I’ve explained how React does the initial mount and creates the full DOM from scratch. For re-renders after initial mount, React tries to reuse the DOM as much as possible through the process of reconciliation. In this episode, we’ll figure out what actually happens when React re-renders after clicking the button in demo below.

import {useState} from 'react'
  function Link() {
    return <a href="https://jser.dev">jser.dev</a>;
  }

  function Component() {
    const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
    return (
      <div>
      <button onClick={() => setCount((count) => count + 1)}>
        click me - {count} 
      </button> ({count % 2 === 0 ? <span>even</span> : <b>odd</b>})
      </div>
    );
  }
  export default function App() {
    return (
      <div>
        <Link />
        <br />
        <Component />
      </div>
    );
  }

1. Re-render in Trigger phase

React constructs the Fiber Tree and DOM tree in initial mount, when it’s done we have two trees as below.

1.1 lanes and childLanes

Lane is the priority of pending work. For a Fiber Node, it has:

1. lanes => for the pending work of itself
2. childLanes => for the pending work of its subtree

When the button is clicked, setState() is called:

1. the path from root to the target fiber will be marked with lanes and childLanes to indicate places that need to be checked in next render.
2. an update is scheduled by scheduleUpdateOnFiber(), in which eventually ensureRootIsScheduled() is called and performConcurrentWorkOnRoot() is scheduled in Scheduler. This is quite similar to the initial mount.

One important thing to keep in mind is that priority of event determines the priority of the update. For click event, it is DiscreteEventPriority, which maps to SyncLane - high priority.

We’ll skip the details here but eventually we get following Fiber Tree to work on.

2. Re-render in Render phase.

2.1 Basic rendering logic is the same as initial mount.

Since under click event, the rendering lane is SyncLane which is blocking lane. So same as initial mount, concurrent mode is still not activated inside performConcurrentWorkOnRoot().

Below is the code that summarize the whole process.

do {
  try {
    workLoopSync();
    break;
  } catch (thrownValue) {
    handleError(root, thrownValue);
  }
} while (true);
function workLoopSync() {
  while (workInProgress !== null) {
    performUnitOfWork(workInProgress);
  }
}
function performUnitOfWork(unitOfWork: Fiber): void {
  const current = unitOfWork.alternate;
  next = beginWork(current, unitOfWork, subtreeRenderLanes);
---------
  unitOfWork.memoizedProps = unitOfWork.pendingProps;
--------------------------------------------------
This line is important, we'll cover it in 2.5 memoizedProps vs pendingProps
  if (next === null) {
    // If this doesn't spawn new work, complete the current work.
    completeUnitOfWork(unitOfWork);
  } else {
    workInProgress = next;
  }
}

do {
  try {
    workLoopSync();
    break;
  } catch (thrownValue) {
    handleError(root, thrownValue);
  }
} while (true);
function workLoopSync() {
  while (workInProgress !== null) {
    performUnitOfWork(workInProgress);
  }
}
function performUnitOfWork(unitOfWork: Fiber): void {
  const current = unitOfWork.alternate;
  next = beginWork(current, unitOfWork, subtreeRenderLanes);
---------
  unitOfWork.memoizedProps = unitOfWork.pendingProps;
--------------------------------------------------
This line is important, we'll cover it in 2.5 memoizedProps vs pendingProps
  if (next === null) {
    // If this doesn't spawn new work, complete the current work.
    completeUnitOfWork(unitOfWork);
  } else {
    workInProgress = next;
  }
}

Refer to my previous episode for better explanation. Here just remember that React traverse the Fiber Tree and updates the fiber if necessary.

2.2 React reuses redundant Fiber Nodes before creating new ones

In initial mount we see that Fibers are created from scratch. But actually React tries to reuse the Fiber Nodes first.

export function createWorkInProgress(current: Fiber, pendingProps: any): Fiber {
  let workInProgress = current.alternate;
-----------------
curernt is the current version
its alternate is the version before it
  if (workInProgress === null) {
-----------------------------
if we have to create from scratch
    // We use a double buffering pooling technique because we know that we'll
    // only ever need at most two versions of a tree. We pool the "other" unused
    // node that we're free to reuse. This is lazily created to avoid allocating
    // extra objects for things that are never updated. It also allow us to
    // reclaim the extra memory if needed.
    workInProgress = createFiber(
      current.tag,
      pendingProps,
------------
      current.key,
      current.mode,
    );
    ...
    workInProgress.alternate = current;
    current.alternate = workInProgress;
  } else {
--------
if we can reuse the previous version
    workInProgress.pendingProps = pendingProps;
------------------------------------------
Since we can reuse, we don't need to create Fiber Node
But just reusing it by updating the properties
    // Needed because Blocks store data on type.
    workInProgress.type = current.type;
    // We already have an alternate.
    // Reset the effect tag.
    workInProgress.flags = NoFlags;
    // The effects are no longer valid.
    workInProgress.subtreeFlags = NoFlags;
    workInProgress.deletions = null;
  }
  // Reset all effects except static ones.
  // Static effects are not specific to a render.
  workInProgress.flags = current.flags & StaticMask;
  workInProgress.childLanes = current.childLanes;
  workInProgress.lanes = current.lanes;
lanes and childLanes are copied
  workInProgress.child = current.child;
  workInProgress.memoizedProps = current.memoizedProps;
  workInProgress.memoizedState = current.memoizedState;
  workInProgress.updateQueue = current.updateQueue;
  ...
  return workInProgress;
}

export function createWorkInProgress(current: Fiber, pendingProps: any): Fiber {
  let workInProgress = current.alternate;
-----------------
curernt is the current version
its alternate is the version before it
  if (workInProgress === null) {
-----------------------------
if we have to create from scratch
    // We use a double buffering pooling technique because we know that we'll
    // only ever need at most two versions of a tree. We pool the "other" unused
    // node that we're free to reuse. This is lazily created to avoid allocating
    // extra objects for things that are never updated. It also allow us to
    // reclaim the extra memory if needed.
    workInProgress = createFiber(
      current.tag,
      pendingProps,
------------
      current.key,
      current.mode,
    );
    ...
    workInProgress.alternate = current;
    current.alternate = workInProgress;
  } else {
--------
if we can reuse the previous version
    workInProgress.pendingProps = pendingProps;
------------------------------------------
Since we can reuse, we don't need to create Fiber Node
But just reusing it by updating the properties
    // Needed because Blocks store data on type.
    workInProgress.type = current.type;
    // We already have an alternate.
    // Reset the effect tag.
    workInProgress.flags = NoFlags;
    // The effects are no longer valid.
    workInProgress.subtreeFlags = NoFlags;
    workInProgress.deletions = null;
  }
  // Reset all effects except static ones.
  // Static effects are not specific to a render.
  workInProgress.flags = current.flags & StaticMask;
  workInProgress.childLanes = current.childLanes;
  workInProgress.lanes = current.lanes;
lanes and childLanes are copied
  workInProgress.child = current.child;
  workInProgress.memoizedProps = current.memoizedProps;
  workInProgress.memoizedState = current.memoizedState;
  workInProgress.updateQueue = current.updateQueue;
  ...
  return workInProgress;
}

Since FiberRootNode points to the current Fiber Tree through current, every Fiber Node that is not on the current tree could be reused.

