How to Learn React in 2021: The 7 Skills You Need To Know

How to Learn React in 2021: The 7 Skills You Need To Know

React is the most in-demand JavaScript library in the world, and have you been eager to learn how to use it. Walk through the seven skills you should learn to become a professional React developer.

Step 1: Become confident with the core fundamentals of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

The first step in learning React is actually a bit of a backwards step in terms of its functionality.

HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are the fundamental building blocks of the internet and every single webpage. Any competent React developer should be able to make use of them. React builds on these foundations to assist you in developing web-based applications.

If you've already created something using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, you're in a good position. Take, for example, if you've created a complete landing page or a small website from scratch.

React is the technology that is most closely associated with JavaScript out of the three technologies. React is a JavaScript framework with some additional features. In order to do so, you'll need to be extremely proficient in JavaScript.

Step 2: Study the fundamentals of React as well as React hooks

Once you've gained confidence in JavaScript, you'll be ready to learn about React and its fundamental concepts.

These fundamentals are all React-specific, and they exist to assist us in developing applications with React that make use of patterns that JavaScript itself does not have available.

Step 3: Acquire knowledge of how to retrieve data from both REST and GraphQL APIs

A React application serves as the frontend for a larger application. In every application, you will most likely have both a React frontend, with which the user interacts, and a backend, with which our React code communicates. The backend is where we get our data from and where we perform other functions such as authenticating our customers.

Working with data from a backend can be accomplished in two ways. The most common method of obtaining data is through what is known as a REST API. REST APIs are the most widely used type of API today. And the more recent method is through the use of a GraphQL API.

You'll come across both types of APIs in your work, so get comfortable with using React to interact with them both as soon as possible.

Step 4: Learn to style your React apps with a component library or utility class library

Every React application requires styling to make it look good. One option is to use plain CSS as a styling language. You have the option of creating your own styles and storing them in a separate style sheet.

However, in addition to CSS, many React developers make use of what is known as a component library to make styling their applications easier. A component library provides us with reusable components that have their own pre-made styles that we can use over and over. Material UI is the most widely used component library for the React framework. However, there are a plethora of other options available.

Utilities class libraries, which are tools that provide pre-made class names, are also used by developers. Unlike a component library, a utility class library contains pre-made classes that can be used to style the elements in your application.

You can customize the appearance of your app by assigning classnames to each element. This eliminates the need for you to write any styles on your own. Tailwind CSS, the most widely used utility class library, is the most popular.

When working as a developer, you will come across both component libraries and utility class libraries. Become familiar with both of these before starting your project.

Step 5: Manage state in React with React context

What is the definition of state management? It is the process of determining where data should be stored and how to interact with it throughout our app. React Context is a state management system that can be used across all of your app's components.

When we use React Context, we can pass data between components of our app without having to use props. It is a tool that is built into the core React library and allows us to pass data between components without having to use props. The problem of prop-drilling, which involves passing props (data) down to components that are deeply nested into one another, is solved with the help of this technique.

With React Context, we can store a value in the context that we create and then access it using the useContext() React hook to interact with it.

What about Redux, do you think? Redux is a well-known library for managing state in React-based applications. It is a far more complex tool than you will require for the majority of the apps you will create. However, while Redux is still used for very large applications, React Context will be sufficient for any application you develop.

Additionally, by combining React Hooks and React Context, you can reap the benefits of Redux in a variety of ways. When compared to having to learn a new library, this is a significant advantage.

Step 6: Learn a React router. In particular, react-router-dom

What exactly is a router? There are many pages on any website we visit that we can browse through by moving forward or backward in our browser's history. In order to create these various pages or routes in React, we must first create what is known as a router.

Due to the fact that React does not include a built-in router, we will be relying on a third-party library, namely react-router-dom, to accomplish our goal.

React-router-dom is required for the creation of pages in our application, as well as for navigating the user through each page. It enables us to create links to various pages within our app and navigate to them, as well as redirect them to other pages if necessary.

Step 7: Learn patterns for authentication in React 

Authenticated users are those who have signed in to our app in order to use it. And we want to provide those users with access to a variety of resources. As a result, authentication and routing are intertwined in their functionality. This is due to the fact that authenticated users should be able to view certain pages that are not accessible to unauthenticated users.