Redux is kicking my butt

I’m in the process of integrating Redux into Shopsifter. I’ve had a rough go of it so far. And I’m not really sure why. I’ve read the docs more times than I care to count. I’ve watched the videos. Those were extremely helpful in getting me on the right track and even helped me understand some plain JavaScript concepts a little better too. I’ve dug through almost every example in the GitHub repo to see how things are done and how I can apply those concepts in my own application. I still can’t figure out why I’m having such a hard time.

Hello? Is there anybody out there?

Maybe I’m having a hard time because I don’t have anyone readily available to bounce ideas off of? I’m doing this Shopsifter thing on my own so far. Looking at code examples can only get me so far. Sure there’s places like Stack Overflow and I’ve even found Twitter to be a helpful resource. There’s something to be said for having a back and forth conversation with someone to really get a good understanding of a concept.

The magical “connect” function

The connect function that ties everything together seems to still be a mystery to me. I know I should really go back and watch the videos where Dan deconstructs it for you but I still wish it was just cemented in my brain how and why it works.

Functional programming

Am I having a hard time because I haven’t done much functional programming? In theory, functional programming doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch to understand. In practice it doesn’t seem as straightforward. I know Redux is inspired in part by Elm. Should I try that out? Maybe more practice with functional programming would cement more concepts in my brain.

When I picked up React, it didn’t take me very long to get into a groove and really understand what was going on. I don’t feel the same with Redux. I know it’s beneficial and I know I want to use it, I’ve just found it difficult to wrap my brain around it.

Hopefully at some point in the near future everything about Redux just “clicks” and it will become second nature to use it. In the meantime I’ll keep plugging away at it and launch a new version of Shopsifter soon. Any other advice out in Redux land would be most helpful and I would be so grateful.

Happy Sifting! (with hopefully a new and improved version soon!)