Top Tools for Becoming a Great React Developer

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Primarily called React, React JS is a tool of JavaScript that is heavily used by developers in the technology industry. There are many similar frameworks to React, but it still sits at the forefront of those being utilized the most. Needless to say, becoming a React developer—and a good one at that—is very beneficial.

Here are some tips and tools for learning React:

  1. Learn how to use JS, CSS, and HTML.
  2. Develop solid skills with HTTP, GIT, and working on data.
  3. Understand the basics of React.
  4. Know about specific, necessary tools to use.
  5. Learn to style code, particularly in CSS.
  6. Work with type checkers and form helpers.

Testing Code

Though not viewed as necessarily an important skill, all developers should be able to test their code for any kind of errors. There are three main types of testing: unit, end-to-end, and integration.

Server-Side Rendering

Essentially, with server-side rendering, HTML code is downloaded before being rendered with JavaScript and the text is inserted. The software most used in this area is Next.js, but Rogue and After.js are also helpful.

Mobile Development

By learning React, developers will be able to use React Native, which is becoming more desired when developing mobile apps utilizing JavaScript. Cordova or PhoneGap is also recommended alongside React Native for this.

VR/3-D

Virtual Reality (VR) development through React 360 to make 3-D and immersive user experiences has become increasingly popular for developers. It’s an advantage for a React developer to be able to use React 360 for this purpose.

Popular Tools

  • Task Runners: Rollup, Parcel, gulp, Webpack
  • Package Managers: yarn, npm
  • CSS
    • Preprocessors: Stylus, PostCSS, Less
    • Frameworks: Bootstrap, Bulma
  • Type Checkers: TypeScript, Flow, PropTypes
  • Form Helpers: Formsy, Redux Form, Formik
  • Testing Code
    • Unit: Enzyme, Jest, Tape
    • End-to-End: Cypress, Nightwatch.js, Puppeteer
    • Integration: Karma
  • Utility Libraries: Numeral, Ramda, Lodash
  • Desktop Development: Electron, React Native Windows, Proton Native
  • HTTP Requests: Options, Post, Get, Delete, Fix

Beginner React Developers

While not all of these tools are required for React developers to learn, good developers will at least have a basic understanding of most of them. They will keep up with what tools used by React developers are incorporated more often and ensure they know how to use them properly. Beginner React developers, however, should start with the basics of React then polish those skills. Then, learning what tools are at the top of the popularity list would be their next step. Once all of those skills are decent, if not good, perfecting them while still maintaining current knowledge of what’s going on in the tech industry will put them on the path to becoming excellent React developers.

Final Thoughts

Developers just branching out into the React community can quickly become top React developers if they have knowledge and experience of similar tools. React itself doesn’t have that much of a learning curve, which makes it a great development tool and is the reason why it’s as popular as it is.