React, feeling overwhelmed yet?

Several months ago, it was sprung on me that my next work project was going to be developed with the React library and it scared the crap out of me. So if you’re out there looking on where to get started with React, don’t worry I’ve got you covered.

What is React?

React is a JavaScript library used for building user interfaces, it was developed by Facebook back in 2013. Since then it has gained a lot of traction within the developer community mainly because it allows you to build applications that have data which will be changing over time in an easy way.

Essentially, it refreshes your application every time something has been modified, but it’s smart and it only refreshes the parts that need to be changed.

Where to get started?

So you don’t waste any time looking for good courses like I already did, here are some of the ones that helped me get started:

• React Training Online. This is such a good course because you can code along with the instructor, who provides videos for better comprehension. The thing I liked the most was that the instructor invites you to a slack channel where there’s a community full of developers that are willing to help you get started.
• Intro To React. This is a tutorial made by the developers at Facebook, so rest assured that it is awesome and complete. In this tutorial you’ll learn about developing with React while you make an interactive tic-tac-toe game.

Still a little bit lost?

The guys over at Facebook have created an easy option to get your project started. With Create React App you can bootstrap a minimal application with no build configuration.

I found that this was the easiest and most friendly way to help you get started with a project. It was easy to add the dependencies I needed for the application I developed.

Looking for inspiration?

React.rocks is an amazing site where you can find examples of all the things you can do with React. For example, here’s an awesome Tetris game made with ReactJS. Go ahead and spend a few minutes playing.

You can find anyhting from example applications to useful dependencies to implement in your applications — gotta love the Open Source community.

The End.

These are some of the basics to get you up and running with React. I hope you find this article useful, and in spite of the title, you should give it a chance. It’s a very powerful tool that can help you develop the next great application.