Ultimate React Course Notes

Course Overview

• Instructor: Marsha Madani
• Experience Level: Beginner to Advanced
• Course Objective: To master React by building a production-grade video games discovery app.
• Prior Knowledge: HTML, CSS, JavaScript (TypeScript is taught in the course).
• Tools and Libraries Used:
  • React and React DOM
  • Node.js (version 16 or higher)
  • Visual Studio Code (VS Code) and Prettier extension
  • npm, Veet, Bootstrap

Introduction to React

• React is a JavaScript library for creating user interfaces.
• Developed by Facebook in 2011.
• Uses a component-based architecture which makes the code more reusable and easier to manage.
• React uses JSX (JavaScript XML) to combine UI templates and JavaScript logic.

Development Environment Setup

• Ensure Node.js (version 16 or higher) is installed.
• Use VS Code for editing code with the Prettier extension for code formatting.
• React projects can be initiated using Veet or Create React App (CRA).

First App and Components

• Components: Building blocks of React applications.
• JSX: Syntax used in React to write HTML structures in JavaScript.
• A basic React file structure:
  • Node Modules: Libraries and dependencies.
  • Public: Static files like images, videos.
  • Src (Source): Source code of the application including components.
• Main.tsx: Entry point of React applications where components are rendered.

Advanced Features

• Routing: Navigation between different parts of the application.
• State Management: Handling data changes over time.
• Authentication: Managing user sessions and information security.
• Performance Optimization: Techniques like lazy loading to improve app performance.

Component Lifecycle

• React components have a lifecycle that can be managed using lifecycle methods such as componentDidMount, componentDidUpdate, and componentWillUnmount.
• Utilize effects in functional components with the useEffect hook to handle side-effects.

Handling State

• React manages the state in components using the useState hook.
• State changes trigger re-renders of components.

Handling Events

• React components handle user interactions like clicks, form submissions, etc., using synthetic events.
• Use onClick, onChange, and other handlers to react to user inputs.

Routing and Data Fetching

• Use React Router for managing navigation.
• Fetch data from APIs using fetch API or Axios.

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Building the Video Games Discovery App

• Features such as toggle between dark and light modes, search and filtering games, dynamic sorting, and reactive UI updates based on user interactions.
• Techniques such as routing, state management, and data fetching are applied.
• Uses real API to fetch games information and update the UI accordingly.

Debugging and Optimizing

• Use React Developer Tools for debugging.
• Learn optimization techniques to reduce load times and improve user experience.

Deploying the Application

• Learn to build and deploy React applications using different hosting platforms like Netlify or Vercel.

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Conclusion

• The course covers practical applications of React to prepare students to build scalable, real-world applications confidently.
• Emphasis on best practices and modern development standards in React.