Bitcamp React.js

React is a fun and interactive front end web framework that is quickly taking over the world! We want to create a 4-week bootcamp about React for students who have some knowledge of JavaScript and are ready to pick up a new technology. Our focus will be on the functional components and React Hooks, as opposed to React class components.

Why Hooks instead of the traditional classes?

With only one state object per component class in React, unrelated fields may be placed together in the state object. This makes the code confusing and hard-to-read. You also need to bind this for every event handler function. This is not intuitive, and it can be difficult for React newbies to understand.

Hooks were created to address the above concerns and several others. They make React much cleaner, easier to read, and easier to write. Although there are currently no plans to remove class support, it is stated in the Hooks FAQ: "In the longer term, we expect Hooks to be the primary way people write React components." Hence, I believe Hooks are the proper way to teach React in 2020.

What will the students work on?

The students will create a Video Player, a To-Do List app, an Expense Calculator, and a Snippet Generator.

The Video Player will be an assignment where students, given starter code, will create a video player that can swap between four videos. It will be a good opportunity for students to understand how a child can pass information to its siblings.

The To-Do List app is a common beginner assignment, as it is simple and shows off many of React's features. It will be constructed in class and will reiterate all of the concepts of JSX and React Hooks that the students have seen up to that point. Then they will complete an Expense Calculator to reinforce these principles.

The Snippet Generator will be constructed in class and will closely resemble the one found here. The code for this project has been restructured to better suit the material covered in the Bitcamp and address some of the flaws of the original design. We believe this is a suitable capstone as it is an app that many developers currently use around the world making it quite practical, and it is a tool which the students may find useful themselves. If you wish to know more about code snippets you may explore the VS Code Documentation.

Week 1

Establish an understanding of JSX and a functional component and its parts.

Objective: These are all required in understanding how to use React and the way React integrates JavaScript and HTML into JSX

• Learn Functional Components
• Understand ReactDOM and render
• Learn JSX

Homework

• Students will be given a few broken components to debug

Week 2

Introduce students to props and the useState Hook.

Objective: These two aspects of React are best learned together and are the most vital in creating a React app. We will also go over basic programming concepts in React such as a child component updating a parent's state or a sibling's props.

• Learn what props are and how they are used to pass information between components
• Briefly talk about Hooks before going into useState and why state makes React so dynamic
• Go over passing information to a parent or sibling component

Homework

• Have students complete the Video Player assignment

Week 3

Provide a more in-depth explanation of Hooks. Introduce and elaborate on useEffect, useContext, and useRef.

Objective: useEffect, useContext, and useRef are all commonly used Hooks that are also required in the To-do List and Snippet Generator. It is important to show useEffect's verbose class equivalent to understand why React Developers are moving toward Hooks. Students should also understand that you can create your own Hooks and use others the community has created.

• Explain useEffect and its class equivalents
• Explain useContext and useRef
• Create a To-Do List

Homework

• Complete an Expense Calculator with given starter code

Week 4

Create a code snippet generator.

Objective: We want to provide students deeper knowledge on how to construct a React app that is larger in scope than what we have done so far. We believe this is necessary so students understand basic concepts on how to structure larger sized React apps. By the end of this week, students should have their own fully functional snippet generator.

• Begin work on the snippet generator in class

Homework

• Complete the snippet generator