React Basics

React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces. It was developed and is maintained by Facebook and is widely used in the development of web and mobile applications. React allows developers to build reusable UI components and manage the states of those components in a predictable way. It uses a virtual DOM, which makes updates to the user interface faster and more efficient. React also uses a component-based architecture, which allows for easy separation of concerns and makes code more modular and maintainable. React is a powerful tool for building dynamic and responsive user interfaces, and is a popular choice among developers today. This chapter will cover the basics of React, including setting up a development environment, creating and using components, managing state and props, and working with events and forms.

Installing React

Installing React is a relatively straightforward process. First, you will need to have Node.js and npm (Node Package Manager) installed on your computer. You can check if you have these installed by running the following commands in your terminal:

node -v
npm -v

If you do not have Node.js and npm installed, you can follow the instructions for your operating system on this page to install node.

Once you have Node.js and npm installed, you can create a new project by running the following command in your terminal:

npx create-react-app my-app

This will create a new directory called "my-app" in your current working directory, with the basic file structure and configuration for a React application.

Next, navigate into the new "my-app" directory and start the development server by running:

cd my-app
npm start

This will start the development server and open a browser window with the default React application running.

You can also use yarn to create a react app by running the following command

yarn create react-app my-app

You now have React installed and running on your local machine and ready to start building your React application.