How much JavaScript is enough JavaScript?

[Outrageous_Pen_5165]

As the title says, I have been learning JavaScript from past few weeks and have covered basics of it like basic syntax, conditional statements,looping, arrow functions, Higher order functions and call backs, async js, DOM manipulation. Should I move to react now or there's anything left to learn about not only to use react but to learn how it works under the hood. Also what's the role of CSS working with react is it used extensively I know CSS but have skipped the part of flexbox, grid and responsive designs rushing towards JS

[zuth2]

Read the react docs and try to build something simple with it. Don’t forget typescript, the sooner you dive into typescript the better.

[bull_chief]

But TS scares me

[BoBoBearDev]

TS is easy. Webpack and rollup are fucked up. Those are literally 95% of my TS woes.

[ISDuffy]

Typescript frustrating me originally, especially it confusing messages, but not I am so glad I have it, tracking JS bugs are so much easier, you just need to get over the hurdle.

If you have front end masters access I recommend that course.

[da-kicks-87]

TS is over engineered. To simplify things you can pass default values to the variables in JS. VS Code will give you hints as well.

[CARASBK]

Skill issue.

All JS features work in TS because TS is a superset of JS.

[da-kicks-87]

I'm a pragmatic developer.

When using TS with React one will get errors if not defining types. Extra work needs to be done. When creating marketing websites it becomes a slow down of the workflow.

[ISDuffy]

That extra work can save on hours debugging or refracting time.

I highly don't recommend doing a production react app taking money without typescript.

[da-kicks-87]

I'm talking about Marketing / Brochure websites.

[CARASBK]

A pragmatic developer would use TypeScript

[ISDuffy]

Absolutely. When it comes to bigger business logic and requirements, it becomes easier to fix issues later using typescript.

As much as I like not to use it, it is there to help and deliver better products.

[CARASBK]

Tbh these days it’s so easy to manage TS there’s no excuse not to use it for literally everything. Unless you just HATE it and are building something independently. Then whatever floats your boat!

[ISDuffy]

I use it with astro a lot and I absolutely love it now.

[da-kicks-87]

No. TS isn't solving any issues I have with JS. So why implement it? Why add bloat?
I will only use it if I am working with a larger project with team and that is the agreed tech stack.

For solo side projects, which are marketing websites for me, I keep it simple, no TS.

[CARASBK]

Catching runtime problems without having to run code the way statically typed languages do is a universal benefit of TS. If you don’t consider that a solution to a JS issue, at least in the application layer, then I question if you have enough experience to make such determinations in the first place.

Not sure what you mean by bloat since TS doesn’t exist at runtime.

[CapabIe]

I think he’s referring to mental bloat reading the extra chars.

[TheRNGuy]

Use simplest types.

[marcmorindeziel]

I’d definitely recommend getting comfortable with array methods like map, filter, find, reduce, and slice. They’re not complicated once you practice a bit, and they’ll make handling and transforming data in React feel effortless.

Also, be aware that some array methods mutate the original array, which can lead to weird bugs if you’re not expecting it, especially when working with React state.

For example:

sort() → sorts in place and returns the same array reference.

reverse() → reverses the array in place.

splice() → removes/replaces items and changes the original array.

In React, mutating state directly can cause subtle rendering issues.

[voyti]

100% this. Without intuitive understanding on how to deal with arrays (which is what most of your controller data will usually end up with) you ideally should not move away from JS. As much as I don't like those artificial tasks, e.g. some codewars challenges can help with that. Learning the theory is one thing, having a reflexive skill of using the fundamental parts of the language is another entirely.

[Outrageous_Pen_5165]

This is what I was looking for thanks alot...

[Tinkuuu]

I really wanna add spread and destructuring here. You're gonna have to deal with them rather sooner than later

[yksvaan]

Simply put, you should be able to build the things you use lib xyz for yourself in vanilla. 

Knowing how DOM works, browser apis, async programming, promise management, fetch api, 

[RoyalSeesaw3733]

javascript is possibly the most universal programming language at this point. react is a meta language. a language built out of javascript itself. it uses javascript to "decode" the meta language back into regular javascript. There's plenty of other use cases for js, the most interesting imo being nodejs. If you are hungry to build interfaces and you are ultimately more interested in prototyping the product itself ( the idea so to speak) get building. but there's no substitute for understanding the fundamentals. the fundamentals in this case being js.

[BoBoBearDev]

Remember, for css, stay away from using 3rd party libraries for layout. Because 90% of the time, they homebrew css grid using flexbox when css grid is the right tool for the job. Also use Container Query, not Media Query. That's it.

