React Frontend

React Frontend Development Standards

Quick Reference

Essential Hooks

// State Hook
const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
const [user, setUser] = useState<User | null>(null);

// Effect Hook
useEffect(() => {
  // Side effect
  return () => {/* cleanup */};
}, [dependencies]);

// Context Hook
const theme = useContext(ThemeContext);

// Ref Hook
const inputRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null);

// Memo Hooks
const value = useMemo(() => expensiveCalc(a, b), [a, b]);
const callback = useCallback(() => doSomething(a), [a]);

State Management Decision Tree

Is state needed in >2 components?
  NO  -> Use local state (useState)
  YES -> Is it global UI state (theme, auth)?
    YES -> Use Context API
    NO  -> Is it server data (API responses)?
      YES -> Use React Query/TanStack Query
      NO  -> Complex state with many actions?
        YES -> Use Redux Toolkit or Zustand
        NO  -> Use Context API + useReducer

Component Checklist

• Use functional components with hooks
• Destructure props with TypeScript types
• Use semantic HTML elements
• Add proper ARIA labels where needed
• Memoize expensive computations with useMemo
• Memoize callbacks passed to children with useCallback
• Add loading and error states
• Clean up effects with return function
• Keep components under 300 lines

Performance Checklist

• Use React.lazy() for code splitting
• Wrap expensive components in React.memo()
• Implement virtual scrolling for long lists
• Lazy load images with loading="lazy"
• Avoid inline object/array creation in JSX

Quick Start

# Create React app with TypeScript
npx create-react-app my-app --template typescript

# Install testing library
npm install --save-dev @testing-library/react @testing-library/jest-dom

# Install React Query for server state
npm install @tanstack/react-query

# State management (choose one)
npm install zustand          # Lightweight
npm install @reduxjs/toolkit # Enterprise

Core Hooks Patterns

useState

// Lazy initialization for expensive initial state
const [data, setData] = useState(() => computeExpensiveValue());

// Functional updates when new state depends on old
setCount(prevCount => prevCount + 1);

useEffect

// Component mount (runs once)
useEffect(() => {
  console.log('Component mounted');
}, []);

// Cleanup pattern for async operations
useEffect(() => {
  let isMounted = true;

  async function fetchData() {
    const result = await api.getData();
    if (isMounted) setData(result);
  }

  fetchData();
  return () => { isMounted = false; };
}, []);

// Subscription cleanup
useEffect(() => {
  const subscription = api.subscribe(userId);
  return () => subscription.unsubscribe();
}, [userId]);

useContext

// Create context with TypeScript
interface ThemeContextType {
  theme: 'light' | 'dark';
  toggleTheme: () => void;
}

const ThemeContext = createContext<ThemeContextType | undefined>(undefined);

// Custom hook for consuming context (always use this pattern)
export const useTheme = () => {
  const context = useContext(ThemeContext);
  if (!context) throw new Error('useTheme must be used within ThemeProvider');
  return context;
};

useReducer

type Action = { type: 'increment' } | { type: 'decrement' } | { type: 'reset' };

function reducer(state: State, action: Action): State {
  switch (action.type) {
    case 'increment': return { count: state.count + 1 };
    case 'decrement': return { count: state.count - 1 };
    case 'reset': return { count: 0 };
    default: return state;
  }
}

const [state, dispatch] = useReducer(reducer, { count: 0 });

Custom Hooks

// Always prefix with 'use'
function useFetch<T>(url: string) {
  const [data, setData] = useState<T | null>(null);
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
  const [error, setError] = useState<Error | null>(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    let isMounted = true;

    fetch(url)
      .then(res => res.json())
      .then(data => { if (isMounted) { setData(data); setLoading(false); }})
      .catch(err => { if (isMounted) { setError(err); setLoading(false); }});

    return () => { isMounted = false; };
  }, [url]);

  return { data, loading, error };
}

State Management

Context API (Theme, Auth, Locale)

// Split contexts to reduce re-renders
<AuthProvider>
  <ThemeProvider>
    <LocaleProvider>
      <App />
    </LocaleProvider>
  </ThemeProvider>
</AuthProvider>

React Query (Server State)

import { useQuery, useMutation, useQueryClient } from '@tanstack/react-query';

function Users() {
  const { data, isLoading } = useQuery({
    queryKey: ['users'],
    queryFn: fetchUsers,
  });

  const queryClient = useQueryClient();
  const mutation = useMutation({
    mutationFn: createUser,
    onSuccess: () => queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ['users'] }),
  });
}

