React Hooks revolutionized the way we write functional components. Hooks allow us to use state, side effects, and other React features without needing class components. The two most commonly used hooks are useState and useEffect, but there are many others that can greatly enhance the capabilities of your React applications. The useState hook allows functional components to have local state. This was a game-changer when it was introduced, as before hooks, only class components could manage state. With useState, you can easily declare state variables and update them, while React ensures the UI stays in sync with state changes. useEffect, on the other hand, deals with side effects such as data fetching, subscriptions, or manually updating the DOM. This hook runs after every render by default but can be customized to run only when certain dependencies change. Learning how to effectively use and manage useEffect will significantly improve your component performance and data flow. There are also custom hooks, which allow you to encapsulate reusable logic into a function. This keeps your components cleaner and more focused on UI, while your custom hooks handle business logic. It’s a good practice to create custom hooks for any complex logic shared between multiple components.
