React, a popular JavaScript library for building impeccable User Interfaces, was released first in the year 2013. It is maintained by Facebook and their community of developers. Now, a stable release of React 16.8 is out. It is called ‘The One with the Hooks’.

So, what’s the most-talked-about Hook Implementation in React 16.8? Let us cover that in this blog along with some other popular features offered in the new stable release.



React 16.8 & Hooks



The feature, React Hooks, has been the most-awaited one since its first appearance in React 16.7 last year. For any developer, Hooks allow you to use state and other features of React without writing a class. This doesn’t mean that you need to learn React right from scratch again or rewrite your existing React applications.

Hooks do not replace your existing knowledge. Instead, it offers a more comfortable way of using React. It offers a more direct API to the existing React concepts such as props, state, context, refs, and lifecycle events like ComponentDidUpdate, ComponentWillUpdate, etc.

The good news is that React DOM, React DOM server, React Shallow Renderer, and React Test Renderer will support Hook implementation. It also has immense tooling support. React Hooks are supported by React DevTools and also, by the latest versions of Flow and TypeScript definitions.

Furthermore, you can also build your own Hooks for sharing reusable stateful logic between various components. However, the introduction of Hooks by React doesn’t indicate a complete eradication of classes. On the other hand, the React team is looking at more innovative ways to ease the developer’s life.



Other Features of React 16.8



The features of React 16.8 doesn’t end here. Let us have a look at some of the other features offered in the new stable release:

Better useReducer Hook lazy initialization API.

Synchronous support to React.lazy() by the addition of thenables.

Double rendering of Components with Hooks in Strict Mode (DEV-only).

Warnings are shown to developers while returning different hooks on subsequent renders.

Comparison of useState and useReducer values using Object.is algorithm.

A new name for useImperativeMethods Hook, useImperativeHandle.

A Promising JavaScript is here!

Compared to other technologies such as Vue.js, React is more mature and offers businesses a plethora of opportunities. It is backed up by Facebook professionals and hence, considered more reliable in comparison to Vue.js.

And if you are a fan of JavaScript, then React is the choice and highly recommended for complex, enterprise apps. Although Vue.js is highly performant, React is the perfect choice for businesses who are looking for a competitive advantage in terms of speed, scalability, flexibility, and performance.



