12. What is the Virtual DOM and what are its advantages?

The Virtual DOM is an abstract representation of the DOM kept in memory and synchronized with the real DOM by a library such as React. The Virtual DOM allows for efficient management of UI updates.

Advantages of the Virtual DOM:

1. Performance: Changes are first applied to the Virtual DOM, minimizing costly real DOM manipulations.
2. Batching: Updates can be batched to minimize the number of operations on the real DOM.
3. Cross-platform: Can be used for rendering across different platforms, such as browsers, mobile, and even servers.
4. Easier change tracking: The Virtual DOM makes it easier to track and manage changes in the application state.