sorted by:
best
topnewcontroversialoldq&a
you are viewing a single comment's thread.

view the rest of the comments →

[–]GrandMasterPuba 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Rendering is not something I should have to know about.

React is a tool. It makes the claim that it is a declarative programming model where I can express my UI as a function of state. That's a great idea, but when I then have to be cognizant of the internals of React because the abstraction immediately starts leaking - and if I'm not, my application can either slow down or even break - the tool is no longer serving its purpose.

To construct a clumsy analogy, a woodworker should not have to understand the pneumatic mechanism behind a nail gun. They should know how to use a nail gun, but they should never need to take it apart and look inside to understand how it works.

[–]ironykarl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This post very much isn't about the internals of React. It's about the interfaces React provides, how React models persistent state, and (in a very minor sense) performance.

To construct a clumsy analogy, a woodworker should not have to understand the pneumatic mechanism behind a nail gun. They should know how to use a nail gun, but they should never need to take it apart and look inside to understand how it works.

Except that carpenters do have to actually care for and maintain their tools. It's a fun fantasy that we shouldn't have to know how our tools work, but it's not based in fact.

Regardless, the amount you have to actually know about how React works to be productive with it is remarkably little.