Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by ergothus 2792 days ago
I don't think the issue is "what is a class". It's more that the lifecycle functions get tied into the class, and you end up with a ball of highly conditional logic. It's easy for newbies to just add stuff to make it work, but end up with a mess.

React is the view layer, so the class concept of "here's some data and methods to alter it" doesn't really match with what happens - I don't know that components every should have been classes in the first place.
1 comments
xab9 2792 days ago
According to the article yes, the issue is "what is a class":

"You have to understand how this works in JavaScript, which is very different from how it works in most languages. You have to remember to bind the event handlers." etc.

link
wild_preference 2792 days ago
Eh, even in the same paragraph it says "The distinction between function and class components in React and when to use each one leads to disagreements even between experienced React developers."

Also, bits of class issues show up in the other complaints.

So, no, it's not just "what is a class" and it's a weird hill to die on. I feel like most of these responses to hooks in general just focus on the most trivial detail aka bikeshedding.

link
xab9 2791 days ago
I'm focusing on classes, because it seems to me that to "React" classes are a necessary evil (or they are treating them like they were).

Hooks, suspense, context wormholes - I'm not sure if these features should be part of a view engine. React, to me, did one thing and did it well, but now... I don't know.

link
ergothus 2792 days ago
Can't argue with the text of the article. I do, however, stand by why _I_ have found that classes are a bad match for this need, and watching the video of the demo did a much better job of suggesting the benefits and reasoning...reasons that don't really match the parts of the article you've quoted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz3nVya45uQ&t=39m (from elsewhere in the comments here)

link
visarga 2791 days ago
>Video unavailable. This video contains content from WebTVAsia (Music), who has blocked it on copyright grounds.

LOL, did they just block a video presentation for some incidental random music in the background?

link