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aspiringDev22
aspiringDev22

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Exactly when to shift to React from JavaScript ?

When exactly does one needs to make a transition to react from js?
I am currently learning react but during this process there comes an imposter syndrome for JavaScript.
What should be done ???

Top comments (5)

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brense profile image
Rense Bakker

If you are writing React code you are writing JavaScript. If you are new to web development its recommended to do a code bootcamp... Make sure you understand these things:

  • what is npm?
  • what are (JavaScript) variables and functions?
  • how do i use stack overflow to answer all my additional questions?
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joshistoast profile image
Josh Corbett

Youtube, Stackoverflow and other online dev communities will do more for you than an overpriced coding bootcamp.

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brense profile image
Rense Bakker

That entirely depends on which rabbit hole you first encounter though... Quite a few devs on youtube for example are very opinionated towards one specific framework or library without telling you about other options or telling you what things you might consider when picking a specific library.

Idealy I wished every dev would go to an actual university and get an actual education related to IT. There are definitely some very good self-taught people, but there are many many more self-taught people who write the most horrible code.

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perssondennis profile image
Dennis Persson

Ensure that you know the basics of JavaScript, html and CSS and ES6 functions like map, find, filter and reduce.

Then, when you know that, go for React. People claiming that React is overkill are generally wrong.

Of course, you don't need React to make a small basic website without much content on it. So if you are sure you just will make that, skip React.

But as soon you don't know the scope of the project, you are better off using React. Chances are that the site will grow and you will find it more and more time consuming using vanillaJS.

Moreover, if you want to work at a company, most of them uses technologies like React, Vue etc. It is much more difficult to find a company who hires for pure JavaScript projects.

Lastly, the realm of React does not only offer pure clientside SPA React, it also offers Server Side Rendered (SSR), Static Site Generation (SSG), Progressive Web Applications (PWA). You even got dedicated libraries for doing so, such as Next.js.

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jonrandy profile image
Jon Randy πŸŽ–οΈ

You really shouldn't be learning React before knowing and doing a fair bit in plain JS first. You should understand why things like React are necessary, and have an understanding of when it's appropriate to use it. Sadly, many people don't take the time to do this.