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JavaScript Concepts You Should Know Before Learning React

CHACHA IAN's photo
CHACHA IAN
·Mar 7, 2022·

3 min read

JavaScript Concepts You Should Know Before Learning React

React is a library for building user interfaces. It is used to build highly interactive web and mobile user interfaces. Since React is written in The JavaScript language, It is good to learn JavaScript first before learning React.

JavaScript is a very wide language, therefore, do not wait to know every feature of the language if you aim to learn React as soon as possible.

This article will outline the most important JavaScript concepts that one must know before learning React.

1. The difference between let, var, and const keywords

These keywords are used to declare a variable in JavaScript. Each keyword is different in its own right. . Knowing this can help you debug your React source code easily. It also will enable you to easily read and understand code written by other developers.

2. Arrow Functions

Arrow functions were introduced in ES6. They allow us to write anonymous JavaScript functions in one line of code. Try to execute the following script on your local development environment if you want to start experimenting with arrow functions.

let add=(a,b)=>{
    return a+b
}
add(1,2)
//Output >> 3

You will frequently encounter this syntax in JavaScript documentation and most React source codes. Therefore this is a very important arsenal to have under your belt.

3. Template Literals

This is a JavaScript string syntax that allows developers to embed JavaScript expressions in strings. For example.

console.log(`1 + 1=${1+1}`)
//Output >> "1 + 1=2"

4. Destructuring

Destructuring is a succinct technique for accessing elements of arrays and objects. Those who have worked with React are familiar with this syntax. It is a common React practice to destructure React Hooks when you need to use them in your application.

import { useState, useContext } from 'react'

5. JavaScript Classes

If you are familiar with the concept of Object-Oriented programming then the term class is not new to you. Classes are used in React to write components. A component is a small reusable piece of the user interface, for example, a button; each in its own right and can manage its state independently.

Components are a core part of The React Library, therefore you should understand classes if you want to get into serious software development with React.

6. Higher-Order Array Methods

These are the most significant higher-order array methods that you should know before learning React because they are very handy tools for processing data in an array data structure

  • .forEach()
  • .map()
  • .filter()

The .map() method is an interesting array method to know because, in React, .map() is used to generate lists of JSX elements.

7. ES6 Modules

JavaScript modules allow you to break up your code into separate files. This makes it easier to maintain the code-base Modules relying on the import and export statements.

8. The Spread Operator

The JavaScript spread operator (...) allows us to quickly copy all or part of an existing array or object into another array or object. It is usually used when writing stateful function components.