It’s Not Your Fault You Don’t Know React

Modern web development can feel like trying to build a house while everyone insists you use their favorite brand of power tools - without first teaching you about foundations, walls, or basic architecture. The React ecosystem, in particular, has become a maze of abstractions that often obscure what’s really happening on your computer.

The Abstraction Problem

React’s abstractions aren’t inherently bad - they’re designed to make our lives easier. But when we learn React without understanding what it’s abstracting away, we end up with knowledge gaps that haunt us later. Let’s break down some common pain points:

Hooks: They’re Just Closures and Caching

Remember learning about closures in your first programming course? That’s essentially what useState and useEffect are. When you write:

javascript
const [count, setCount] = useState(0);

You’re really just creating a closure that:

  1. Maintains a reference to a value
  2. Provides a controlled way to update that value
  3. Triggers a refresh when the value changes

It’s similar to this pure JavaScript concept:

javascript
function createState(initialValue) { let value = initialValue; return [ () => value, (newValue) => { value = newValue; // Imagine this triggers a refresh }, ]; }

useEffect: It’s Just a Lifecycle Manager

Remember event listeners and cleanup functions? useEffect is just managing when things should happen in your component’s lifecycle. It’s not magic - it’s basically:

javascript
// Conceptually similar to: class Component { constructor() { this.setupSomething(); } componentWillUnmount() { this.cleanupSomething(); } }

The Server-Client Disconnect

One of the biggest sources of confusion is how little we talk about the client-server relationship. React tutorials often focus entirely on client-side state management without explaining:

  1. What data actually lives on your server
  2. When and why we make API calls
  3. How data flows from server to client and back

This is why developers end up with components that:

  • Store data that should live on the server
  • Make redundant API calls
  • Implement complex state management for data that could be server-side rendered

The Boilerplate Trap

The proliferation of React boilerplates and starter templates is a symptom of this knowledge gap. They promise to solve our problems with:

  • Pre-configured build systems
  • State management solutions
  • Routing setups
  • API integrations

But they often:

  1. Include unnecessary dependencies
  2. Implement overly complex patterns
  3. Hide important implementation details
  4. Make simple tasks harder to understand

Core Concepts You Already Know

Here’s the good news: if you understand these fundamental programming concepts, you already understand React’s core principles:

  1. Functions and Scope

    • Components are just functions
    • Props are just function parameters
    • Hooks use closure scope

  2. Caching and Memoization

    • useMemo is just caching a computed value
    • useCallback is just caching a function reference
    • React’s virtual DOM is just a cache of UI state

  3. Event-Driven Programming

    • React’s render cycle is just an event system
    • Component updates are just event handlers
    • Props are just event payloads

  4. State Machines

    • Component lifecycle is a state machine
    • Route changes are state transitions
    • Form handling is state management

Moving Forward

Instead of reaching for complex solutions, start with:

  1. Understanding the client-server relationship
  2. Learning basic JavaScript patterns
  3. Building simple components from scratch
  4. Adding complexity only when needed

Remember: React is just a tool for building user interfaces. The fundamentals of programming haven’t changed - they’re just wearing new clothes.

Your confusion isn’t a reflection of your abilities. It’s a reflection of how we teach React: focusing on solutions before understanding problems, and reaching for complexity before mastering simplicity.

Understanding React doesn’t require learning a new way to program. It requires connecting what you already know about programming to a new context. Start there, and the rest will follow.