React Developer Hacking Tips

How to use React Developer Tools

Critical tools aid in using React features, available on browsers such as Chrome and Firefox. The tools on Chrome and Firefox help to scrutinize React applications to reveal tree components of React such as checking the state, props, and hooks.

Installation of React developer tools on the browsers:

• Add to Chrome React developer tool -(https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/react-developer-tools/fmkadmapgofadopljbjfkapdkoienihi)

• Extension for Firefox React developer tool (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/react-devtools/)

The diagram below shows how to initiate installation:

Once the developer tool is installed, click on the right of the Chrome browser, then click “Inspect” where the Profiler and Components section is listed. They are shown as follows:

The profiler helps to record the application interaction by having two components that create an interaction. The components help to show the current React tree component with state, context and props.

Selecting the tree component of React shows a reference to props passed and the parent components, which are displayed by clicking the component names. Clicking on the eye icon on the developer tools helps to inspect the DOM element. Hover around the UI of the browser to see the React component being rendered. Also, use the bug icon for the component data logging in the console.

Identifying components and context to debug the application

Open the App.js file in the React application in which the user can insert a class of wrapper with a div and create an <label> element around an <textarea> element.

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#Open the App.js file
nano src / components / App / App.css

The App.js is indicated below:

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import React from‘ react’;
import‘. / App.css’

function App() {
  return (
      <div className=”wrapper”>
     <label htmlFor=”text”>
       Add Your Text Here:
       <br>
       <textarea 
         id=”text”
         name=”text”
         rows=”10”
         cols=”100”
       >
       </textarea>
      </label>
     </div>
  )
}

export default App;

Adding the textarea provides the input area in which the context inside is a generic name. After adding the content, the React Developer Tools show the prop and context.

After rendering the components they can be traced using the React Developer Tools profiler to track the rendered component and re-rendering of the application, in which the user is able to do the following:

• Optimize metrics

• Identify inefficient components

• Reduce render time and increase application speed.

• Any re-rendered components are highlighted when the changes are made, and all data is stored on a hook at the administrator level. Also, the function in the App.js helps to re-render the context change or props.

The Developer Tools browser extension helps to traverse the application components by exploring the bugs using the real-data, component states without console debuggers. Similarly, the profiler helps to inspect the components’ reactions to each other.

What does a React developer do?

The React developer is able to design and create JavaScript applications, both web and mobile, with focus on front-end development. React.js serves as a toolkit for developers which helps to rewrite code and configure data. React developers are tasked with the following responsibilities to state the front-end development :

• Development of front-end characteristics - React developers have the ability to put together UI elements such as images, icons, long-pressing, drag, and drop features.
  React developers write code by translating wireframes into code. Most of the code interacts with writing HTML tags and CSS selectors.

• Utilize application functions - Both in browsers and devices, the React application runs efficiently with cross-platform scalability.

• React developers are involved in software testing to test the interface developed stages.

• React developers work with clients and end-users to understand the UI features via the software development.

• React developers interact and consult with back-end engineers to partner in user-facing and server interactions without an error.

How to become a React developer

• React is a library for front-end development. React is JavaScript based, used to develop both the front-end and back-end of the application. Therefore the React application works closely with back-end development for server development.

• Despite developing the front-end UI, the server-side frameworks use Node.js, Python, and Django.

• Gain necessary skills such as programming, styling, and markup languages such as HTML and CSS.

• Code repositories such as GitHub and Bitbucket are used by developers to manage and track code history by mastering the Git control system version.

• Get a resume inclusive of the right skills and a great portfolio.

The pros of ReactJs

• ReactJS helps to develop dynamic web applications using HTML and CSS.

• ReactJS aids in effective performance using the virtual DOM, in which the DOM helps the API, such as after HTML, XHTML and XML.

• Numerous components are used to create web applications while using ReactJS.

• ReactJS is SEO friendly compared to other JavaScript frameworks.

• ReactJS operates on both server and virtual DOM and is used to render and return a response on the web page.

• Familiarity with JavaScript helps developers to work easily with ReactJS.

Why React developers love Node

The ease of Node.js, efficient performance, and quick development is suitable for interacting with React.js. There are more reasons why Node is used, such as:

• Node is light-weight and has easy to install packages using the NPM package manager using the NPM registry. While using NPM, CLI developers easily install the packages.

• Developers (both back-end, front-end, and testers) use the same language for development.

• Due to easy access to packages, Node.js developers easily perform tasks and thus are very productive.

• The developers with JavaScript skills easily navigate through development of applications that are easy and fast to prototype.

