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The Best React Extension for VS Code

Updated on September 15, 2020
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    By James Quick

    The Best React Extension for VS Code

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    When working with React, there’s lots of code that gets repeated over and over…and over and over again. Eventually, you start to think, “there’s got to be a better way”. Don’t worry, there is!

    In this article we will look at the ES7 React/Redux/GraphQL/React-Native snippets** **extension. Yes, it’s a mouthful to spell it all out, but it provides an amazing set of snippets that are invaluable when writing React code.

    The ES7 React/Redux/GraphQL/React-Native Snippets Extension

    This snippets extension (I won’t type the entire name out again) is incredibly popular with over 2 million downloads. To back this up, every big time developer I’ve heard talk about React on a podcast, YouTube video, etc. uses this extension and loves it.

    I’ve always said that developers are “intentionally lazy”. In other words, we find ways to constantly improve the speed at which we right code by writing less of it ourselves. These snippets making writing React much much faster!

    JavaScript Imports

    Although this article is focused on snippets for React, React code is primarily made up of modern JavaScript. For this reason, this extension includes several useful JavaScript snippets.

    In modern JavaScript, code is broken up to different modules and then reused in other areas using the import syntax. Here’s a couple of import snippets to consider.

    Import a default export.

    //imp
    import moduleName from 'module'
    

    Import a named export.

    //imd
    import { destructuredModule } from 'module'
    

    To get a little more specific to React, here’s a couple of React imports.

    Import React

    //imr
    import React from 'react'
    

    Import React and Component.

    //imrc
    import React, { Component } from 'react'
    

    JavaScript Iteration

    Iterating through a list of items is not difficult but it does get repetetive (no pun intended).

    For each iteration

    //fre
    arrayName.forEach(element => { }
    

    For of iteration

    //fof
    for(let itemName of objectName { }
    

    For in Iteration

    //fin
    for(let itemName in objectName { }
    

    JavaScript Functions

    Functions are obviously something that we write every day. Here’s a few different ways to generate them.

    Anonymous Function

    //anfn
    (params) => { }
    

    Named Function

    //nfn
    const functionName = (params) => { }
    

    React Lifecycle Methods

    Now, we can dive into more React specific stuff. Let’s start with Lifecycle Methods.

    ComponentDidMount

    //cdm
    componentDidMount = () => { }
    

    ComponentDidUpdate

    //cdup
    componentDidUpdate = (prevProps, prevState) => { }
    

    ComponentWillUnmount

    //cwun
    componentWillUnmount = () => { }
    

    React Components

    With the snippets we’ve mentioned so far, you have the ability to stub out most of a React component by combining them, but it gets better! Here’s some snippets that will generate an entire component for you!

    React Class Component

    //rcc
    import React, { Component } from 'react'
    
    export default class FileName extends Component {
      render() {
        return <div>$2</div>
      }
    }
    

    React Class Component With Prop Types

    //rcep
    import React, { Component } from 'react'
    import PropTypes from 'prop-types'
    
    export class FileName extends Component {
      static propTypes = {}
    
      render() {
        return <div>$2</div>
      }
    }
    
    export default $1
    

    React Functional Component

    //rfc
    import React from 'react'
    
    export default function $1() {
      return <div>$0</div>
    }
    

    Other Snippets

    We’ve covered a bunch of snippets in this article, but there are several more. Here’s a couple of categories that might be worth a deeper look!

    • React Native
    • Prop Types
    • Redux
    • Tests
    • Writing to the Console

    Conclusion

    Never write code that you don’t have to. My only caveat to that statement comes if you are learning. If you’re new to a language or framework, avoid snippets while you’re learning. Write it all out for the experience! After that, SNIPPETS AWAY!

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    About the authors
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    James Quick

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    2020 and still talking about Class Components? O_o

    IMHO there are only 3 useful snippets:

    1. For creating new Components with TypeScript import React from “react”;

    interface ComponentProps { }

    const TM_FILENAME_BASE = React.FC<ComponentProps> = () => { return <></>; }

    export default TM_FILENAME_BASE; 2-3. For creating useState and useCallback

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