2001 React-Router-Prework.md

React Router Prework

This gist contains a short assignment I'd like everyone to complete before our formal lesson. The prework involves reading some of the React Router documentation, and will allow us to keep the lesson more hands on.

Instructions

1. Fork this gist
2. On your own copy, go through the listed readings and answer associated questions
3. Comment a link to your forked copy on the original gist

Questions / Readings

Router Overview

React Router is a library that allows us to make our single page React applications mimic the behavior of multipage apps. It provides the ability to use browser history, allowing users to navigate with forward / back buttons and bookmark links to specific views of the app. Most modern sites use some form of routing. React Router exposes this functionality through a series of components. Let's start by looking at the overall structure of an app using router:

1. Take a look at the quick start page of the React Router docs. Take note of the syntax and organization of the page. No worries if this looks unclear right now! (nothing to answer here)

2. What package do we need to install to use React Router?

react-router-dom

Router Components

React Router provides a series of helpful components that allow our apps to use routing. These can be split into roughly 3 categories:

• Routers
• Route Matcher
• Route Changers

Routers

Any code that uses a React-Router-provided component must be wrapped in a router component. There are lots of router components we can use, but we'll focus on one in particular. Let's look into the docs to learn more.

3. What is a <BrowserRouter />?

A Router that uses the HTML5 history API (pushState, replaceState and the popstate event) to keep your UI in sync with the URL.

4. Why would we use <BrowserRouter /> in our apps?

Provides additional functionality allowing the user to go back/forward within the application.

Route Matchers

5. What does the <Route /> component do?

Its most basic responsibility is to render some UI when its path matches the current URL.

6. How does the <Route /> component check whether it should render something?

A React component renders only when the location matches.

7. What does the <Switch /> component do?

Renders the first child Route or Redirect that matches the location.

8. How does it decide what to render?

It will look for the first path match and once found it will stop looking for other matches to render.

Route Changers

9. What does the <Link /> component do? How does a user interact with it?

Provides declarative, accessible navigation around your application. Interaction via a click or enter.

10. What does the <NavLink /> component do? How does a user interact with it?

A special version of the Link that will add styling attributes to the rendered element when it matches the current URL. Interaction via a click or enter.

11. What does the <Redirect /> component do?

Rendering a Redirect will navigate to a new location. The new location will override the current location in the history stack.