• It is quick to develop familiarity with React and tools are readily available compared to other languages.

• The same functional programming language is used in client and server side which makes it effective and conducive to use other languages such as Typescript.

• Node.js is easy to write and can be read by humans.

• Node.js is used to develop back-end/servers, WebApps and APIs.

• Node.js is highly scalable compared to other servers.

• Quick compilation with Node modules, Webpack with Node interacting together with React application.

• Node.js has a high server load for web applications with requests and load balance.

• Node.js promotes code reusability by developing JSON APIs for web applications.

Besides React.js working closely with Node.js, it is used in the following areas: Authentication, write middlewares, Internet of Things, script and automation, create workers, support writing back-end and mobile apps, create CLI and tools in remote system monitoring.

NB: There are fault measures that come along with Node.js such as problems in performance monitoring, deployment, downtimes, and ways to improve performance.

How to use React Native for web development

React Native can be used for web development that can run in iOS, Android, and web using web standard technologies. With the foundation of React, React Native is built to handle web development with custom UI APIs such as view and text. React Native bridges the gap using API platforms to build web applications. For instance, <view> helps to render UI views which are compatible with web browsers.

NB: Not all React Native components can help develop web applications because most components are mobile-oriented for use with mobile APIs. Unlike React, React Native uses CSS in JavaScript for styles in development. The React Native has a directory library that stores all the packages (https://reactnative.directory/?web=true). The web support packages help in web support and in the integrations for both mobile and web.

There are few ways in which React Native can be used for web application development, such as :

• Create React App

• Expo

Expo

Expo is a universal framework for the development and support of iOS, Android, and web applications using the Expo for web (https://docs.expo.dev/workflow/web/). Expo for web helps to build well optimized web applications and provide universal SDK for both mobile and web applications. The first step is to install and add using the Expo CLI as follows:

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//Inside the terminal
npx expo install react - dom react - native - web @expo / webpack - config

//install to start the dev server
yarn add expo

Developers can initialize the project by the following:

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//with npm initialize the project
npx expo - cli init(app - name)
cd(app - name)

//install react-native-web and react-dom
npm install react - dom react - native - web

Developer can also start the dev server as indicated below:

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//Start the webpack dev server
npx expo start– web

//The app host will start the secure login: https://localhost:19006

Create React App

To bootstrap the web React application, the creation of a React App using the standard way. It comes with in-built support such as react-native and react-native-web in which React Native for the web application is bootstrapped with Create React App (CRA) as indicated below:

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//application initialization
npx create - react - app(app - name)

cd(app - name)

//install react-native-web and react-dom
npm install react - native - web

//start the server
npm start

CRA helps in optimizing the webpack configuration and package liaising for customizing and enhancing React Native with webpack and babel. CRA helps to support React Native for web application development. The webpack configurations are added in the webpack.config.js file. The webpack uses JSX code and ES2015 to load babel but can also be installed as indicated below:

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//install the dependencies
npm i webpack babel - loader babel - present - react babel - present - es2015
npm i webpack - dev - server– save - dev

Also the resolver for the babel can be found here: https://www.npmjs.com/package/babel-plugin-module-resolver.

Benefits of React Native for web development

React Native helps in the following ways:

• It is time saving and cost effective

• Fast application development for both web browsers and mobile applications all in one codebase.

• Supports accessibility using HTML and APIs

• Use of RTL layouts reliable styles to help read and write.

• With the existence of React DOM incremental adoption is enabled.

• Build global applications.

• Supports third-party application development.

• React Native develops applications for both iOS and Android with a single codebase.

How to be a good React developer

To be a good and competent React developer you should have the skills listed below:

• Have skills in HTML and CSS - The developer should be able to write semantic HTML tags and write CSS selectors, CSS reset, work with flexbox and media queries for well responsive web principles.

• The developer should have skills in JSX and be able to interact with HTML, which acts as the top layer in React.createElement() API to build the entire application.

• Understand JavaScript and ES6 with important skills such as arrays, objects, scoping, array methods, functions, event handling and DOM manipulation, using “this” keyword, callback functions, and understand the “class” keyword.

• The React developer should be able to use Git to track changes with add, commit, push and pull, merge conflicts, and branch strategies.

• A React developer should have skills in Node, npm, and Yarn, which is a package manager in npm

• The developer should have Redux skills which helps to handle asynchronous states and updates for scalable applications.

• The developer should be able to use prop-types.

• The React developer should build applications and keep them in a portfolio to re-learn about more features and projects.