Module 1: React Fundamentals - Laying the Groundwork
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Theoretical Concepts:
- JSX (JavaScript XML): Understanding how to write HTML-like syntax within JavaScript and its benefits.
- Components:
- Functional Components: The modern and preferred way to write components using JavaScript functions.
- Class Components: Understanding the older syntax and lifecycle methods (though we'll focus more on hooks).
- Props (Properties): Passing data down from parent to child components. Understanding immutability of props.
- State: Managing dynamic data within a component using
useState (for functional components) and this.state (for class components). Understanding state updates and re-renders.
- Event Handling: How to handle user interactions (clicks, input changes, etc.) in React. Synthetic events.
- Conditional Rendering: Displaying different UI elements based on conditions using
if/else, ternary operators, and logical AND (&&).
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Practical Aspects & Hands-on Challenges:
- Setting up a basic React project using Create React App or Vite.
- Creating simple functional and class components.
- Passing data as props and rendering it.
- Implementing basic state management and updating the UI.
- Handling button clicks and input changes.
- Conditionally rendering different messages or elements.
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**Code Sample (Simple Functional Component):**JavaScript
import React, { useState } from 'react';
function Greeting({ name }) {
const [greeting, setGreeting] = useState('Hello');
const handleClick = () => {
setGreeting('Welcome');
};
return (
<div>
<h1>{greeting}, {name}!</h1>
<button onClick={handleClick}>Change Greeting</button>
</div>
);
}
export default Greeting;
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Checkpoint 1: After this module, you should be comfortable creating basic React components, passing data between them, managing local state, and handling user interactions.
Module 2: Component Architecture - Building Blocks and Data Flow
- Theoretical Concepts:
- Component Composition: Building complex UIs by nesting and combining smaller, reusable components.
- Lifting State Up: Sharing state between components by moving it to a common ancestor.
- Prop Drilling: Understanding the concept and potential drawbacks of passing props through multiple levels of components.
- Container vs. Presentational Components: A pattern for separating concerns where container components handle logic and data fetching, while presentational components focus on rendering UI.
- Practical Aspects & Hands-on Challenges:
- Building a simple UI with nested components.
- Implementing state lifting to share data between sibling components.
- Identifying scenarios where prop drilling might become an issue and discussing solutions.
- Refactoring existing components using the container/presentational pattern.
- Design Pattern: Container/Presentational Components
- Checkpoint 2: You should now understand how to structure your React applications effectively using component composition and manage data flow between components.
Module 3: Hooks - Embracing Functional Power
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Theoretical Concepts:
useState: Managing local state in functional components (already introduced, we'll dive deeper).
useEffect: Handling side effects (data fetching, subscriptions, timers) in functional components. Understanding the dependency array.
useRef: Accessing DOM elements directly or persisting values across renders.
useContext: Sharing state across the component tree without manual prop passing (for simpler global state).
useReducer: More complex state management for scenarios with multiple related state updates.
- Custom Hooks: Extracting component logic into reusable functions.
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Practical Aspects & Hands-on Challenges:
- Implementing various side effects using
useEffect (e.g., fetching data on mount, setting up event listeners).
- Using
useRef to focus an input field or access a DOM element.
- Creating a simple theme context using
useContext.
- Implementing a counter with increment and decrement actions using
useReducer.
- Building a custom hook for debouncing an input.
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**Code Sample (Custom Hook for Debouncing):**JavaScript
import { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
function useDebounce(value, delay) {
const [debouncedValue, setDebouncedValue] = useState(value);
useEffect(() => {
const handler = setTimeout(() => {
setDebouncedValue(value);
}, delay);
return () => {
clearTimeout(handler);
};
}, [value, delay]);
return debouncedValue;
}
export default useDebounce;
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Checkpoint 3: You should be proficient in using the core React hooks to manage state, handle side effects, and reuse logic effectively in functional components.
Module 4: Routing - Navigating Your Application
- Theoretical Concepts:
- React Router (v6+): Setting up client-side routing in your React application.
BrowserRouter, Routes, Route, Link, NavLink: Core components for defining and navigating routes.
- Nested Routes: Creating hierarchical routing structures.
- Dynamic Routing: Defining routes with parameters (e.g.,
/users/:id).
- Route Protection: Implementing authentication checks to restrict access to certain routes.
- Practical Aspects & Hands-on Challenges:
- Installing and configuring React Router.
- Defining different routes and linking between them.
- Implementing nested layouts and routes.
- Fetching data based on dynamic route parameters.
- Creating a simple protected route that requires authentication.
- Checkpoint 4: You should be able to implement navigation within your React applications using React Router, including handling dynamic routes and basic route protection.
Module 5: Forms & Validation - Handling User Input