Zustand (Lightweight Global State)

import create from 'zustand';

const useBearStore = create<BearState>((set) => ({
  bears: 0,
  increase: () => set((state) => ({ bears: state.bears + 1 })),
}));

// Usage (no Provider needed!)
const bears = useBearStore((state) => state.bears);

Performance Optimization

React.memo

const ExpensiveComponent = React.memo(({ data }: Props) => {
  return <div>{/* Expensive render */}</div>;
});

Code Splitting

const Home = lazy(() => import('./pages/Home'));

function App() {
  return (
    <Suspense fallback={<Loading />}>
      <Routes>
        <Route path="/" element={<Home />} />
      </Routes>
    </Suspense>
  );
}

Virtual Scrolling

import { FixedSizeList } from 'react-window';

<FixedSizeList height={600} itemCount={10000} itemSize={35} width="100%">
  {({ index, style }) => <div style={style}>Row {index}</div>}
</FixedSizeList>

Component Patterns

Props with Defaults

interface ButtonProps {
  variant?: 'primary' | 'secondary';
  size?: 'sm' | 'md' | 'lg';
  children: React.ReactNode;
}

export function Button({ variant = 'primary', size = 'md', children }: ButtonProps) {
  return <button className={`btn-${variant} btn-${size}`}>{children}</button>;
}

Compound Components

const TabsContext = createContext<TabsContextType | undefined>(undefined);

export function Tabs({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  const [activeTab, setActiveTab] = useState('tab1');
  return (
    <TabsContext.Provider value={{ activeTab, setActiveTab }}>
      <div className="tabs">{children}</div>
    </TabsContext.Provider>
  );
}

Tabs.Tab = function Tab({ id, children }: TabProps) {
  const context = useContext(TabsContext);
  return (
    <button => context?.setActiveTab(id)}>
      {children}
    </button>
  );
};

Testing with React Testing Library

User-Centric Testing

import { render, screen, waitFor } from '@testing-library/react';
import userEvent from '@testing-library/user-event';

test('user can submit form', async () => {
  const user = userEvent.setup();
  const

  render(<ContactForm />);

  const nameInput = screen.getByRole('textbox', { name: /name/i });
  await user.type(nameInput, 'John Doe');
  await user.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: /submit/i }));

  await waitFor(() => {
    expect(onSubmit).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ name: 'John Doe' });
  });
});

Testing Hooks

import { renderHook, act } from '@testing-library/react';

test('useCounter increments', () => {
  const { result } = renderHook(() => useCounter());
  expect(result.current.count).toBe(0);

  act(() => { result.current.increment(); });
  expect(result.current.count).toBe(1);
});

Coverage Targets

• Components: 80%+
• Hooks: 90%+
• Utils: 95%+

Accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA)

Semantic HTML

<nav><ul><li><a href="/">Home</a></li></ul></nav>
<main><article><h1>Title</h1><section><h2>Section</h2></section></article></main>
<footer>&copy; 2024 Company</footer>

ARIA and Keyboard Navigation

<button aria-label="Close dialog"

<div role="dialog" aria-labelledby="dialog-title" aria-modal="true">
  <h2 id="dialog-title">Confirm Action</h2>
</div>

<div role="alert" aria-live="assertive">{error}</div>

Form Accessibility

<label htmlFor="email">Email</label>
<input
  id="email"
  type="email"
  aria-invalid={!!errors.email}
  aria-describedby={errors.email ? 'email-error' : undefined}
/>
{errors.email && <span id="email-error" role="alert">{errors.email}</span>}

Security

XSS Prevention

// React escapes by default - safe
<div>{userInput}</div>

// If dangerouslySetInnerHTML needed, use DOMPurify
import DOMPurify from 'dompurify';
const clean = DOMPurify.sanitize(dirtyHTML);

Secure Token Storage

// Prefer httpOnly cookies (backend sets it)
// If localStorage required: short expiry, refresh tokens, clear on logout

Summary

1. Hooks mastery for state and side effects
2. Appropriate state management (local -> Context -> external library)
3. Performance optimization with memoization and code splitting
4. User-centric testing with React Testing Library
5. Accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA) with semantic HTML and ARIA
6. Security through XSS prevention and secure auth patterns

Resources

See REFERENCE.md for:

• Complete component templates
• Advanced hooks patterns (useReducer, usePrevious)
• Redux Toolkit implementation
• Compound component examples
• Comprehensive testing patterns
• Full accessibility checklists
• Production optimization examples

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