Everything I Did To Learn React

In this tutorial, Nazar explains the fundamentals of React, a component-based JavaScript framework that simplifies coding by allowing developers to build applications as a series of independent pieces. He demonstrates how to set up a React app using npx and npm, and emphasizes the importance of understanding the basics before diving into more complex topics. To master React, Nazar shares his personal learning path which included taking the Full Stack Open course, following YouTube tutorials to build projects, and adapting them with custom features. He stresses the value of consistent daily practice and a mindset geared towards continuous improvement, asserting that dedication to learning and applying new concepts can make anyone a proficient React developer.

• React is a JavaScript framework designed to simplify the process of writing JavaScript code.
• It is widely used and favored by developers for its ease of use and component-based structure.
• React's component-based architecture allows for separation of concerns, making each part of an application independent.

"In essence, React is a JavaScript framework... and a framework just makes writing a language easier."

• This quote explains that React is a tool that simplifies JavaScript coding.

"What's special about React is that it is component-based."

• This quote highlights the core feature of React: its component-based nature, which differentiates it from traditional JavaScript coding.

• In traditional JavaScript applications, interactions can affect the entire application due to the linked nature of the DOM.
• React, however, treats each part of the application as an independent piece, similar to puzzle pieces.
• This independence reduces the impact of interactions within one component on the rest of the application.

"In a regular JavaScript application everything here will be linked to each other... the entire app will be impacted by me pressing this button because in JavaScript everything is linked together in the DOM."

• The quote describes the interconnected nature of traditional JavaScript apps and how actions can affect the entire DOM.

"Each aspect of this application is its own piece... this record button over here is different to the the snav bar."

• This quote illustrates the concept of components in React, where different elements like buttons and navigation bars are separate entities.

• The speaker provides an example of navigating to a "road map" page in a React application.
• In traditional JavaScript, the entire application would refresh upon navigation.
• With React, only the specific component that needs to change (e.g., the road map page) will refresh, while the rest of the application (e.g., the navigation bar) remains unaffected.

"In a regular Javascript app everything in the entire app will refresh... however in react because it's one part of the application... only the road map page will refresh and show and the nav bar will stay the same."

• This quote demonstrates the advantage of React's component-based structure in minimizing unnecessary refreshes and maintaining the state of other components.

• React applications can be easily set up using the command line with a package manager.
• The speaker uses Visual Studio Code (VS Code) as the development environment.
• The process involves creating a new React application using the npx create-react-app command and naming the application.

"To run react all we need to do is go into our vs code folder... and run npx create-react-app and we can actually just call this let's say YouTube."

• This quote provides a step-by-step instruction on initiating a new React project using the command line in VS Code, emphasizing the simplicity of starting a React application.

• Installation of necessary packages to run a React application has been completed.
• To initiate the React app, one must navigate to the project directory and execute npm start.
• The command launches the React application, displaying the default boilerplate code.

"So everything has been installed and to go into this we just need to do CD YouTube and Run npm start this basically starts the react application and we can see here the boilerplate code for our react app."

This quote explains the process of starting a React application after installation by changing the directory to the project folder and running npm start, which reveals the boilerplate code of the app.

• The app.js file can be edited to change what is displayed on the page.

"And if we go to say app.js we can see edit and then SRC app as you can see here on the page so we can just write whatever here let's say it's YouTube as you can see here YouTube."

The quote highlights that by editing the app.js file, one can modify the content displayed on the webpage, using the example of changing text to "YouTube".

• Simplification can be done by deleting unnecessary code and starting with a simple output like "hello."

"Let's actually delete everything so we can kind of simplify stuff just write. hello."

This quote suggests that to simplify the React application for educational purposes, one can strip away the existing code and start with something basic, such as outputting the word "hello".

• The concept of running code to display it on a page rather than just having a folder might be confusing for beginners.

"So this may be a little bit confusing to you because you know we just ran something to display code rather than just having a folder so that's maybe a bit confusing to you."

