React Components

Overview

React components are JavaScript functions (or classes) that return UI markup. Function components are the modern default. Compose small, focused components rather than monolithic pages.

Syntax / Usage

// Function component
function Button({ label, onClick, variant = 'primary' }) {
  return (
    <button className={`btn btn-${variant}`} onClick={onClick}>
      {label}
    </button>
  )
}

// Arrow function component
const Card = ({ title, children }) => (
  <article className="card">
    <h2>{title}</h2>
    <div>{children}</div>
  </article>
)

// Composition
function Page() {
  return (
    <Card title="Welcome">
      <Button label="Get started" onClick={() => {}} />
    </Card>
  )
}

export default Page

File naming: PascalCase for components (UserAvatar.tsx), one primary export per file is common.

Examples

Layout with slots via children:

function DashboardLayout({ sidebar, children }) {
  return (
    <div className="dashboard">
      <aside>{sidebar}</aside>
      <main>{children}</main>
    </div>
  )
}

List with keyed items:

function TodoList({ todos }) {
  return (
    <ul>
      {todos.map((todo) => (
        <li key={todo.id}>{todo.text}</li>
      ))}
    </ul>
  )
}

Common Mistakes

• Defining components inside other components—causes remount every render
• Missing key on list items or using array index for reorderable lists
• Mixing business logic and presentation—extract hooks or utilities
• Lowercase component names—React treats them as DOM tags

See Also

jsx props use-state conditional-rendering