Learning React - A Game Changer

Why React?

After building a few vanilla JavaScript projects, I can see why people use frameworks. Managing state and updating the DOM manually is getting tedious. React seems like it will solve a lot of those problems.

First Impressions

React is different. The component-based approach makes sense, but JSX threw me for a loop at first. Writing HTML in JavaScript felt weird, but I'm getting used to it.

What I've Built

I've been working through the React documentation and building small components. A button component, a card component, a simple form. Nothing complex, but I'm learning the patterns.

State and Props

Understanding state and props was a breakthrough moment. The idea that components can be reusable and receive data through props is powerful. And useState makes managing component state so much easier than vanilla JavaScript.

Challenges

The hardest part is understanding when to create new components and when to keep things together. I'm still figuring out component composition and how to structure my code.

Next Steps

I want to build a more complex React app. Maybe something with multiple components that share state. That's the next challenge.