The quote acknowledges that for those new to React, the idea of running code to display it, as opposed to simply having static files in a folder, may be initially perplexing.

• React allows for the creation of components, such as a navigation bar, which can be reused across the application.

"Right let's say we wanted to create a nav bar in a regular like let's say HTML or JavaScript page we would just write something like nav and have a nav bar here."

The quote discusses how one would typically create a navigation bar in plain HTML or JavaScript, setting the stage for a comparison with React's approach.

• In React, components are created as functions in separate files and imported into the main application file.

"But there's no point to that cuz we're using react so instead what we can do is that we can make a new file called navbar doj make the function which is from JavaScript so function navbar and then open that up return div Navar."

This quote introduces the React methodology of creating a new file for a component, defining it as a JavaScript function, and returning the desired HTML within that function.

• Components must be properly exported from their file and imported into the application file where they are used.

"Oh oopsie we have to. we have to actually export the nav bar so actually my fault there so if we do this again we imported navbar."

The quote illustrates the common mistake of forgetting to export a component, which is necessary for it to be used in other parts of the application.

• React's component structure allows for a single source of truth for each part of the application, facilitating easier updates and management.

"Not everything will be in one page that's the main idea for bigger applications we want different aspects and let's say we want a Navar in every page we can just create a Navar boilerplate code where we can just have our Navar and display it throughout our whole application rather than redoing it in each page."

This quote explains the advantage of React's component-based architecture, where a component like a navigation bar is created once and can be included on multiple pages, avoiding repetition and easing maintenance.

• Updating a component in React is straightforward as it involves making changes in a single location rather than across multiple files.

"And on top of that it just makes everything easier to manage so let's say we want to update the Navar we don't have to scroll through hundreds of lines of code we can just go over here and update the nav bar really easily."

The quote emphasizes the ease of managing and updating components in React, as changes need to be made in only one place, saving time and reducing complexity.

• The speaker begins to share personal experiences and methods used to learn and master React.

"Okay Nazar um now that we know what react is and you probably know what react is and we've covered the basics how do we learn react there are three things that I did to learn and master react."

The quote transitions the discussion from explaining basic React concepts to outlining strategies for learning and mastering the framework, although the specific strategies are not included in the provided transcript excerpt.

• Full Stack Open is an open-source React platform for learning React.
• It provides comprehensive coverage of React theory and practical application.
• The curriculum includes fundamentals of web apps, introduction to React, and testing React applications.
• The platform is highly recommended for its effectiveness in teaching React.

"The first thing I did was I headed over to Full Stack Open, which is an open-source React platform which just teaches you React. It will cover absolutely everything you need to learn the theory behind React and also build cool."

• The quote indicates that Full Stack Open is a complete resource for learning both the theoretical and practical aspects of React.

"So in the curriculum, you have the fundamentals of web apps, introduction to React, communicating to servers, just everything, okay, testing React applications."

• This quote lists some of the key components of the Full Stack Open curriculum, emphasizing its comprehensiveness.

"It was one of the best things that I have done in my coding journey."

• The speaker highly values their experience with Full Stack Open, suggesting it was a significant part of their coding education.

• Full Stack Open teaches React components and examples and encourages the application of these in personal projects.
• The learning process involves building mini-projects to reinforce React knowledge.
• The speaker found learning React challenging but manageable with consistent exposure.

"You want to learn, you state, you will literally be shown React components, React examples, and they will tell you to apply this into your own Visual Studio Code application."

• This quote describes how Full Stack Open provides hands-on learning by showing examples and encouraging learners to apply concepts in their own coding environment.

"It was actually very hard for me to grasp the concept, that's what people usually say. But once you get the hang of it, once you just constantly expose yourself to the React language, it becomes a lot easier to do."

• The speaker acknowledges the difficulty of learning React but emphasizes that continual practice leads to improvement.

• Completing the Full Stack Open course provides a basic understanding of React.
• The speaker felt unable to build independent software for commercial purposes after the course.
• To bridge the gap, the speaker turned to YouTube tutorials to further their learning.