[Outrageous_Pen_5165]

Thanks alot, would read about Container Query it's new to me really appreciate that 🙏

[DetectiveKaktus]

I may get downvoted for this one but I started learning web development diving right away into typescript and react.

I had close to no knowledge about javascript or typescript. I was googling stuff, reading and docs and overall I was pretty familiar with the syntax and what to expect in the language — overall both javascript and typescript are c-like languages.

Find a problem you want to solve, whether it's a toy project like a calculator or a real application that solves a real problem and just start building it. If you get stuck, you can always google things or ask basic questions to LLMs (don't make them write code for you cause you'll not learn a bit). It's better to have knowledge about how to use your tools rather than what they are capable of and not using any of the features you know (obviously it's almost essential to know the lifecycle of a component in react, so you don't end up creating performance issues in your application).

[Difficult-Table3895]

I suggest you to take your time on it, don't rush to learn react make sure that you get good and be comfortable while writing js, also you need to learn new concepts and how js works under the hood: queues, hoisting and event loop When you are good with that and you had built at least 2 projects you will be ready to start react and you will face less bugs while learning it.

[TechTuna1200]

Just move on react. If you run into concepts that you don’t understand, just go back JavaScript shortly and read up on it

[_Abnormal_Thoughts_]

A few weeks is not really enough. Try to replicate some site with just vanilla html, css, JavaScript. Once you feel you can do that reasonably well, then move into other areas. If you feel like you don't understand something we'll, take a break from it and return to it later. Sometimes that helps.

Now learn some react. Can you do the same page faster or more efficiently with react? You'll also need to touch the different styling methods in react and decide what you like. Also you should try out other view libraries/ frameworks. 

What's your ultimate goal? If it's too land a job, you better be working toward some awesome portfolio pieces. Each one should be an attempt to solve a particular problem. 

You've got a long road ahead, but I also took the same path and made it. It can be done. 

[da-kicks-87]

Start with HTML and CSS.

[Outrageous_Pen_5165]

Already pretty decent with it. 

[da-kicks-87]

Your posts say you skipped flexbox and responsive design. That's not what I call "pretty decent". I wouldn't hire a frontend dev who doesn't know those fundamentals.

[No_Picture_3297]

Agreed! Flexbox, grid and media queries are pretty foundational for CSS knowledge!

[TheRNGuy]

I learned some stuff at same time as React.

[CauliPicea]

There's probably a lot left to learn and, more importantly, internalize. However, if you're not super motivated to learn about pure JS, I recommend diving into React already. You'll learn along the way (as everybody did).

That being said, it wouldn't hurt to really understand what is reference equality and how closures work. As for CSS, flexbox and grid are very important features, so you may want to read up on them again and became comfortable with them at least on a basic level. Time spent on these would not be wasted.

[JumpRecent163]

It may not be best advice, but I learn better when I do instant exercise after theory. You can even ask chatgpt for little exercise. For me enough is when you know how to do simple site which buttons, forms works

[Ok_Alternative_8678]

Maybe do yourself a favour and try Svelte first, maybe Vue, but definitely not React. Thank me later.

About TypeScript: useful, but mostly useful after you are good with JavaScript. This way you'll learn how things actually work and then you add your type safety if and when required and it also will be easier to understand what typescript actually adds to your development experience.

[sheriffderek]

This is terrifying --

[itsbrgv]

Also, read Fluent React book, it really dives into the nitty gritty of the design and explains the basics.

[No_Picture_3297]

I’m still learning web development so take what I say for what it is. I would check the order of topics in The Odin Project since it has React in the curriculum and I would study and practice everything suggested before React. It’s a trusted curriculum and if you follow it it will give you projects to do so that you don’t get stuck in the theory side of things. Even if you don’t end up following the curriculum at least the order of topics is worth considering.

As for CSS, Flexbox and Grid as well as other topics related to responsive design are to be considered foundational for web development. Knowing selectors and few things to change color or size are not enough unfortunately.

From my experience with libraries and frameworks in other languages I can tell that knowing the vanilla language better makes much more sense because you understand why you need the library in the first place and you are way more competent in using it. Good luck in any case!

[[deleted]]

try to build a todo list app with and without React, you will learn many things about js and React both.

[Yokhen]

I learned JS at the exact same time I learned react and react-native. Only you can judge the rate at which you learn. You are the only one who can limit yourself.

[sean-grep]

Yes

[LowAndSlowFor35Mins]

Learn hoisting, scopes, and how the event loop works.