Must Needed Skills for React JS Web Developers

*React is the favored library for JavaScript-based front-end developers today, key to building dynamic and interactive user interfaces. Simply put, you get better at web development when you learn React, and major organizations view React JS skills as essential. React developers should be hungry to level-up or audit the skills for crafting incredibly responsive web apps (notably, essential to Facebook’s prominent JavaScript Library).

1. HTML + CSS

2. JSX

3. JavaScript Fundamentals + ES6

4. Git

5. Node + npm

6. Redux

HTML + CSS

No front-end dev is a stranger to HTML and CSS. The ability to work with and craft user interfaces is necessary to every organization, especially because the user interface often determines the expected value and quality of a site’s content for users. At a high level, React developers should be able to:

Work with and write semantic HTML tags
Work with and write CSS selectors
Implement a CSS reset
Understand the box model and how to reset to border-box
Understand flexbox
Work with and implement responsive web principles including the proper use of media queries

JSX

In React, you’ll work with a syntax extension that is truly one of the most remarkable parts of the React ecosystem: JSX. JSX looks so much like HTML you may think of it as HTML-flavored JavaScript. What’s cool about JSX is that if you know HTML and CSS, you intuitively know how to work with JSX.

React developers who understand working with JSX can create applications using React APIs, which would otherwise be time-consuming - JSX is an abstraction on top of the React.createElement() API.

One reason it is vital to the library—and why the React team chose to go with it in the first place—is that the API would be too cumbersome to use in terms of scaling. One potentially could use React.createElement() to build out an entire application, however, this wouldn’t be any more efficient than just using HTML proper. JSX works to improve app scalability without adding complexity to the code, which ultimately will speed up and streamline app development.

JavaScript Fundamentals + ES6

You can’t rock React without a firm understanding of the fundamental concepts that the JavaScript language provides, but the ES6 version of JS requires these top skills:

Variables and Scoping: Understanding when and where you have access to the data you need is critical. ES6 brought with it new keywords like let and const. Use const by default and let when necessary.
Arrays and Objects: React suggests a pattern that your view is a function of your state. Brush up on how to mutate objects and change values of properties.
Array Methods: Focus on .map, .filter, and .reduce for manipulating arrays effectively.
Functions and Arrow Functions: Functions are central to React components, either functional or class-based. Understand their use and importance in functional programming.
DOM Manipulation and Event Handlers: In React, manipulate the virtual DOM rather than the actual DOM. Work with events using the SyntheticEvent object.
The this Keyword: Use this to refer to an object and understand its common pitfalls.
Higher-Order and Callback Functions: Functions as arguments drive the input/output model of functional programming. React components often use these patterns.
Prototypal Inheritance and Object Creation: Understand the prototype chain and how object creation and inheritance work in JavaScript.
The class Keyword: React uses classes for components. Be familiar with how to set up methods, bind them, and access properties.

Git

Git is essential for version control. Skills include:

Tracking changes with add, commit, push, and pull
Branching and merging strategies
Handling merge conflicts

Node + npm

Node is crucial for React development, especially when working with packages and the npm registry. Key points:

Understanding npm and its role in managing dependencies
Familiarity with Yarn, an alternative package manager

Redux

Redux is a state management library often used with React for scalable applications. It helps manage and control the state in React apps, promoting consistency and performance.

Master these fundamentals before diving into Redux to build robust and maintainable web apps.