In our re-render process, the redundant HostRoot will be reused in prepareFreshStack().

function prepareFreshStack(root: FiberRoot, lanes: Lanes): Fiber {
  root.finishedWork = null;
  root.finishedLanes = NoLanes;
  ...
  workInProgressRoot = root;
  const rootWorkInProgress = createWorkInProgress(root.current, null);
The current of root is the FiberNode of HostRoot
  workInProgress = rootWorkInProgress;
  workInProgressRootRenderLanes = subtreeRenderLanes = workInProgressRootIncludedLanes = lanes;
  workInProgressRootExitStatus = RootInProgress;
  workInProgressRootFatalError = null;
  workInProgressRootSkippedLanes = NoLanes;
  workInProgressRootInterleavedUpdatedLanes = NoLanes;
  workInProgressRootRenderPhaseUpdatedLanes = NoLanes;
  workInProgressRootPingedLanes = NoLanes;
  workInProgressRootConcurrentErrors = null;
  workInProgressRootRecoverableErrors = null;
  finishQueueingConcurrentUpdates();
  return rootWorkInProgress;
}

function prepareFreshStack(root: FiberRoot, lanes: Lanes): Fiber {
  root.finishedWork = null;
  root.finishedLanes = NoLanes;
  ...
  workInProgressRoot = root;
  const rootWorkInProgress = createWorkInProgress(root.current, null);
The current of root is the FiberNode of HostRoot
  workInProgress = rootWorkInProgress;
  workInProgressRootRenderLanes = subtreeRenderLanes = workInProgressRootIncludedLanes = lanes;
  workInProgressRootExitStatus = RootInProgress;
  workInProgressRootFatalError = null;
  workInProgressRootSkippedLanes = NoLanes;
  workInProgressRootInterleavedUpdatedLanes = NoLanes;
  workInProgressRootRenderPhaseUpdatedLanes = NoLanes;
  workInProgressRootPingedLanes = NoLanes;
  workInProgressRootConcurrentErrors = null;
  workInProgressRootRecoverableErrors = null;
  finishQueueingConcurrentUpdates();
  return rootWorkInProgress;
}

So we’ll start the re-rendering with following head.

Let’s give it some color

2.3 The Update branch in beginWork()

In beginWork(), there is an important branch that handles updates, which we didn’t touch in the episode of initial mount.

function beginWork(
  current: Fiber | null,
current is the current version, which is being painted
  workInProgress: Fiber,
workInProgress is the new version, which is to be painted
  renderLanes: Lanes,
): Fiber | null {
  if (current !== null) {
---------------------
If current is not null, it means NOT initial mount,
it has previous version of Fiber Node and also DOM nodes
if it is HostComponent. Thus React is able to optimize by possibly
avoiding going deeper in the subtree - bailout!
    const oldProps = current.memoizedProps;
    const newProps = workInProgress.pendingProps;
    if (
      oldProps !== newProps ||
---------------------
Here it is using === not shallow equal
which leads to important behavior of React rendering
      hasLegacyContextChanged() ||
      // Force a re-render if the implementation changed due to hot reload:
      (__DEV__ ? workInProgress.type !== current.type : false)
    ) {
      // If props or context changed, mark the fiber as having performed work.
      // This may be unset if the props are determined to be equal later (memo).
      didReceiveUpdate = true;
    } else {
      // Neither props nor legacy context changes. Check if there's a pending
      // update or context change.
      const hasScheduledUpdateOrContext = checkScheduledUpdateOrContext(
-----------------------------
This checks the lanes on  the fibers
        current,
        renderLanes,
      );
      if (
        !hasScheduledUpdateOrContext &&
        // If this is the second pass of an error or suspense boundary, there
        // may not be work scheduled on `current`, so we check for this flag.
        (workInProgress.flags & DidCapture) === NoFlags
      ) {
        // No pending updates or context. Bail out now.
        didReceiveUpdate = false;
        return attemptEarlyBailoutIfNoScheduledUpdate(
---------------------------------------------
If there is no update on this fiber, React tries to bailout
but only if there are no props or context changes
          current,
          workInProgress,
          renderLanes,
        );
      }
     ...
    }
  } else {
    didReceiveUpdate = false;
This is mount branch we've already covered before
    ...
  }
  workInProgress.lanes = NoLanes;
  switch (workInProgress.tag) {
    case IndeterminateComponent: {
      return mountIndeterminateComponent(
        current,
        workInProgress,
        workInProgress.type,
        renderLanes,
      );
    }
    case FunctionComponent: {
      const Component = workInProgress.type;
      const unresolvedProps = workInProgress.pendingProps;
      const resolvedProps =
        workInProgress.elementType === Component
          ? unresolvedProps
          : resolveDefaultProps(Component, unresolvedProps);
      return updateFunctionComponent(
------------------------
        current,
        workInProgress,
        Component,
        resolvedProps,
        renderLanes,
      );
    }
    case HostRoot:
      return updateHostRoot(current, workInProgress, renderLanes);
--------------
    case HostComponent:
      return updateHostComponent(current, workInProgress, renderLanes);
-------------------
    case HostText:
      return updateHostText(current, workInProgress);
--------------
    ...
  }
}

function beginWork(
  current: Fiber | null,
current is the current version, which is being painted
  workInProgress: Fiber,
workInProgress is the new version, which is to be painted
  renderLanes: Lanes,
): Fiber | null {
  if (current !== null) {
---------------------
If current is not null, it means NOT initial mount,
it has previous version of Fiber Node and also DOM nodes
if it is HostComponent. Thus React is able to optimize by possibly
avoiding going deeper in the subtree - bailout!
    const oldProps = current.memoizedProps;
    const newProps = workInProgress.pendingProps;
    if (
      oldProps !== newProps ||
---------------------
Here it is using === not shallow equal
which leads to important behavior of React rendering
      hasLegacyContextChanged() ||
      // Force a re-render if the implementation changed due to hot reload:
      (__DEV__ ? workInProgress.type !== current.type : false)
    ) {
      // If props or context changed, mark the fiber as having performed work.
      // This may be unset if the props are determined to be equal later (memo).
      didReceiveUpdate = true;
    } else {
      // Neither props nor legacy context changes. Check if there's a pending
      // update or context change.
      const hasScheduledUpdateOrContext = checkScheduledUpdateOrContext(
-----------------------------
This checks the lanes on  the fibers
        current,
        renderLanes,
      );
      if (
        !hasScheduledUpdateOrContext &&
        // If this is the second pass of an error or suspense boundary, there
        // may not be work scheduled on `current`, so we check for this flag.
        (workInProgress.flags & DidCapture) === NoFlags
      ) {
        // No pending updates or context. Bail out now.
        didReceiveUpdate = false;
        return attemptEarlyBailoutIfNoScheduledUpdate(
---------------------------------------------
If there is no update on this fiber, React tries to bailout
but only if there are no props or context changes
          current,
          workInProgress,
          renderLanes,
        );
      }
     ...
    }
  } else {
    didReceiveUpdate = false;
This is mount branch we've already covered before
    ...
  }
  workInProgress.lanes = NoLanes;
  switch (workInProgress.tag) {
    case IndeterminateComponent: {
      return mountIndeterminateComponent(
        current,
        workInProgress,
        workInProgress.type,
        renderLanes,
      );
    }
    case FunctionComponent: {
      const Component = workInProgress.type;
      const unresolvedProps = workInProgress.pendingProps;
      const resolvedProps =
        workInProgress.elementType === Component
          ? unresolvedProps
          : resolveDefaultProps(Component, unresolvedProps);
      return updateFunctionComponent(
------------------------
        current,
        workInProgress,
        Component,
        resolvedProps,
        renderLanes,
      );
    }
    case HostRoot:
      return updateHostRoot(current, workInProgress, renderLanes);
--------------
    case HostComponent:
      return updateHostComponent(current, workInProgress, renderLanes);
-------------------
    case HostText:
      return updateHostText(current, workInProgress);
--------------
    ...
  }
}

