12-Hour React Ecommerce Course

Jul 1, 2024

Ecommerce Project using React - 12-hour Course

Introduction to React

  • React.js: JavaScript library created by Facebook
  • Used for building user interfaces, especially single-page applications (SPAs)
  • Benefits: fast updates, efficient rendering with virtual DOM

Setting Up the Project

  • HTML: Traditional HTML structure still applies
  • npm: npm init and npm install required packages
  • Create React App: Tool provided by Facebook to set up a new React project with a single command
    • npx create-react-app my-app

React Component Basics

  • JSX: JavaScript syntax extension, allows mixing HTML with JavaScript
  • Functional Components: Basic building blocks of a React application
    • Example: function Hello() { return <h1>Hello, World!</h1>; }
    • Props: Properties passed to components for dynamic rendering
  • State Management: Allows React components to handle and render dynamic data

Advanced React Components and Concepts

  • Component Lifecycle: Understanding lifecycle methods for class components
    • componentDidMount, componentDidUpdate, componentWillUnmount
  • Conditional Rendering: Showing components based on certain conditions
  • Lists and Keys: Rendering lists efficiently with unique keys

Styling React Components

  • Inline Styles: Using JavaScript objects to style components
  • CSS Modules: Scoped CSS to avoid conflicts
  • Styled Components: Using styled-components library for component-level styling

React Developer Tools

  • React DevTools: Chrome extension to inspect React component hierarchies

State Management with Hooks

  • useState: Manage state in functional components
    • [state, setState] = useState(initialState)
  • useEffect: Perform side effects in functional components
    • Cleanup function for effects, mimicking lifecycle methods

Handling Forms in React

  • Controlled Components: Forms where React controls the input values
    • Using onChange handlers and setState to capture user input
  • Form Validation: Basic validation and error handling
  • Submitting Forms: Preventing default browser behavior and handling form submission via React

Routing with React Router

  • react-router-dom: Library to handle routing in React applications
  • BrowserRouter: Wraps the app for routing support
  • Routes and Route Components: Define different routes and corresponding components
    • Example: <Route path='/about' component={About} />
  • Link Component: Navigates without reloading the page

Fetching Data from APIs

  • Fetching Data: Using fetch or Axios to get data from external APIs
  • State Management: Storing retrieved data in component state

Building the Ecommerce Project

  • Project Setup: Creating a new React project, installing necessary dependencies
  • Components: Structuring the project into reusable components
    • Header, Footer, Product List, Product Detail, Cart, etc.
  • Styling: Using CSS frameworks and custom styles
  • API Integration: Fetching product data, handling user authentication, and cart management
  • State Management: Managing state for products, user credentials, cart contents, etc.

Deployment

  • Build Process: npm run build to create an optimized production build
  • Deployment: Deploying to platforms like Netlify, Vercel, or traditional web servers

Debugging and Testing

  • React Testing Library: Writing tests for React components
  • Snapshots: Capturing the rendered output for regression testing
  • Jest: Framework for running tests and reporting results