In order to get up and running straight away, I want to introduce you to a tool called CodeSandbox.
And this is a browser based development environment which allows you to instantly deploy whatever it
is you build.
Now, CodeSandbox was built with React in mind right from the beginning, and it contains features that
will be really handy for us as we learn to build using React.
For example, you could code collaboratively with your friends.
You have really good dependency management and installing and keeping track of npm packages, and it allows
us to get up and running immediately without having to go through the faff of installing React and dealing
with different versions.
It's completely free to use, and it allows us to do something that's pretty cool where we can build
an app in React.
This is one of the projects that we're going to be building in this module, and instantly we can have
access to the final completed URL, so we can simply send this URL to our friends, our coworkers,
put it into our portfolio, and you can see that it's a hosted version of something that we have
built.
So throughout this module, we're going to be using CodeSandbox to introduce you to new skills in React.
And after you've learnt the skill, then we'll practice those skills in a separate sandbox.
And it's through this skill practice, skill practice that you're going to build up and level up your
skills in React.
And then at some point, once you've acquired enough skills, I'm going to introduce you to a part of
the final project, the Keeper App, that we're going to be building.
And we're going to break down the large Keeper app project into several parts so that you'll be able
to apply all of the skills that you learned previously to complete each of these parts.
And hopefully, you're going to find that this process of using CodeSandbox to learn and practice your
skills help you learn, React that much quicker, and establish a solid foundation of knowledge.
So I recommend following the URL in the course resources, which will take you to codesandbox.io and
click on sign in to register with CodeSandbox.
If you have your GitHub account, this is seamless.
You can simply just sign in with GitHub.
Alternatively, you can also sign in with Google or with Apple.
Now I know what you're thinking.
Okay, we've been working with VS Code all of this time, and we've been doing local development for
a long time.
Why switch to a browser-based editor now?
Well, one of the biggest reasons is because we can have instant deployment without any hassle and without
any cost.
And the second reason is because with technological courses, every single update to React versions
will change things ever so slightly, a little bit.
Now, these changes happen every week and it's impossible for me to rerecord and update the course on
such a frequent basis.
And what I think is really, really important is teaching you the fundamental skills that gets you thinking
and gets you to a point where you can independently research and learn things on your own.
So it's not about teaching you everything there is to learn about React,
it's to teach you all of the fundamental skills so that you can build anything you want to in the future.
So that's why it's really helpful when dealing with a framework such as React, for me to teach it on
something like CodeSandbox.
And because we're all working with the same versions in every single lesson, I'll provide you links
to the starting projects on CodeSandbox and links to the final projects on CodeSandbox as well.
So we're all working with the same versions of React, and we're all looking at the same code and working
in the same development environment.
This is important so that you don't run into a lot of headaches and you don't get into problems down
the line.
It will make your experience so much more seamless.
And we can focus on the learning rather than the small deprecations and the small changes in the framework.
Now, if you really want to work with VS Code and develop locally, that's totally fine,
that's completely up to you,
and in the next lesson, I have a text lesson to show you how you can download VS Code, download React
and work with it locally.
But again, I really don't recommend it because with every small update in the React framework, which
is a framework controlled and built by Facebook, there will be small minute changes, which doesn't
actually affect anything in the large scale of things.
If things update, you can always learn how to do using documentation.
The important thing here is that we're working on the same environment and we focus on the really,
really hard parts, such as functional programming, such as how to work with the React framework.
What are Hooks?
How do we actually
use a big front-end framework.
So I really, really strongly urge you to stick with me and follow along with what I recommend.
It just means that you'll have so much less heartache,
and once you have completed everything, once you've understood everything, you will be in a much,
much better position if you want to explore local development.
So I know it's a pain.
It's yet another thing to sign up for, but at least it is completely free.
And I promise you, I am not getting any kickbacks from any of these companies.
I wish I was, but I spent a lot of time researching all of these products to find something that is
free, accessible, and is the best option for our purpose, which is to learn as much as fast as possible.