2.4 Bailout logic inside attemptEarlyBailoutIfNoScheduledUpdate()

Per its name, this function tries to stop the rendering sooner if unnecessary.

function attemptEarlyBailoutIfNoScheduledUpdate(
  current: Fiber,
  workInProgress: Fiber,
  renderLanes: Lanes,
) {
  // This fiber does not have any pending work. Bailout without entering
  // the begin phase. There's still some bookkeeping we that needs to be done
  // in this optimized path, mostly pushing stuff onto the stack.
  switch (workInProgress.tag) {
    case HostRoot:
      pushHostRootContext(workInProgress);
      const root: FiberRoot = workInProgress.stateNode;
      pushRootTransition(workInProgress, root, renderLanes);
      if (enableCache) {
        const cache: Cache = current.memoizedState.cache;
        pushCacheProvider(workInProgress, cache);
      }
      resetHydrationState();
      break;
    case HostComponent:
      pushHostContext(workInProgress);
      break;
    ...
  }
  return bailoutOnAlreadyFinishedWork(current, workInProgress, renderLanes);
----------------------------
}

function attemptEarlyBailoutIfNoScheduledUpdate(
  current: Fiber,
  workInProgress: Fiber,
  renderLanes: Lanes,
) {
  // This fiber does not have any pending work. Bailout without entering
  // the begin phase. There's still some bookkeeping we that needs to be done
  // in this optimized path, mostly pushing stuff onto the stack.
  switch (workInProgress.tag) {
    case HostRoot:
      pushHostRootContext(workInProgress);
      const root: FiberRoot = workInProgress.stateNode;
      pushRootTransition(workInProgress, root, renderLanes);
      if (enableCache) {
        const cache: Cache = current.memoizedState.cache;
        pushCacheProvider(workInProgress, cache);
      }
      resetHydrationState();
      break;
    case HostComponent:
      pushHostContext(workInProgress);
      break;
    ...
  }
  return bailoutOnAlreadyFinishedWork(current, workInProgress, renderLanes);
----------------------------
}

function bailoutOnAlreadyFinishedWork(
  current: Fiber | null,
  workInProgress: Fiber,
  renderLanes: Lanes,
): Fiber | null {
  if (current !== null) {
    // Reuse previous dependencies
    workInProgress.dependencies = current.dependencies;
  }
  // Check if the children have any pending work.
  if (!includesSomeLane(renderLanes, workInProgress.childLanes)) {
---------------------------------------------------------------
Here we see childLanes are checked
    // The children don't have any work either. We can skip them.
    // TODO: Once we add back resuming, we should check if the children are
    // a work-in-progress set. If so, we need to transfer their effects.
    if (enableLazyContextPropagation && current !== null) {
      // Before bailing out, check if there are any context changes in
      // the children.
      lazilyPropagateParentContextChanges(current, workInProgress, renderLanes);
      if (!includesSomeLane(renderLanes, workInProgress.childLanes)) {
        return null;
      }
    } else {
      return null;
-----------
So if there is no update on fiber itself and its subtree
Then of course, we can just stop going deeper in the tree
by returning null
    }
  }
  // This fiber doesn't have work, but its subtree does. Clone the child
  // fibers and continue.
  cloneChildFibers(current, workInProgress);
Though its name is clone, it actually either creates new children nodes
or reusing the previous nodes
  return workInProgress.child;
We just return the child directly, React process it as next fiber
For more, refer to How does React traverse Fiber tree internally
}
export function cloneChildFibers(
  current: Fiber | null,
  workInProgress: Fiber,
): void {
  if (current !== null && workInProgress.child !== current.child) {
--------------------------------------------------------------
    throw new Error('Resuming work not yet implemented.');
  }
  if (workInProgress.child === null) {
    return;
  }
  let currentChild = workInProgress.child;
  let newChild = createWorkInProgress(currentChild, currentChild.pendingProps);
------------
So in cloneChildFibers(), child fibers are created from its previous version
but with new pendingProps, which is set during reconciliation
  workInProgress.child = newChild;
  newChild.return = workInProgress;
  while (currentChild.sibling !== null) {
    currentChild = currentChild.sibling;
    newChild = newChild.sibling = createWorkInProgress(
      currentChild,
      currentChild.pendingProps,
    );
    newChild.return = workInProgress;
  }
  newChild.sibling = null;
}

function bailoutOnAlreadyFinishedWork(
  current: Fiber | null,
  workInProgress: Fiber,
  renderLanes: Lanes,
): Fiber | null {
  if (current !== null) {
    // Reuse previous dependencies
    workInProgress.dependencies = current.dependencies;
  }
  // Check if the children have any pending work.
  if (!includesSomeLane(renderLanes, workInProgress.childLanes)) {
---------------------------------------------------------------
Here we see childLanes are checked
    // The children don't have any work either. We can skip them.
    // TODO: Once we add back resuming, we should check if the children are
    // a work-in-progress set. If so, we need to transfer their effects.
    if (enableLazyContextPropagation && current !== null) {
      // Before bailing out, check if there are any context changes in
      // the children.
      lazilyPropagateParentContextChanges(current, workInProgress, renderLanes);
      if (!includesSomeLane(renderLanes, workInProgress.childLanes)) {
        return null;
      }
    } else {
      return null;
-----------
So if there is no update on fiber itself and its subtree
Then of course, we can just stop going deeper in the tree
by returning null
    }
  }
  // This fiber doesn't have work, but its subtree does. Clone the child
  // fibers and continue.
  cloneChildFibers(current, workInProgress);
Though its name is clone, it actually either creates new children nodes
or reusing the previous nodes
  return workInProgress.child;
We just return the child directly, React process it as next fiber
For more, refer to How does React traverse Fiber tree internally
}
export function cloneChildFibers(
  current: Fiber | null,
  workInProgress: Fiber,
): void {
  if (current !== null && workInProgress.child !== current.child) {
--------------------------------------------------------------
    throw new Error('Resuming work not yet implemented.');
  }
  if (workInProgress.child === null) {
    return;
  }
  let currentChild = workInProgress.child;
  let newChild = createWorkInProgress(currentChild, currentChild.pendingProps);
------------
So in cloneChildFibers(), child fibers are created from its previous version
but with new pendingProps, which is set during reconciliation
  workInProgress.child = newChild;
  newChild.return = workInProgress;
  while (currentChild.sibling !== null) {
    currentChild = currentChild.sibling;
    newChild = newChild.sibling = createWorkInProgress(
      currentChild,
      currentChild.pendingProps,
    );
    newChild.return = workInProgress;
  }
  newChild.sibling = null;
}

Let’s summarize the bailout process

1. if a fiber doesn’t have props/context changes and it doesn’t have pending work (empty lanes)
   1. if its children don’t have pending work(empty childLanes), bailout happens and React doesn’t go deeper in the tree.
   2. otherwise React goes straight to its children, without re-rendering this fiber
2. otherwise, React tries to re-render it first and then goes to its children.

2.5 memoizedProps vs pendingProps.

