Building Scalable React Applications with Hooks

The Evolution of React

React has evolved significantly since its initial release. Hooks were introduced in React 16.8 as a way to use state and other React features without writing a class component. This marked a significant shift in how React applications are built.

Understanding useState

The useState hook allows you to add state to functional components. It returns an array with two elements: the current state value and a function to update it.

import React, { useState } from 'react';

function Counter() {
    const [count, setCount] = useState(0);

    return (
        

            
Count: {count}
             setCount(count + 1)}>
                Increment
            
        
    );
}

Custom Hooks for Reusability

Custom hooks allow you to extract component logic into reusable functions. This promotes code reuse and makes your components cleaner.

Benefits of Custom Hooks

• Share logic between components
• Simplify complex components
• Improve testability
• Encourage separation of concerns

function useLocalStorage(key, initialValue) {
    const [storedValue, setStoredValue] = useState(() => {
        try {
            const item = window.localStorage.getItem(key);
            return item ? JSON.parse(item) : initialValue;
        } catch (error) {
            return initialValue;
        }
    });

    const setValue = (value) => {
        try {
            setStoredValue(value);
            window.localStorage.setItem(key, JSON.stringify(value));
        } catch (error) {
            console.error(error);
        }
    };

    return [storedValue, setValue];
}

Custom hooks are a powerful pattern for building maintainable React applications.