ReactJs

React’s development began in 2011 when Jordan Walke created an internal tool at Facebook, initially named “FaxJS”. The library addressed Facebook’s growing need for better UI component management as their applications became more complex. The first public version was released as open source on May 29, 2013, marking a turning point in JavaScript UI development.

Key milestones in React’s evolution:

• 2011: Initial development by Jordan Walke at Facebook
• 2013: Open-source release (version 0.3.0)
• 2015: React Native announced, extending React to mobile platforms
• 2016: React 15.0 released with improved error handling
• 2017: React 16.0 (Fiber) introduced complete rewrite of reconciliation algorithm
• 2019: React 16.8 introduced Hooks, enabling state and lifecycle features in function components
• 2020: Concurrent Mode experimental features released
• 2022: React 18 released with automatic batching and concurrent rendering

Start your React journey with fundamental concepts. This section covers the core building blocks that every React developer needs to understand. These topics will help you build your first React applications and understand how the library works at a basic level.

• Getting Started with ReactJs - Set up your development environment and create your first React app
• The history behind ReactJs - YouTube video
• The role of JSX - Understanding React’s syntax extension for JavaScript
• What are ReactJs Components - Building blocks of React applications
• Getting started with Hooks - Modern state management in function components
  • useState - Managing component state
  • useEffect - Handling side effects and lifecycle events

Once you grasp the basics, move on to more advanced patterns and techniques. This section explores state management, data fetching, and optimization strategies that professional React developers use daily.

• Best Practices and Patterns - Professional patterns for maintainable React code
• Fetching data with ReactJs - Working with APIs and external data
• Context API - Sharing state across component trees without prop drilling
• React.memo and optimization - Performance optimization techniques
• Advanced Hooks
  • useReducer - Complex state management logic
  • useCallback - Memoizing callback functions
  • useMemo - Optimizing expensive computations
  • useRef - Direct DOM access and persistent values
  • Custom Hooks - Reusable logic extraction

Dive deep into React’s internals and advanced patterns. This section covers architectural decisions, performance optimization at scale, and understanding how React works under the hood.

• Under the hood - React’s reconciliation algorithm and Fiber architecture
• Higher-Order Components (HoC) - Component composition patterns
• Render Props - Advanced component patterns
• Error Boundaries - Graceful error handling in component trees
• Server Components - React’s approach to server-side rendering
• Concurrent Rendering - React 18’s concurrent features
• Performance patterns - When and how to optimize

Many existing React codebases still use class components. Understanding how to work with and migrate from class-based code to function components with Hooks is a valuable skill.

Since the introduction of Hooks, React developers have gradually moved away from class components. However, the React team was careful to emphasize that Hooks were not intended to force a complete rewrite of existing class-based code. The official documentation explicitly states that there are no plans to deprecate classes.

The FAQ page suggests incorporating functional components and Hooks incrementally, particularly when fixing bugs or adding new features to existing applications. This approach minimizes risk while allowing teams to adopt modern patterns gradually.