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Topic #46

What is Hooks?

Hooks let function components use state and lifecycle features without classes, and they transformed how React is written. Start here to understand the modern paradigm.


Hooks allow functions to have access to state and other React features without using classes.

They provide a more direct API to React concepts like props, state, context, refs, and lifecycle.


What is a Hook?

Hooks are functions that let you "hook into" React state and lifecycle features from functional components.

Example:

import { useState } from 'react';
import { createRoot } from 'react-dom/client';

function FavoriteColor() {
  const [color, setColor] = useState("red");

  return (
    <>
      <h1>My favorite color is {color}!</h1>
      <button
        type="button"
        onClick={() => setColor("blue")}
      >Blue</button>
      <button
        type="button"
        onClick={() => setColor("red")}
      >Red</button>
      <button
        type="button"
        onClick={() => setColor("pink")}
      >Pink</button>
      <button
        type="button"
        onClick={() => setColor("green")}
      >Green</button>
    </>
  );
}

createRoot(document.getElementById('root')).render(
  <FavoriteColor />
);

You must import Hooks from react.

Here we are using the useState Hook to keep track of the application state.

State generally refers to application data or properties that need to be tracked.


Hook Rules

There are 3 rules for hooks:

  • Hooks can only be called inside React function components.
  • Hooks can only be called at the top level of a component.
  • Hooks cannot be conditional

Note: Hooks will not work in React class components.


Custom Hooks

If you have stateful logic that needs to be reused in several components, you can build your own custom Hooks.

We'll go into more detail in the Custom Hooks section.

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