Getting started with node js and react js

Hello folks, I am a backend dev experience in java based micro services development and new to node and react. Request your help in some pointers on how to start learning basics of node and react?
If you can provide me some urls/videos/any resources to start with, that will be of great help

Well, Node.js is back end JavaScript, and React is a front end JavaScript library. Of course both depend on a good understanding of JavaScript. Make sure you have good JavaScript skills.

You mention the front end so let’s discuss React. React is a different way of thinking about how your data and the screen are related and how different components of data/screen interrelate. It’s of course rooted in JavaScript, but there is a bit of a learning curve at the beginning. I found coding along with some simple examples of youtube to be helpful. I really enjoyed Brad Traversy’s and of course FCC has some nice ones. Just start small and work your way up. It will get easier.

Thanks Ksjazzguitar.
Can you point me to Brad Traversy’s and FCC material? where can I find it?
I will surely look for other on your tube too.

Actually, I need help in starting with react and node (editing my original question right now to reflect this). I am just not sure what should be my starting point to learn them

Also, I agree with you that coding with youtube videos is a great way of learning. Thanks

Brad and FCC youtube material.

I feel I should stress again, that React and Node assume that you know JavaScript. You’ve made no mention of your JS level and I would not recommend trying to tackle these subjects until you are comfortable with JS. And nowadays React often uses ES6 so I’d definitely want to be comfortable with that.

And just to be clear, Node and React are unrelated subjects. Node is JS used on the backend and React is a front end library. The two are independent. React is run in a client (front end) browser.

True, they can work together. For example you could build a back end server in Node that sends back React JS to a front end client, but you could also do that in any other back end language. React is completely independent of Node. React can be written entirely on the front end. All the React projects I did for FCC, I did in codepen, entirely on the front end, nothing to do with Node.

That being said, large React programs can get unwieldy when build on the front end. It is not easy to break JS programs up into separate files. For that reason, many people will build React in Node, using packages like create-react-app. This lets you build modular React programs in a Node environment, making it easy to break up your code into modules, using things like babel and webpack in the shadows. This is a helpful environment for building apps. Then when you’re done, you can build your app and it will save everything into the files you need to run React on the front end, just placing those build files into your directory for client rendering.

But they are separate things. You may use Node as an environment for building React, but it is only temporary and is not required. But again, doing it a Node environment if incredibly helpful for large React programs.

Hi ksjazzguitar, I am sorry, I need to be more clear in this. Thanks for your detailed reply. Am sure this will really help me.

  1. about JS skill level: I have worked on it in the past and know the basics. Also, I am brushing it with the material on FCC.
  2. Sure, I will work on ES6 - if possible can you point me to some training material? or can you list some bullet points, what I should learn?
    Note: I am bit familier with transpiler, babel, typescript etc
  3. I agree, node and react are not related - but can used together to achieive a particular functionality.
    But I wanted pointers to learn both of them, so I raised one question instead of two.
  4. Thanks for providing Brad and FCC urls, this will help. I will read them.
  5. I did go through the FCC you tube channel, but dint get which is the first video to start for node. Can you help with that? same for react too

I don’t have any specific recommendations about which videos to watch. I’d just be searching like you can. Also, React itself has a lot of documentation that can be found with a google search.

As far as ES6, there is a lot of material on the web. The YDKJS series is always recommended (if a little advanced) and I hear people always recommending Javascript Allonge, Six Edition. I’ve just started that and it’s a little basic so far, but it has given me some interesting perspectives.

As to Node, I learned it mainly by the clumsy “learn you node” training that FCC links to and random youtube. That and writing a lot of bad programs. I recently got pointed to a book, Express in Action, and I wished I’d read that first. Express is an extremely common library used in Node. The book also deals with Mongo, and extremely common database used in Node. Together, they form the MEN stack. If you combine them with React for the front end, you get the MERN stack. Some people combine them with Angular instead to get the MEAN stack.

If you are interested in nodejs and react design patterns, another one you should consider is the JAM stack. I think this pattern fits very well with React and Node. You build an SPA with React, and you build microservice API’s in Node to handle data and authentication. I am still working on this stack, so I can’t explain, it just looks like something you might want to consider.

Thanks ksjazzguitar. This is a really good information for me to get started.