In beginWork(), workInProgress is diffed against current. For the props, it is workInProgress.pendingProps against current.memoizedProps. We can think of memoizedProps as current props while pendingProps as next version.

React creates a new Fiber Tree in Render phase and then diff against current Fiber Tree. We can see that pendingProps is actually a parameter for workInProgress creation.

export function createWorkInProgress(current: Fiber, pendingProps: any): Fiber {
  let workInProgress = current.alternate;
-----------------
current is the current version
its alternate is the version before it
  if (workInProgress === null) {
-----------------------------
if we have to create from scratch
    // We use a double buffering pooling technique because we know that we'll
    // only ever need at most two versions of a tree. We pool the "other" unused
    // node that we're free to reuse. This is lazily created to avoid allocating
    // extra objects for things that are never updated. It also allow us to
    // reclaim the extra memory if needed.
    workInProgress = createFiber(
      current.tag,
      pendingProps,
------------
      current.key,
      current.mode,
    );
    ...
    workInProgress.alternate = current;
    current.alternate = workInProgress;
  } else {
--------
if we can reuse the previous version
    workInProgress.pendingProps = pendingProps;
------------------------------------------
Since we can reuse, we don't need to create Fiber Node
But just reusing it by updating the necessary properties
    // Needed because Blocks store data on type.
    workInProgress.type = current.type;
    // We already have an alternate.
    // Reset the effect tag.
    workInProgress.flags = NoFlags;
    // The effects are no longer valid.
    workInProgress.subtreeFlags = NoFlags;
    workInProgress.deletions = null;
  }
  // Reset all effects except static ones.
  // Static effects are not specific to a render.
  workInProgress.flags = current.flags & StaticMask;
  workInProgress.childLanes = current.childLanes;
  workInProgress.lanes = current.lanes;
  workInProgress.child = current.child;
  workInProgress.memoizedProps = current.memoizedProps;
  workInProgress.memoizedState = current.memoizedState;
  workInProgress.updateQueue = current.updateQueue;
  // Clone the dependencies object. This is mutated during the render phase, so
  // it cannot be shared with the current fiber.
  const currentDependencies = current.dependencies;
  workInProgress.dependencies =
    currentDependencies === null
      ? null
      : {
          lanes: currentDependencies.lanes,
          firstContext: currentDependencies.firstContext,
        };
  // These will be overridden during the parent's reconciliation
  workInProgress.sibling = current.sibling;
  workInProgress.index = current.index;
  workInProgress.ref = current.ref;
  workInProgress.refCleanup = current.refCleanup;
  return workInProgress;
}

export function createWorkInProgress(current: Fiber, pendingProps: any): Fiber {
  let workInProgress = current.alternate;
-----------------
current is the current version
its alternate is the version before it
  if (workInProgress === null) {
-----------------------------
if we have to create from scratch
    // We use a double buffering pooling technique because we know that we'll
    // only ever need at most two versions of a tree. We pool the "other" unused
    // node that we're free to reuse. This is lazily created to avoid allocating
    // extra objects for things that are never updated. It also allow us to
    // reclaim the extra memory if needed.
    workInProgress = createFiber(
      current.tag,
      pendingProps,
------------
      current.key,
      current.mode,
    );
    ...
    workInProgress.alternate = current;
    current.alternate = workInProgress;
  } else {
--------
if we can reuse the previous version
    workInProgress.pendingProps = pendingProps;
------------------------------------------
Since we can reuse, we don't need to create Fiber Node
But just reusing it by updating the necessary properties
    // Needed because Blocks store data on type.
    workInProgress.type = current.type;
    // We already have an alternate.
    // Reset the effect tag.
    workInProgress.flags = NoFlags;
    // The effects are no longer valid.
    workInProgress.subtreeFlags = NoFlags;
    workInProgress.deletions = null;
  }
  // Reset all effects except static ones.
  // Static effects are not specific to a render.
  workInProgress.flags = current.flags & StaticMask;
  workInProgress.childLanes = current.childLanes;
  workInProgress.lanes = current.lanes;
  workInProgress.child = current.child;
  workInProgress.memoizedProps = current.memoizedProps;
  workInProgress.memoizedState = current.memoizedState;
  workInProgress.updateQueue = current.updateQueue;
  // Clone the dependencies object. This is mutated during the render phase, so
  // it cannot be shared with the current fiber.
  const currentDependencies = current.dependencies;
  workInProgress.dependencies =
    currentDependencies === null
      ? null
      : {
          lanes: currentDependencies.lanes,
          firstContext: currentDependencies.firstContext,
        };
  // These will be overridden during the parent's reconciliation
  workInProgress.sibling = current.sibling;
  workInProgress.index = current.index;
  workInProgress.ref = current.ref;
  workInProgress.refCleanup = current.refCleanup;
  return workInProgress;
}

In fact, the root FiberNode constructor has pendingProps as parameter.

function createFiber(
  tag: WorkTag,
  pendingProps: mixed,
--------------------
  key: null | string,
  mode: TypeOfMode,
): Fiber {
  // $FlowFixMe[invalid-constructor]: the shapes are exact here but Flow doesn't like constructors
  return new FiberNode(tag, pendingProps, key, mode);
}
function FiberNode(
  this: $FlowFixMe,
  tag: WorkTag,
  pendingProps: mixed,
--------------------
  key: null | string,
  mode: TypeOfMode,
) {
  ....
}

function createFiber(
  tag: WorkTag,
  pendingProps: mixed,
--------------------
  key: null | string,
  mode: TypeOfMode,
): Fiber {
  // $FlowFixMe[invalid-constructor]: the shapes are exact here but Flow doesn't like constructors
  return new FiberNode(tag, pendingProps, key, mode);
}
function FiberNode(
  this: $FlowFixMe,
  tag: WorkTag,
  pendingProps: mixed,
--------------------
  key: null | string,
  mode: TypeOfMode,
) {
  ....
}

Which makes sense, creating Fiber Node is the very first step. It needs to be worked on later.

And memoizedProps is set with pendingProps when re-rendering for a fiber is done, which is inside performUnitOfWork().

function performUnitOfWork(unitOfWork: Fiber): void {
  const current = unitOfWork.alternate;
  setCurrentDebugFiberInDEV(unitOfWork);
  let next;
  if (enableProfilerTimer && (unitOfWork.mode & ProfileMode) !== NoMode) {
    startProfilerTimer(unitOfWork);
    next = beginWork(current, unitOfWork, subtreeRenderLanes);
    stopProfilerTimerIfRunningAndRecordDelta(unitOfWork, true);
  } else {
    next = beginWork(current, unitOfWork, subtreeRenderLanes);
  }
  resetCurrentDebugFiberInDEV();
  unitOfWork.memoizedProps = unitOfWork.pendingProps;
---------------------------------------------------
The memoizedProps is updated after work is done
  if (next === null) {
    // If this doesn't spawn new work, complete the current work.
    completeUnitOfWork(unitOfWork);
  } else {
    workInProgress = next;
  }
  ReactCurrentOwner.current = null;
}

function performUnitOfWork(unitOfWork: Fiber): void {
  const current = unitOfWork.alternate;
  setCurrentDebugFiberInDEV(unitOfWork);
  let next;
  if (enableProfilerTimer && (unitOfWork.mode & ProfileMode) !== NoMode) {
    startProfilerTimer(unitOfWork);
    next = beginWork(current, unitOfWork, subtreeRenderLanes);
    stopProfilerTimerIfRunningAndRecordDelta(unitOfWork, true);
  } else {
    next = beginWork(current, unitOfWork, subtreeRenderLanes);
  }
  resetCurrentDebugFiberInDEV();
  unitOfWork.memoizedProps = unitOfWork.pendingProps;
---------------------------------------------------
The memoizedProps is updated after work is done
  if (next === null) {
    // If this doesn't spawn new work, complete the current work.
    completeUnitOfWork(unitOfWork);
  } else {
    workInProgress = next;
  }
  ReactCurrentOwner.current = null;
}

Let’s take a look at our demo now.

