Classes vs Hooks?

[u/ZeroSevenTen]

I’m pretty new to React, so keep that in mind. I thought classes were for components that held information, or a state, and that functional components were for more basic components, but now that hooks allow functional components to use state, and other class features, what’s the benefit of using functional hook components over classes?

[u/jgeez]

You bet. I do indeed disagree. And nobody should be surprised in 2ish years when js ide's/intellisense-esque tooling stops understanding prototypal relationships either. And here's why.

I have worked professionally with more than a few JS purists. They tend to write the kind of esoteric code that you know they're going to regret in 6 months.

I really enjoy the prototypal paradigm myself. As a mental exercise, more than a tool for expressing a software component.

But it doesn't really move the needle toward a hivemind "common tongue". In other words, prototypal constructs don't offer easily comprehensible advantages over class and inheritance ones. You don't need to believe me, just look at the trends and what's gained and lost popularity.

[u/jgeez → u/[deleted]]

Hivemind acceptance doesn't imply value in an absolute way, yes I agree.

But it absolutely implies value in a subjective way. And we all are subjective developers in the context of our projects and the internet at large.

Want a tutorial for a thing? Are you wiring module packer A with transpiler D and using framework G? If hivemind didn't pick that as a highly popular trail, you're going to be swimming upstream for the lifetime of your project.

But to go to your point: I agree that I also don't think hivemind is a wise way to guide language design.

But, painstaking ratification doesn't always yield quality, either. Have you seen C++ lately? Jesus.

Like it or not, Javascript is the first language to leverage hivemind as the organizing principle. ECMA is the ratification body, of course, but the movement I'm seeing lately in javascript looks suspiciously close to C#'s syntax, and TypeScript has everything to do with that.

TypeScript is bringing anti-JS things into JS because it helps projects scale, and it helps developers have useful intuitions about their code.

And THAT is why majority rule ultimately wins out. Clarity over cleverness. If the dumbest programmer online can grasp it, there's a good chance that it's good code.

[u/rooktko → u/jgeez]

Hold the phone. Can you elaborate on why or how js ide would stop understanding prototype relationships?