React State Round Up

In this episode of Syntax, Scott and Wes talk about React State libraries, should you use them, pros, cons, and more! Sanity - Sponsor Sanity.io is a real-time headless CMS with a fully customizable Content Studio built in React. Get a Sanity powered site up and running in minutes at sanity.io/create. Get an awesome supercharged free developer plan on sanity.io/syntax. Sentry - Sponsor If you want to know what’s happening with your errors, track them with Sentry. Sentry is open-source error tracking that helps developers monitor and fix crashes in real time. Cut your time on error resolution from five hours to five minutes. It works with any language and integrates with dozens of other services. Syntax listeners can get two months for free by visiting Sentry.io and using the coupon code “tastytreat”. Show Notes 01:24 - Context Have we used? Scott: Yes Wes: Yes Pros Built into React As simple or complex as you want Cons Takes effort to optimize Takes effort to plan and organize aka can get out of hand quickly 08:49 - Redux Have we used? Scott: Yes Wes: Yes Pros Huge user base Legacy of growth and improvements Modern API Even though it’s hard to learn, it has a clear “how to build with it” path Dev tools Cons Complex Thing that calls a thing that calls a thing that calls a thing Confusion around what additional packages are needed, e.g. ducks, saga, whatever 17:08 - XState Have we used? Scott: Yes Wes: No Pros Enforces solid design patterns Very safe Awesome tooling like UI to see state machines https://xstate.js.org/viz/ Cons Knowledge overhead - having to understand state machines Complex syntax 23:26 - Zustand Have we used? Scott: Yes Wes: No Pros Fast, scalable, easy to use Simpler No context providers Cons Smaller community 2.6k stars on Github Can inform components transiently (without causing render) 27:04 - Apollo Client Have we used? Scott: Yes Wes: Yes Pros Fits in well with your GraphQL API Dev tools Cons Complex, large syntax for simple operations Dev tools SSR story is really complex. It’s hard because they aren’t also the framework. 31:35 - RXJS Have we used? Scott: No Wes: No Observable based 33:02 - React Query Have we used? Scott: No Wes: Pros Fast growing community Awesome dev tools Cons Not sure if this can be used for application state or just data 35:37 - Recoil Have we used? Scott: Yes Wes: No Pros Very good for complex, splintered state needs Cons Overly complex for most use cases 38:34 - MobX Have we used? Scott: No Wes: No Pros Big community Not just React Powerful Observable capabilities Cons Uses decorators, but doesn’t have to? 43:15 - Easy Peasy Have we used? Scott: No Wes: No Pros Simple API (easy peasy) Redux dev tools supported 45:06 - Meteor ReactiveDict / ReactiveVar Have we used? Scott: Yes Wes: No Pros Very simple Get, set Is Reactive Cons Lock-in to Meteor 46:19 - Final Thoughts On State Wes: Go for simpler solutions Scott: I think application state should be separate from application data, but maybe that’s because there isn’t a solution that does both how I want Links Svelte Meteor Syntax 206: State Machines, CSS and Animations with David K Piano Syntax 268: Potluck - Beating Procrastination × Rollup vs Webpack × Leadership × Code Planning × Styled Components × More! Zustand CodeSandbox swr ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: Becoming Bond Wes: IRWIN VISE-GRIP GrooveLock Pliers Set Shameless Plugs Scott: Modern CSS Design Systems - Sign up for the year and save 25%! Wes: All Courses - Use the coupon code ‘Syntax’ for $10 off! Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets