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!

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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