1. React works on HostRoot(lanes: 0, childLanes: 1). HostRoot doesn’t have props and memoizedProps and pendingProps are both null, so React goes straight to its child, which is the cloned App.
2. React works on <App/>(lanes: 0, childLanes: 1). App component is not re-rendered so memoizedProps and pendingProps are the same, so React goes straight to its child, which is the cloned div.
3. React works on <div/>(lanes: 0, childLanes: 1). It gets its children from App, but App is not re-run so none of its children(<Link>, <br/> and <Component/>) is changed, thus again React goes straight to <Link/>.
4. React works on <Link/>(lanes: 0, childLanes: 0). This time React doesn’t even need to go deeper, so it stops here and goes to its sibling - <br/>.
5. React works on <br/>(lanes: 0, childLanes: 0), bailout happens again, React goes to <Component/>

Now something is a bit different. <Component/> has lanes of 1 meaning React has to re-render and reconcile its children, which is done by updateFunctionComponent(current, workInProgress).

So far we get following state.

2.6 updateFunctionComponent() re-renders function components and reconcile children.

function updateFunctionComponent(
  current,
  workInProgress,
  Component,
  nextProps: any,
  renderLanes,
) {
  let context;
  if (!disableLegacyContext) {
    const unmaskedContext = getUnmaskedContext(workInProgress, Component, true);
    context = getMaskedContext(workInProgress, unmaskedContext);
  }
  let nextChildren;
  let hasId;
  prepareToReadContext(workInProgress, renderLanes);
  nextChildren = renderWithHooks(
    current,
    workInProgress,
    Component,
    nextProps,
    context,
    renderLanes,
  );
Here it means Component is run to generate new children
  hasId = checkDidRenderIdHook();
  if (enableSchedulingProfiler) {
    markComponentRenderStopped();
  }
  if (current !== null && !didReceiveUpdate) {
    bailoutHooks(current, workInProgress, renderLanes);
    return bailoutOnAlreadyFinishedWork(current, workInProgress, renderLanes);
  }
  // React DevTools reads this flag.
  workInProgress.flags |= PerformedWork;
  reconcileChildren(current, workInProgress, nextChildren, renderLanes);
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We pass down nextChildren, and reconcileChildren() is called
  return workInProgress.child;
}

function updateFunctionComponent(
  current,
  workInProgress,
  Component,
  nextProps: any,
  renderLanes,
) {
  let context;
  if (!disableLegacyContext) {
    const unmaskedContext = getUnmaskedContext(workInProgress, Component, true);
    context = getMaskedContext(workInProgress, unmaskedContext);
  }
  let nextChildren;
  let hasId;
  prepareToReadContext(workInProgress, renderLanes);
  nextChildren = renderWithHooks(
    current,
    workInProgress,
    Component,
    nextProps,
    context,
    renderLanes,
  );
Here it means Component is run to generate new children
  hasId = checkDidRenderIdHook();
  if (enableSchedulingProfiler) {
    markComponentRenderStopped();
  }
  if (current !== null && !didReceiveUpdate) {
    bailoutHooks(current, workInProgress, renderLanes);
    return bailoutOnAlreadyFinishedWork(current, workInProgress, renderLanes);
  }
  // React DevTools reads this flag.
  workInProgress.flags |= PerformedWork;
  reconcileChildren(current, workInProgress, nextChildren, renderLanes);
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We pass down nextChildren, and reconcileChildren() is called
  return workInProgress.child;
}

We’ve met reconcileChildren() in how React does the initial mount. It internally has a few variations depending on the type of children. We’ll focus on 3 of them.

Remember all they do is create new child fibers but also tries to reuse the existing fibers.

function reconcileChildFibersImpl(
  returnFiber: Fiber,
  currentFirstChild: Fiber | null,
  newChild: any,
  lanes: Lanes,
): Fiber | null {
  ...
  // Handle object types
  if (typeof newChild === 'object' && newChild !== null) {
    switch (newChild.$$typeof) {
      case REACT_ELEMENT_TYPE:
        return placeSingleChild(
          reconcileSingleElement(
If just a single child
            returnFiber,
            currentFirstChild,
            newChild,
            lanes,
          ),
        );
      case REACT_PORTAL_TYPE:
       ...
      case REACT_LAZY_TYPE:
        ...
    }
    if (isArray(newChild)) {
      return reconcileChildrenArray(
        returnFiber,
        currentFirstChild,
        newChild,
        lanes,
      );
If children is an array of elements
      
    }
    ...
  }
  if (
    (typeof newChild === 'string' && newChild !== '') ||
    typeof newChild === 'number'
  ) {
    return placeSingleChild(
      reconcileSingleTextNode(
        returnFiber,
        currentFirstChild,
        '' + newChild,
        lanes,
      ),
if children is text
    );
  }
  // Remaining cases are all treated as empty.
  return deleteRemainingChildren(returnFiber, currentFirstChild);
-----------------------
}

function reconcileChildFibersImpl(
  returnFiber: Fiber,
  currentFirstChild: Fiber | null,
  newChild: any,
  lanes: Lanes,
): Fiber | null {
  ...
  // Handle object types
  if (typeof newChild === 'object' && newChild !== null) {
    switch (newChild.$$typeof) {
      case REACT_ELEMENT_TYPE:
        return placeSingleChild(
          reconcileSingleElement(
If just a single child
            returnFiber,
            currentFirstChild,
            newChild,
            lanes,
          ),
        );
      case REACT_PORTAL_TYPE:
       ...
      case REACT_LAZY_TYPE:
        ...
    }
    if (isArray(newChild)) {
      return reconcileChildrenArray(
        returnFiber,
        currentFirstChild,
        newChild,
        lanes,
      );
If children is an array of elements
      
    }
    ...
  }
  if (
    (typeof newChild === 'string' && newChild !== '') ||
    typeof newChild === 'number'
  ) {
    return placeSingleChild(
      reconcileSingleTextNode(
        returnFiber,
        currentFirstChild,
        '' + newChild,
        lanes,
      ),
if children is text
    );
  }
  // Remaining cases are all treated as empty.
  return deleteRemainingChildren(returnFiber, currentFirstChild);
-----------------------
}

For <Component/>, it returns a single div. So we’ll go to reconcileSingleElement().

