The State Changers meeting primarily discussed the evolution and importance of programming languages, particularly the introduction and impact of React. The dialogue offered a historical perspective on hard coding, transitioning from initial expectations of manual work like defining pins or creating punch cards to advanced levels of programming languages. These newer languages, such as interpreted runtime languages like Java or JavaScript, offer greater ease of use and higher levels of abstraction.
The participants also discussed no code tools, emphasizing their capabilities to maintain the tradition of transitioning from high to low levels of abstraction. These tools offer a compromise on control and concerns users have to own versus the easy utility of these tools. Notably, the participants discussed low code injections using tools like script tags for data inputs. The spotlight was primarily on React, a popular framework in the last decade. React brought a fundamental shift in web technology, moving from a model of HTML descriptions to JavaScript. It introduced a JavaScript-like language called JSX, allowing the description of a page using JavaScript. This means one could create components with dynamic elements, deciding how the page should work, and React would figure out how to execute the intended functionality with minimal steps. Participants also explored practical applications by looking at a simple React app that converts tags from WeWeb into an action, demonstrating the utility and efficiency of React. The demo highlighted a fast feedback loop enabling users to make changes to the code and see immediate results. Despite going deeper into the technicalities of React and JSX, the conversation had the tone of an orientation for beginners, with participants seeking to clarify doubts from a basic understanding of these tools and advancing their knowledge about React. The meeting could be useful for anyone wanting an introductory orientation to the capabilities of React and its application to build coding platforms.
(Source: Office Hours 5/23 Extra: ReactJS )
