion based, and your links are evidence of this. It's really a matter of definition, the wiki seems to associate 'reaction' with immediateness of how the dataflow graph updates. – Hankow

This question has been answered on the Computer Science stackexchange: cs.stackexchange.com/questions/45560/… – Takahashi

Answer 1

Reactive Programming is a form of Dataflow programming only. But its also a paradigm which is oriented around propagation of changes along with data flows

Like a example given on Wiki Page

a:=b+c would mean that a is being assigned the result of b + c, in the instant the expression is evaluated, and later, the values of b and c can be changed with no effect on the value of a. However, in reactive programming, the value of a would be automatically updated whenever the values of b and c change, without the program executing the sentence a := b + c again.

Which is the main difference between two of them. It binds the variables with expression and system reacts upon the changes in variable without running the expressions again and again.

Welladvised

it seems to me you are describing the difference between imperative and reactive/dataflow, not dataflow and reactive – Boreal