2.7 reconcileSingleElement().

function reconcileSingleElement(
  returnFiber: Fiber,
  currentFirstChild: Fiber | null,
  element: ReactElement,
-------
Here it is the return value of Component(), the element of <div/>
  lanes: Lanes,
): Fiber {
  const key = element.key;
  let child = currentFirstChild;
  while (child !== null) {
    // TODO: If key === null and child.key === null, then this only applies to
    // the first item in the list.
    if (child.key === key) {
      const elementType = element.type;
      if (elementType === REACT_FRAGMENT_TYPE) {
        ...
      } else {
        if (
          child.elementType === elementType ||
---------------------------------
If types are the same, we can reuse
Otherwise just deleteChild()
          // Keep this check inline so it only runs on the false path:
          (__DEV__
            ? isCompatibleFamilyForHotReloading(child, element)
            : false) ||
          // Lazy types should reconcile their resolved type.
          // We need to do this after the Hot Reloading check above,
          // because hot reloading has different semantics than prod because
          // it doesn't resuspend. So we can't let the call below suspend.
          (typeof elementType === 'object' &&
            elementType !== null &&
            elementType.$$typeof === REACT_LAZY_TYPE &&
            resolveLazy(elementType) === child.type)
        ) {
          deleteRemainingChildren(returnFiber, child.sibling);
          const existing = useFiber(child, element.props);
--------
Try to use the existing fiber with new props
element.props is the props of <div/>
          existing.ref = coerceRef(returnFiber, child, element);
          existing.return = returnFiber;
          return existing;
        }
      }
      // Didn't match.
      deleteRemainingChildren(returnFiber, child);
      break;
    } else {
      deleteChild(returnFiber, child);
    }
    child = child.sibling;
  }
  if (element.type === REACT_FRAGMENT_TYPE) {
    ...
  } else {
    const created = createFiberFromElement(element, returnFiber.mode, lanes);
    created.ref = coerceRef(returnFiber, currentFirstChild, element);
    created.return = returnFiber;
    return created;
  }
}

function reconcileSingleElement(
  returnFiber: Fiber,
  currentFirstChild: Fiber | null,
  element: ReactElement,
-------
Here it is the return value of Component(), the element of <div/>
  lanes: Lanes,
): Fiber {
  const key = element.key;
  let child = currentFirstChild;
  while (child !== null) {
    // TODO: If key === null and child.key === null, then this only applies to
    // the first item in the list.
    if (child.key === key) {
      const elementType = element.type;
      if (elementType === REACT_FRAGMENT_TYPE) {
        ...
      } else {
        if (
          child.elementType === elementType ||
---------------------------------
If types are the same, we can reuse
Otherwise just deleteChild()
          // Keep this check inline so it only runs on the false path:
          (__DEV__
            ? isCompatibleFamilyForHotReloading(child, element)
            : false) ||
          // Lazy types should reconcile their resolved type.
          // We need to do this after the Hot Reloading check above,
          // because hot reloading has different semantics than prod because
          // it doesn't resuspend. So we can't let the call below suspend.
          (typeof elementType === 'object' &&
            elementType !== null &&
            elementType.$$typeof === REACT_LAZY_TYPE &&
            resolveLazy(elementType) === child.type)
        ) {
          deleteRemainingChildren(returnFiber, child.sibling);
          const existing = useFiber(child, element.props);
--------
Try to use the existing fiber with new props
element.props is the props of <div/>
          existing.ref = coerceRef(returnFiber, child, element);
          existing.return = returnFiber;
          return existing;
        }
      }
      // Didn't match.
      deleteRemainingChildren(returnFiber, child);
      break;
    } else {
      deleteChild(returnFiber, child);
    }
    child = child.sibling;
  }
  if (element.type === REACT_FRAGMENT_TYPE) {
    ...
  } else {
    const created = createFiberFromElement(element, returnFiber.mode, lanes);
    created.ref = coerceRef(returnFiber, currentFirstChild, element);
    created.return = returnFiber;
    return created;
  }
}

And in useFiber, React creates or reuse the previous version. As mentioned before, the pendingProps(which contains children) will be set.

function useFiber(fiber: Fiber, pendingProps: mixed): Fiber {
  // We currently set sibling to null and index to 0 here because it is easy
  // to forget to do before returning it. E.g. for the single child case.
  const clone = createWorkInProgress(fiber, pendingProps);
-----------------------------------------
  clone.index = 0;
  clone.sibling = null;
  return clone;
}

function useFiber(fiber: Fiber, pendingProps: mixed): Fiber {
  // We currently set sibling to null and index to 0 here because it is easy
  // to forget to do before returning it. E.g. for the single child case.
  const clone = createWorkInProgress(fiber, pendingProps);
-----------------------------------------
  clone.index = 0;
  clone.sibling = null;
  return clone;
}

So after Component is re-rendered, React goes to its child which is the new <div/>, its current version has both empty lanes and childLanes.

2.8 Once a component is re-rendered, their subtree is re-rendered by default.

Since <div/> and its children don’t have scheduled work, you might think bailout happens, but it doesn’t.

Remember there is a check of memoizedProps and pendingProps in beginWork().

const oldProps = current.memoizedProps;
const newProps = workInProgress.pendingProps;
if (
  oldProps !== newProps ||
---------------------
Here it is using === not shallow equal
  hasLegacyContextChanged() ||
  // Force a re-render if the implementation changed due to hot reload:
  (__DEV__ ? workInProgress.type !== current.type : false)
) {
  // If props or context changed, mark the fiber as having performed work.
  // This may be unset if the props are determined to be equal later (memo).
  didReceiveUpdate = true;
} 

const oldProps = current.memoizedProps;
const newProps = workInProgress.pendingProps;
if (
  oldProps !== newProps ||
---------------------
Here it is using === not shallow equal
  hasLegacyContextChanged() ||
  // Force a re-render if the implementation changed due to hot reload:
  (__DEV__ ? workInProgress.type !== current.type : false)
) {
  // If props or context changed, mark the fiber as having performed work.
  // This may be unset if the props are determined to be equal later (memo).
  didReceiveUpdate = true;
} 

Notice that shallow equal is not used in comparing the props, while every time a component is rendered, it generates a brand new object containing React elements, so pendingProps will be newly created every time.

For <div/>, once Component() is run, it always gets new props so bailout won’t happen at all.

Thus React goes to update branch - updateHostComponent().

2.9 updateHostComponent()

function updateHostComponent(
  current: Fiber | null,
  workInProgress: Fiber,
  renderLanes: Lanes,
) {
  pushHostContext(workInProgress);
  if (current === null) {
    tryToClaimNextHydratableInstance(workInProgress);
  }
  const type = workInProgress.type;
  const nextProps = workInProgress.pendingProps;
  const prevProps = current !== null ? current.memoizedProps : null;
  let nextChildren = nextProps.children;
  const isDirectTextChild = shouldSetTextContent(type, nextProps);
  if (isDirectTextChild) {
    // We special case a direct text child of a host node. This is a common
    // case. We won't handle it as a reified child. We will instead handle
    // this in the host environment that also has access to this prop. That
    // avoids allocating another HostText fiber and traversing it.
    nextChildren = null;
  } else if (prevProps !== null && shouldSetTextContent(type, prevProps)) {
    // If we're switching from a direct text child to a normal child, or to
    // empty, we need to schedule the text content to be reset.
    workInProgress.flags |= ContentReset;
  }
  markRef(current, workInProgress);
  reconcileChildren(current, workInProgress, nextChildren, renderLanes);
---------------------------------------------------------------------
  return workInProgress.child;
}

