React Hooks and Context API: The Simplest Ways to Level Up Your React Experience

Regardless of whether you’re new to the world of React or have been using it for some time, you might have heard about Hooks and Context API. These are two recent additions to React that can help you level up your React experience. They are fairly simple APIs with a lot of potential. In this post, we will take a look at how these features can make your life easier as a React user as well as what they bring to the table when it comes to performance and maintainability of your code base.

Hooks

Hooks let you use state in your React components without using a class. There are a few types of Hooks available at the time of writing: Hooks are currently available as an experimental feature in React. They are likely to change in the future, so it is important to be careful when using them.

Context API

The Context API is a way to pass data through the component tree without using inheritance. This means you don’t need to pass data through as props from parent to child and then child to grandchild and so on. When to use the Context API? If you have a situation where you want to pass some data from a parent to a child, but you want to avoid making that data available to the rest of the application, the Context API is for you. The Context API is currently available as an experimental feature in React. It is likely that it will change when it becomes part of the core API.

The Basics of Hooks and Context API Together

A common way to use the Hooks API and the Context API together is to initialize a state value in the Context, and then to use that state value in a Hook. Let’s take a look at an example. In this example, we create a state value in the Context, and then we use that state value in a Hook to log out “Hello Context” whenever the state is set to true. Now, when we go to our App.js file, we can use this Context value in a Hook to set our state value to true, and we will see “Hello Context” in our console log.

Hooking up with Hooks and Context API

When you’re first getting into using Hooks and Context API, it can feel like an uphill battle to understand how and when to use these features. The important thing to remember is that these are tools for you to use in a specific situation. The best way to get started is by thinking of a scenario when you’d want to use the Context API. Then, think of a scenario where you’d want to use Hooks. From there, you can start to build your knowledge base. To help you get started, I’ve put together a list of some common scenarios where you might want to use Hooks and Context API.

Looking Ahead

Hooks and Context API are likely to be a big part of React in the future. It’s important to understand their basics and get comfortable with when, where, and how to use them in your code. As you spend time with these tools, you’ll gain a better understanding of their strengths, and you’ll better be able to apply them in a real-world scenario. With this in mind, there’s no better time to get started than now.