"I knew a basic understanding of React, but I couldn't build anything like I didn't know much about doing my own thing."

• After completing Full Stack Open, the speaker had foundational React knowledge but lacked the skills for independent software development.

"I literally just went to YouTube, looked up React tutorial."

• The speaker used YouTube as a resource to find practical React tutorials to enhance their skills.

• The speaker advocates for following tutorials but encourages making modifications to learn more effectively.
• Tutorials are seen as a way to learn quickly and adopt good coding practices.
• The speaker completed three project tutorials, which improved their React skills significantly.

"I'm all for tutorials but changing things within it."

• The speaker believes in the value of tutorials but suggests personalizing them to enhance the learning experience.

"Following tutorials not only allows you to build stuff quickly, but you're learning a lot quicker, you're following good practices with code because generally, you know, they're good practices."

• Tutorials are defended as a valuable learning tool that helps build projects quickly and teaches good coding practices.

"And it's a really good thing to do because you learn how to really apply React into a project."

• The quote highlights the practical benefits of tutorials in applying React knowledge to real-world projects.

• Emphasizes the importance of taking initiative to learn and apply new skills.
• Highlights the effectiveness of watching videos and tutorials to gain knowledge.
• Stresses the value of applying learned concepts independently.

"I was able to watch videos, learn tutorials, and take what I learned and apply them on my own."

• This quote underscores the speaker's approach to learning by utilizing resources such as videos and tutorials and then implementing the knowledge gained through independent projects.

• Discusses the speaker's mindset of daily improvement in learning React, a JavaScript library.
• Mentions the effort to learn new concepts, code more, and try out new frameworks.
• Suggests that consistent practice and a willingness to struggle lead to mastery in coding.

"Every single day, find ways to improve on it; that could be learning some new concept, it could just mean coding in React or trying out a new framework from React, or just doing something so that I could get better at it."

• The quote highlights the speaker's commitment to daily improvement and experimentation, which is a key aspect of their learning process.

• Acknowledges that progress in coding comes with time and effort, regardless of one's starting point.
• Encourages persistence and daily work towards one's goals.
• Reinforces the idea that continuous effort will lead to improvement and the ability to create desired projects.

"Eventually, no matter how bad you are, how dumb you are, if you just sit at your computer, work on something every day, eventually things will come together; you'll get better at it."

• This quote conveys a message of hope and perseverance, suggesting that consistent practice will inevitably lead to improvement in coding skills.

• Describes React as a tool that simplifies writing JavaScript through its component-based architecture.
• Reflects on the learning process, including running a basic React tutorial and understanding its benefits for app development.
• Mentions building various functionalities using React, such as search features, user authentication, and sign-out.

"React is just a way to write JavaScript more easily; it's component-based, so we have different aspects of an application; it just makes things easier to write."

• This quote explains the utility of React, highlighting its component-based architecture that simplifies the development process for different parts of an application.

• Outlines the speaker's journey of learning React, including completing a full-stack course and multiple high-quality tutorials over several months.
• Emphasizes the importance of maintaining a growth mindset even after formal learning from tutorials.
• Advises on the importance of setting goals and working towards them consistently to see tangible improvements.

"I learned React by doing a full-stack course, which took me about a month, three tutorials which took me I would say about two or three months, like really good ones, and applied them."

• The speaker shares their structured approach to learning React, which involved a combination of a full-stack course and thorough tutorials, followed by practical application.

• Summarizes the key strategies for becoming a proficient React developer: self-learning, continuous improvement, and persistence.
• Provides encouragement that following these strategies will lead to success in React development.
• Ends with a call to action for viewers to like the video and a sign-off with well-wishes for coding endeavors.

"If you follow these things, I promise you, you will be a React developer in no time; it's impossible to lose if you do these three things."

• This quote is a motivational conclusion that assures the audience of success in React development by adhering to the speaker's outlined learning strategies.