function updateHostComponent(
  current: Fiber | null,
  workInProgress: Fiber,
  renderLanes: Lanes,
) {
  pushHostContext(workInProgress);
  if (current === null) {
    tryToClaimNextHydratableInstance(workInProgress);
  }
  const type = workInProgress.type;
  const nextProps = workInProgress.pendingProps;
  const prevProps = current !== null ? current.memoizedProps : null;
  let nextChildren = nextProps.children;
  const isDirectTextChild = shouldSetTextContent(type, nextProps);
  if (isDirectTextChild) {
    // We special case a direct text child of a host node. This is a common
    // case. We won't handle it as a reified child. We will instead handle
    // this in the host environment that also has access to this prop. That
    // avoids allocating another HostText fiber and traversing it.
    nextChildren = null;
  } else if (prevProps !== null && shouldSetTextContent(type, prevProps)) {
    // If we're switching from a direct text child to a normal child, or to
    // empty, we need to schedule the text content to be reset.
    workInProgress.flags |= ContentReset;
  }
  markRef(current, workInProgress);
  reconcileChildren(current, workInProgress, nextChildren, renderLanes);
---------------------------------------------------------------------
  return workInProgress.child;
}

nextChildren here is:

js
[
  {$$typeof: Symbol(react.element), type: 'button'},
  " (", 
  {$$typeof: Symbol(react.element), type: 'b'}, 
  ")"
]

js
[
  {$$typeof: Symbol(react.element), type: 'button'},
  " (", 
  {$$typeof: Symbol(react.element), type: 'b'}, 
  ")"
]

So internally React reconciles it with reconcileChildrenArray().

And memoizedProps of current is.

js
[
  {$$typeof: Symbol(react.element), type: 'button'},
  " (", 
  {$$typeof: Symbol(react.element), type: 'span'}, 
  ")"
]

js
[
  {$$typeof: Symbol(react.element), type: 'button'},
  " (", 
  {$$typeof: Symbol(react.element), type: 'span'}, 
  ")"
]

2.10 reconcileChildrenArray() creates and deletes fibers as needed.

reconcileChildrenArray() is a bit complex. It does extra optimization by checking if there is re-ordering of element and tries to reuse fibers if key exists.

But in our demo, we don’t have key, so we’ll just go to the base branch.

function reconcileChildrenArray(
    returnFiber: Fiber,
    currentFirstChild: Fiber | null,
    newChildren: Array<any>,
    lanes: Lanes,
  ): Fiber | null {
    let resultingFirstChild: Fiber | null = null;
    let previousNewFiber: Fiber | null = null;
    let oldFiber = currentFirstChild;
    let lastPlacedIndex = 0;
    let newIdx = 0;
    let nextOldFiber = null;
    for (; oldFiber !== null && newIdx < newChildren.length; newIdx++) {
Check current fibers against the children elements
      if (oldFiber.index > newIdx) {
        nextOldFiber = oldFiber;
        oldFiber = null;
      } else {
        nextOldFiber = oldFiber.sibling;
      }
      const newFiber = updateSlot(
        returnFiber,
        oldFiber,
        newChildren[newIdx],
        lanes,
      );
Here each fiber in the list is checked upon with new props
      if (newFiber === null) {
        // TODO: This breaks on empty slots like null children. That's
        // unfortunate because it triggers the slow path all the time. We need
        // a better way to communicate whether this was a miss or null,
        // boolean, undefined, etc.
        if (oldFiber === null) {
          oldFiber = nextOldFiber;
        }
        break;
      }
      if (shouldTrackSideEffects) {
        if (oldFiber && newFiber.alternate === null) {
          // We matched the slot, but we didn't reuse the existing fiber, so we
          // need to delete the existing child.
          deleteChild(returnFiber, oldFiber);
-----------
        }
If a fiber cannot be reused, it will be marked as Deletion
which in commit phase, its DOM node is deleted
      }
      lastPlacedIndex = placeChild(newFiber, lastPlacedIndex, newIdx);
----------
This tries to mark the fiber as Insertion
      if (previousNewFiber === null) {
        // TODO: Move out of the loop. This only happens for the first run.
        resultingFirstChild = newFiber;
      } else {
        // TODO: Defer siblings if we're not at the right index for this slot.
        // I.e. if we had null values before, then we want to defer this
        // for each null value. However, we also don't want to call updateSlot
        // with the previous one.
        previousNewFiber.sibling = newFiber;
      }
      previousNewFiber = newFiber;
      oldFiber = nextOldFiber;
    }
    if (newIdx === newChildren.length) {
      // We've reached the end of the new children. We can delete the rest.
      deleteRemainingChildren(returnFiber, oldFiber);
      if (getIsHydrating()) {
        const numberOfForks = newIdx;
        pushTreeFork(returnFiber, numberOfForks);
      }
      return resultingFirstChild;
    }
    ...
    return resultingFirstChild;
  }

function reconcileChildrenArray(
    returnFiber: Fiber,
    currentFirstChild: Fiber | null,
    newChildren: Array<any>,
    lanes: Lanes,
  ): Fiber | null {
    let resultingFirstChild: Fiber | null = null;
    let previousNewFiber: Fiber | null = null;
    let oldFiber = currentFirstChild;
    let lastPlacedIndex = 0;
    let newIdx = 0;
    let nextOldFiber = null;
    for (; oldFiber !== null && newIdx < newChildren.length; newIdx++) {
Check current fibers against the children elements
      if (oldFiber.index > newIdx) {
        nextOldFiber = oldFiber;
        oldFiber = null;
      } else {
        nextOldFiber = oldFiber.sibling;
      }
      const newFiber = updateSlot(
        returnFiber,
        oldFiber,
        newChildren[newIdx],
        lanes,
      );
Here each fiber in the list is checked upon with new props
      if (newFiber === null) {
        // TODO: This breaks on empty slots like null children. That's
        // unfortunate because it triggers the slow path all the time. We need
        // a better way to communicate whether this was a miss or null,
        // boolean, undefined, etc.
        if (oldFiber === null) {
          oldFiber = nextOldFiber;
        }
        break;
      }
      if (shouldTrackSideEffects) {
        if (oldFiber && newFiber.alternate === null) {
          // We matched the slot, but we didn't reuse the existing fiber, so we
          // need to delete the existing child.
          deleteChild(returnFiber, oldFiber);
-----------
        }
If a fiber cannot be reused, it will be marked as Deletion
which in commit phase, its DOM node is deleted
      }
      lastPlacedIndex = placeChild(newFiber, lastPlacedIndex, newIdx);
----------
This tries to mark the fiber as Insertion
      if (previousNewFiber === null) {
        // TODO: Move out of the loop. This only happens for the first run.
        resultingFirstChild = newFiber;
      } else {
        // TODO: Defer siblings if we're not at the right index for this slot.
        // I.e. if we had null values before, then we want to defer this
        // for each null value. However, we also don't want to call updateSlot
        // with the previous one.
        previousNewFiber.sibling = newFiber;
      }
      previousNewFiber = newFiber;
      oldFiber = nextOldFiber;
    }
    if (newIdx === newChildren.length) {
      // We've reached the end of the new children. We can delete the rest.
      deleteRemainingChildren(returnFiber, oldFiber);
      if (getIsHydrating()) {
        const numberOfForks = newIdx;
        pushTreeFork(returnFiber, numberOfForks);
      }
      return resultingFirstChild;
    }
    ...
    return resultingFirstChild;
  }

updateSlot() basically just creates or reuse fibers with new props, with consideration of key.

