React.js Book: Learning React JavaScript Library From Scratch

✍ Scribed by Greg Sidelnikov

• Publisher: River Tigris LLC; 1 edition
• Year: 2016
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 109
• Edition: 1st
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

My fourth web development book is simply called React.js Book. It will walk you step by step through the process of setting up a development environment and learning Reactive programming from start to finish. React is a library unlike any other I have worked with. Unlike jQuery where you had to learn a number of methods that do very specific things, it's largely inspired by a programming methodology for creating fast web applications.

In addition you will be expected to know or at least be briefly familiar with prerequisite knowledge of other web development tools such as Node.js, NPM, Babel, JSX and Webpack. These are not required elements of programming with React, but without them things would be tough.

As of 2017, Reactive programming is an alternative way of thinking about web applications. It provides software patterns that make your web app extremely responsive to user input and generally feel faster to the end-user (people who are using your application.) The Virtual DOM alone is enough of a reason to switch to React.

Programming with React library, is a lot more than just learning about and using React objects, components, states, props and methods. It requires previous experience with JavaScript and at times assumes knowledge of software principles not inherent to React library itself.

This book is not a list of object names, methods and functions with side explanations of what they do. Rather, it deals with the said principles involved in React programming thought up by the creators of React library. Principles that are usually understood by professional web developers and software engineers.

For all these reasons stated above, this book will gradually walk you through the process of becoming familiar with React library, starting from basic concepts. Gradually, we will move toward more advanced subjects. So, prepare to be educated!

✦ Table of Contents

A Note From the Author......Page 6
Main Roadblocks to Learning React......Page 8
Good Reasons for Learning React......Page 11
Reactive Programming......Page 13
Main Principles of Reactive Programming......Page 15
Gems and Working in the Mine......Page 18
The Essentials......Page 20
Special Props......Page 25
PropTypes......Page 27
Class Component Options......Page 28
Component Instances......Page 30
Properties......Page 31
Methods......Page 32
Gem 1 - React Components......Page 33
Gem 2 - Render Method......Page 36
Gem 3 - Virtual DOM and Bandwidth Salvation......Page 38
Gem 4 - Two Distinct Ways of Initializing a React Class......Page 40
Gem 5 - States & Life Cycles......Page 43
Gem 6 - Component Mounting......Page 46
Gem 7 - Node.js & NPM......Page 50
Gem 8 - JSX Walkthrough......Page 52
Lesson 1 - Writing Your First React Component......Page 56
JSX......Page 60
Function Purity......Page 64
Functional Components......Page 67
A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing......Page 68
Native Babel vs JavaScript Babel......Page 70
NPM......Page 71
Transpiling Source Code......Page 72
Lesson 2 - Nested Components......Page 73
Parent with a Single Child......Page 75
Parents with Multiple Children......Page 77
Lesson 3 - Handling Component Events......Page 79
Method 1 - getInitialState......Page 80
Method 2 - componentDidMount......Page 81
Method 3 - componentWillUnmount......Page 82
The var and let keywords......Page 86
The new const keyword......Page 90
Destructuring assignment......Page 91
For-of loop......Page 92
The Map object......Page 93
Arrow Functions......Page 94
What are Arrow Functions in JavaScript?......Page 99
Immediately Invoked Arrow Functions �⠀䤀䤀䄀䘀)......Page 102
Backtick �⠀怀怀) Template Strings......Page 103
string text;......Page 104
95......Page 105
New Array methods......Page 106