Summary

Key takeaways

Let's recap the key points we have learned in this chapter.

• We embarked on a comprehensive exploration of the concept of side effects within the context of React development. Recognizing the importance of managing side effects, we delved into the intricacies of the useEffect hook, a fundamental tool for handling side effects in React applications.

• Our journey involved a detailed examination of the design principles behind the useEffect hook. We gained insights into how an effect can be meticulously crafted and strategically invoked, ensuring precise synchronization with UI updates and promoting optimal application performance.

• We deepened our understanding of the useEffect hook by exploring various scenarios for creating effects based on dependency arrays. This approach allows us to fine-tune the execution of effects, tailoring them to specific dependencies and ensuring efficient data flow within our React components.

• After that, we walked through the pitfalls of using useEffect with missing dependencies, staled values, and infinite loops.

• Last but not least, we learned to apply useEffect in practical components, such as the examples of finding the window size in a browser and fetching API resources from an online server.

Questions and answers