function updateSlot(
  returnFiber: Fiber,
  oldFiber: Fiber | null,
  newChild: any,
  lanes: Lanes,
): Fiber | null {
  // Update the fiber if the keys match, otherwise return null.
  const key = oldFiber !== null ? oldFiber.key : null;
  if (
    (typeof newChild === 'string' && newChild !== '') ||
    typeof newChild === 'number'
  ) {
    // Text nodes don't have keys. If the previous node is implicitly keyed
    // we can continue to replace it without aborting even if it is not a text
    // node.
    if (key !== null) {
      return null;
    }
    return updateTextNode(returnFiber, oldFiber, '' + newChild, lanes);
  }
  if (typeof newChild === 'object' && newChild !== null) {
    switch (newChild.$$typeof) {
      case REACT_ELEMENT_TYPE: {
        if (newChild.key === key) {
          return updateElement(returnFiber, oldFiber, newChild, lanes);
-------------
        } else {
          return null;
        }
      }
      ...
    }
  }
  return null;
}
function updateElement(
  returnFiber: Fiber,
  current: Fiber | null,
  element: ReactElement,
  lanes: Lanes,
): Fiber {
  const elementType = element.type;
  if (elementType === REACT_FRAGMENT_TYPE) {
    return updateFragment(
      returnFiber,
      current,
      element.props.children,
      lanes,
      element.key,
    );
  }
  if (current !== null) {
    if (
      current.elementType === elementType ||
-----------------------------------
if could be reused
      // Keep this check inline so it only runs on the false path:
      (__DEV__
        ? isCompatibleFamilyForHotReloading(current, element)
        : false) ||
      // Lazy types should reconcile their resolved type.
      // We need to do this after the Hot Reloading check above,
      // because hot reloading has different semantics than prod because
      // it doesn't resuspend. So we can't let the call below suspend.
      (typeof elementType === 'object' &&
        elementType !== null &&
        elementType.$$typeof === REACT_LAZY_TYPE &&
        resolveLazy(elementType) === current.type)
    ) {
      // Move based on index
      const existing = useFiber(current, element.props);
--------
Here we see useFiber() again
      existing.ref = coerceRef(returnFiber, current, element);
      existing.return = returnFiber;
      return existing;
    }
  }
  // Insert
  const created = createFiberFromElement(element, returnFiber.mode, lanes);
----------------------
if we cannot reuse because types are different, we'll create the fiber from scratch
  created.ref = coerceRef(returnFiber, current, element);
  created.return = returnFiber;
  return created;
}

function updateSlot(
  returnFiber: Fiber,
  oldFiber: Fiber | null,
  newChild: any,
  lanes: Lanes,
): Fiber | null {
  // Update the fiber if the keys match, otherwise return null.
  const key = oldFiber !== null ? oldFiber.key : null;
  if (
    (typeof newChild === 'string' && newChild !== '') ||
    typeof newChild === 'number'
  ) {
    // Text nodes don't have keys. If the previous node is implicitly keyed
    // we can continue to replace it without aborting even if it is not a text
    // node.
    if (key !== null) {
      return null;
    }
    return updateTextNode(returnFiber, oldFiber, '' + newChild, lanes);
  }
  if (typeof newChild === 'object' && newChild !== null) {
    switch (newChild.$$typeof) {
      case REACT_ELEMENT_TYPE: {
        if (newChild.key === key) {
          return updateElement(returnFiber, oldFiber, newChild, lanes);
-------------
        } else {
          return null;
        }
      }
      ...
    }
  }
  return null;
}
function updateElement(
  returnFiber: Fiber,
  current: Fiber | null,
  element: ReactElement,
  lanes: Lanes,
): Fiber {
  const elementType = element.type;
  if (elementType === REACT_FRAGMENT_TYPE) {
    return updateFragment(
      returnFiber,
      current,
      element.props.children,
      lanes,
      element.key,
    );
  }
  if (current !== null) {
    if (
      current.elementType === elementType ||
-----------------------------------
if could be reused
      // Keep this check inline so it only runs on the false path:
      (__DEV__
        ? isCompatibleFamilyForHotReloading(current, element)
        : false) ||
      // Lazy types should reconcile their resolved type.
      // We need to do this after the Hot Reloading check above,
      // because hot reloading has different semantics than prod because
      // it doesn't resuspend. So we can't let the call below suspend.
      (typeof elementType === 'object' &&
        elementType !== null &&
        elementType.$$typeof === REACT_LAZY_TYPE &&
        resolveLazy(elementType) === current.type)
    ) {
      // Move based on index
      const existing = useFiber(current, element.props);
--------
Here we see useFiber() again
      existing.ref = coerceRef(returnFiber, current, element);
      existing.return = returnFiber;
      return existing;
    }
  }
  // Insert
  const created = createFiberFromElement(element, returnFiber.mode, lanes);
----------------------
if we cannot reuse because types are different, we'll create the fiber from scratch
  created.ref = coerceRef(returnFiber, current, element);
  created.return = returnFiber;
  return created;
}

So for <div/>,updateSlot() successfully reused 3 children, except the 3th one because current is span but we want b, thus fiber of b is created from scratch and fiber of span is deleted by deleteChild(). The newly created b is marked by placeChild().

2.11 placeChild() and deleteChild() marks fiber with flags

Ok, for the children of <div> under Component, we have these 2 functions that marks fiber nodes.

function placeChild(
  newFiber: Fiber,
  lastPlacedIndex: number,
  newIndex: number,
): number {
  newFiber.index = newIndex;
  if (!shouldTrackSideEffects) {
    // During hydration, the useId algorithm needs to know which fibers are
    // part of a list of children (arrays, iterators).
    newFiber.flags |= Forked;
    return lastPlacedIndex;
  }
  const current = newFiber.alternate;
  if (current !== null) {
    const oldIndex = current.index;
    if (oldIndex < lastPlacedIndex) {
      // This is a move.
      newFiber.flags |= Placement;
      return lastPlacedIndex;
    } else {
      // This item can stay in place.
      return oldIndex;
    }
  } else {
    // This is an insertion.
    newFiber.flags |= Placement;
    return lastPlacedIndex;
  }
}

function placeChild(
  newFiber: Fiber,
  lastPlacedIndex: number,
  newIndex: number,
): number {
  newFiber.index = newIndex;
  if (!shouldTrackSideEffects) {
    // During hydration, the useId algorithm needs to know which fibers are
    // part of a list of children (arrays, iterators).
    newFiber.flags |= Forked;
    return lastPlacedIndex;
  }
  const current = newFiber.alternate;
  if (current !== null) {
    const oldIndex = current.index;
    if (oldIndex < lastPlacedIndex) {
      // This is a move.
      newFiber.flags |= Placement;
      return lastPlacedIndex;
    } else {
      // This item can stay in place.
      return oldIndex;
    }
  } else {
    // This is an insertion.
    newFiber.flags |= Placement;
    return lastPlacedIndex;
  }
}

function deleteChild(returnFiber: Fiber, childToDelete: Fiber): void {
  if (!shouldTrackSideEffects) {
    // Noop.
    return;
  }
  const deletions = returnFiber.deletions;
  if (deletions === null) {
    returnFiber.deletions = [childToDelete];
    returnFiber.flags |= ChildDeletion;
-----------------------------------
  } else {
    deletions.push(childToDelete);
  }
}

function deleteChild(returnFiber: Fiber, childToDelete: Fiber): void {
  if (!shouldTrackSideEffects) {
    // Noop.
    return;
  }
  const deletions = returnFiber.deletions;
  if (deletions === null) {
    returnFiber.deletions = [childToDelete];
    returnFiber.flags |= ChildDeletion;
-----------------------------------
  } else {
    deletions.push(childToDelete);
  }
}