What's New in React 19 (and What That Means for You), with Dev Agrawal

Meet Dev Agrawal 🇮🇳🇺🇸! Dev is a software developer, developer advocate, content creator, and A React expert deeply ingrained in the React community. The last time he was on the show, we tried to find an answer to the question of whether we should still be learning React in 2024 - the community was divided! Today, we’re talking about React 19.

React 19 is the latest version of React, introducing some amazing new features! Key features include the new React Compiler, which automates performance optimization; Server Components, which allow rendering components on the server for faster initial page loads and improved data handling; Actions; and some new hooks! In this episode, you’ll learn what these features are, how to use them, which ones are the most important, and why we are getting them in the first place. Understanding the context and history behind these new features, as well as the needs of developers who have been using React in their work, will help us use them more effectively.

React 19 is expected to be released by the end of 2024 and is set to enhance both performance and developer experience. In the meantime, you can try the release candidate!

🔗 Connect with Dev

• 👨‍💼 Linkedin
• 🌐 Website
• 🐦 Twitter

⏰ Timestamps

• Can we use React 19 already? (01:24)
• Is React Canary the same as React 19 RC? (02:14)
• When does React 19 come out? (03:04)
• React Compiler is the biggest feature of React 19. What does it do? (04:18)
• There is a performance cost associated with memoizing (08:23
• How does the React compiler help with memoization? (11:13)
• Could you manually accomplish what the Compiler does automatically? (12:59)
• How do you use the React Compiler? (15:41)
• You need to abide by the React rules for the Compiler to work properly (16:48)
• Is React a library or a language? (17:04)
• Transpilers vs compilers (19:44)
• What are Actions? (23:41)
• What are React Transitions? (24:37)
• Server Actions vs Client Actions (31:39)
• New hoks: useFormState, useFormStatus (33:29)
• New features are a big departure from how we use React today (35:45)
• Where to learn more about React 19 (37:29)

⏰ Resources Mentioned

• React.dev
• Sam Selikoff: Roadmap to React 19
• Scrimba Podcast with Rachel Nabors

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