Summary

In this chapter, you were introduced to React at a high level. React is a library, with a small API, used to build UIs. Next, you were introduced to some of the key concepts of React. We discussed the fact that React is simple because it doesn't have a lot of moving parts. Next, we looked at the declarative nature of React components and JSX. Then, you learned that React takes performance seriously and that this is how we're able to write declarative code that can be re-rendered over and over. Next, you learned about the idea of render targets and how React can easily become the UI tool of choice for all of them. Lastly, I gave you a rough overview of what's new in React 18.

That's enough introductory and conceptual stuff for now. As we make our way toward the end of the book, we'll revisit these ideas. For now, let's take a step back and nail down the basics, starting with JSX.