React Concepts Explained: Part 2 - Advanced Patterns

Welcome back! In Part 1, we covered React's core fundamentals—components, props, state, and the basics of hooks. Now it's time to level up! In Part 2, we'll explore advanced patterns that help you build production-ready React applications. These concepts might seem complex at first, but they solve real problems you'll encounter as your apps grow. What you'll learn: How to work with external systems using effects When and how to access the DOM directly Solving prop drilling with Context Advanced rendering patterns with Portals Handling loading and error states gracefully Let's dive in! 1. Effects: Stepping Outside React What are effects? Effects (or side effects) are operations that interact with systems outside of React—like browser APIs, HTTP requests, timers, or third-party libraries. Examples of side effects: Fetching data from an API Setting up subscriptions (WebSockets, event listeners) Manually changing the DOM Logging to analytics Setting timers (setTimeout, setInterval) Where t