And by newbies, I mean those with minimal to no experience coding in JavaScript.
React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces.
Prerequisite: JavaScript
As React is built on top of JavaScript(JS), it's crucial to understand the basics of it before learning React.
Also good to have is a decent knowledge about HTML and CSS.
How much JS to Know?
JS has many versions and the one that's most relevant to us is JS ES5 and beyond.
Here's a nice write-up on the important JS concepts to take note of before learning React by LogRocket:
JavaScript concepts to master before learning React
Do cross-reference the article against the following two repos on GitHub:
If you prefer watching video tutorials, I highly encourage you to check out The Net Ninja's Modern JavaScript (from Novice to Ninja) on Udemy.
I first found him on YouTube while trying to make sense of OAuth and I've been a fan since. The Net Ninja has a way of making even the hardest of concepts sound simple.
Not sure about the purchase? Check out the preview of his course on Youtube first.
Once you’re comfortable with the concepts, you can begin learning React (yeay!)
Learn React By Watching Videos
Colt Steele's Modern React Bootcamp was the one where all things React finally started to make sense to me.
I have a few other React courses in my Udemy account but I had a tough time wrapping my head around the concept of JSX, props, state etc until I found Colt's course!
Colt's The Web Developer Bootcamp is my favourite course ever so I didn't think twice before purchasing his React course when it was launched. Needless to say I was superbly pleased and grateful. :)
If you're pressed for time, you don't have to complete the whole course. My recommendation is to work on the following sections:
- Section 1 - 15
- Section 17-23
- Section 32 - 33
Learn React By Reading
Alternatively, if you prefer reading over watching videos, do checkout this awesome FREE course by the University of Helsinki called Deep Dive Into Modern Web Development.
The following sections will be most relevant for our purpose:
- Part 0 to 2
- Part 7
Do take note that this course is more fast-paced than Colt's course. I had good understanding of React concepts before I started on this course.
What I liked best of this course is that it quickly brought me up to speed of React's new feature (at that time) called Hooks.
This course is also available in Chinese and Finnish/
Recording your Learning Journey
As you learn, it'll be a good idea to push the code you write to GitHub. This will get you familiarized with using git and also serve as a record on what you’re working on.
Unfamiliar with git? Start here: git - the simple guide
Questions?
If you’re stuck while learning, don't forget to look for answers on the courses’ forums.
Another good place to look for answers is the website stackoverflow.
If you do post a question on forums, I suggest that you do include the following information so that readers are more inclined to respond to your query:
- What your issue is
- What you have done to troubleshoot the issue
- What you don’t understand or what you need assistance with
That’s all for now. Have fun learning!
Top comments (3)
Step 1: Dont.
Step 2: Learn Svelte first! - svelte.dev/tutorial - It will take like a day to get started with this tutorial.
Not gatekeeping here. But React is huge ecosystem and has a steep learnkng curve. Svelte is like writing HTML, CSS, JS on the web.
Then one can think about hooks and what not on React.
😅
Sometimes it's a job requirement to learn React isn't it?
But yeah no kidding, it was overwhelming when I first started.
True. React is overwhelming. Redux also adds to that difficulty.