10 Concepts every React Developer Should Know

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Since the dawn of time, scholars have debated the most important concepts of React.js that developers must understand to effectively build robust and responsive web apps. After combing through the many core concepts of this amazing web framework, I’ve curated a list of critical competencies that would enable an engineer to get started with web development.

1. Components: In React, a component is a reusable piece of code that represents a part of a user interface. Components can be simple or complex, and can be rendered to the DOM using JSX syntax.
2. JSX: JSX is a syntax extension for JavaScript that allows you to write HTML-like code in your React components. JSX is not required to use React, but it makes it easier to create and manipulate the structure of your UI.
3. State: In React, state is an object that holds data that can be used to control the behavior and rendering of a component. State should only be modified using React’s setState method, and any changes to state will trigger a re-render of the component.

4. Props: Props are short for “properties,” and they are used to pass data from a parent component to a child component. Props are read-only and should not be modified within the child component.

5. Lifecycle methods: React components have a number of lifecycle methods that are called at different stages of their rendering process. These methods can be used to perform actions before or after a component is rendered, or to trigger updates when the component’s props or state change.

6. Higher-order components: A higher-order component (HOC) is a function that takes a component as an argument and returns a new component. HOCs are often used to abstract common functionality that can be shared across multiple components.

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7. Redux: Redux is a popular state management library that can be used with React to manage global state. In Redux, state is stored in a single immutable store, and actions are dispatched to update the store and trigger updates to the UI.

8. React Router: React Router is a library that allows you to easily manage client-side routing in a React application. It provides components for rendering different routes and linking between them, and allows you to define custom routes and handle routing logic.

9. Context: React’s context API allows you to pass data down through a component tree without the need for props drilling. This can be useful for sharing data that is needed by many components, or for abstracting data that is not directly related to the UI.

10. Hooks: Hooks are a new feature in React that allow you to use state and other React features in functional components. Hooks provide a more flexible and reusable approach to managing state and lifecycle methods in your components.