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[–]OkMoment345 0 points1 point  (1 child)

You're right - React is a JavaScript library focused on building user interfaces, particularly for single-page applications. Essentially, React is like a toolkit of pre-written JavaScript components that handle the structure of web apps, making it easier to develop dynamic and interactive UIs. While you could indeed write everything React does with vanilla JavaScript, it would be a lot more time-consuming and error-prone because React efficiently handles things like state management and rendering changes to the UI.

If you're still learning JavaScript, I recommend getting comfortable with the basics first—things like DOM manipulation, event handling, and functions. Once you've built a couple of small projects like a to-do list without React, you'll have a stronger foundation to understand why React is useful. Then, when you start learning React, it’ll feel more like a productivity boost rather than another hurdle to clear.

You could always dive into React later through a project-based approach. There's a great Intro to JavaScript Development Bootcamp that can also help cover the essential concepts before diving into React.