React Fundamentals

Chapter 15: React Best Practices

15.1 Component Organization

Well-organized components are easier to maintain and scale.

Folder Structure:

src/
├── components/
│   ├── common/        // Reusable components
│   ├── layout/       // Layout components
│   └── features/     // Feature-specific components
├── pages/            // Page components
├── hooks/            // Custom hooks
├── utils/            // Utility functions
├── context/          // Context providers
└── App.js

Component Naming:

• Use PascalCase for components
• Use descriptive names
• Match file name to component name

Component Size:

• Keep components small and focused
• Extract complex logic to custom hooks
• Break large components into smaller ones

15.2 Performance Tips

Optimize React applications for better performance.

Use Keys Properly:

• Provide unique, stable keys
• Don't use index if items can reorder
• Keys help React identify changes

Avoid Unnecessary Re-renders:

// Use React.memo for expensive components
const ExpensiveComponent = React.memo(({ data }) => {
    // Component code
});

// Use useMemo for expensive calculations
const expensiveValue = useMemo(() => {
    return computeExpensiveValue(data);
}, [data]);

// Use useCallback for function references
const handleClick = useCallback(() => {
    // Handler code
}, [dependencies]);

Code Splitting:

// Lazy load components
const LazyComponent = React.lazy(() => import('./LazyComponent'));

function App() {
    return (
        <Suspense fallback={<div>Loading...</div>}>
            <LazyComponent />
        </Suspense>
    );
}

15.3 Code Quality

Maintain high code quality in React applications.

• Use ESLint and Prettier
• Follow consistent code style
• Write meaningful component names
• Add comments for complex logic
• Extract magic numbers to constants

15.4 Testing

Test React components to ensure quality.

• Write unit tests for components
• Test user interactions
• Test edge cases
• Use React Testing Library
• Maintain good test coverage

Conclusion

React is a powerful library for building user interfaces. Master these fundamentals to create interactive web applications.