Review: React Usergroup Cologne - Flow Edition

On March, 14th 2024, QOSSMIC once again hosted the React Usergroup at the Cologne office to offer developers a platform for exchange and discussion of current topics in the field of React.

The event was held in an open space format and consisted of a total of four interesting talks, which offered participants the opportunity to expand their knowledge and network with other developers. The talks covered a wide range of React-related topics and were suitable for all levels of experience.

The individual talks are described in more detail below.

A little introduction in PHP and the Symfony Framework for React/JavaScript Developer

Gero provided a brief introduction to the history of PHP, discussing why PHP has a bad reputation, what has been done since then, and how we use the language today. Florian introduced us to the Symfony Framework, explaining its origins, how it is used, and what the advantages and disadvantages are.

Maybe this was the first time that PHP and Symfony was a topic at the React Meetup ;-)

At the latest ReactJS Usergroup gathering, amidst a wide-ranging discussion, the spotlight briefly shifted towards the art of crafting API layers and establishing robust API contracts. The conversation underscored the importance of leveraging OpenAPI specifications to create a solid foundation for backend and frontend synergy. Tools like Swagger emerged as heroes in this narrative, praised for their ability to smooth out the process of generating clear, concise API contracts. The dialogue didn't stop there. It ventured into the realm of frontend encapsulation of the API layer, highlighting how strategic hydration can significantly elevate the user experience. This approach is all about making server-side data readily usable on the client side, streamlining data interaction for speed and efficiency.

We talked about State Managers in general, our experiences with the different libraries. Redux was most used but not liked much because too much boilerplate code and complexity. Redux Toolkit was recommended as improvement for Redux.

Zustand was the next popular library whith which most had good experience with because of its simplicity.

As a mutable State Manager we briefly talked about Valtio, also from the Zustand authors, but we came to the conclusion that immutability is probably better because React favours immutability as well and rerenders can probably be better controlled and debugged with immutable state.

We discussed the benefits and problems of ServerSideRendering. Like always - the benefits seem to depend on the use case. SSR as a default does not seem to be the answer. We also discussed different Hosting options, the perks and problems when using Vercel.

The React Usergroup Cologne is organised by itself. Feel free to join the Slack of React Cologne. It is easy, you will get an Github Issue with all instruction, then you only need a location, drinks and pizza ;-)