React Rally Recap

Last month, I had the privilege of attending React Rally, a two-day, single-track conference in Salt Lake City. Held annually since 2015, the conference covers a range of topics across the React ecosystem. This year’s conference played host to an excellent lineup of speakers, and while every talk delivered, some really resonated with me.

D3 and React: Unlikely Partners in Data Visualization

At Envy Labs, we’ve long been proponents of D3, and we’ve used it to create some powerful data visualizations. While D3 and React handle completely different use-cases — D3 being a visualization and data manipulation library, and React being a component library — they have one annoying thing in common: they both want control of the DOM. It’s a struggle many developers have dealt with (and written about), so it should come as no surprise that we had a talk on this topic batting leadoff for the conference.

In her talk, D3 & React, Shirley Wu taught us how to leverage the strengths of each library (D3 for math, React for rendering) to work with each other, rather than against, to create some really powerful visualizations with minimal code. Shirley walked us through step-by-step as she outlined her strategy for building D3-powered React components, as well as best practices she discovered along the way. Whether you’re new to D3, or a seasoned user, you’re bound to pick up something new here.

Shipped Code > Clean Code

As consultants, we have to temper our perfectionist tendencies to meet tight timelines. Yes, the client is able to realize the benefits of a maintainable codebase, but do they really care if you’ve written the JavaScript equivalent of Shakespeare’s Hamlet?

As we go down the rabbit hole of best practices, optimizations, and perfectly abstracted code, it’s easy to lose sight of what really matters most: does it work and was it delivered on time? In his talk, Hot Garbage: Clean Code is Dead, Michael Chan gave us the reality check we needed (in a nice way) and reminded us that code is simply a means to an end, not the end itself.

Life as an Open Source Developer

In one of the most impactful talks of the conference, Through the (Open Source) Looking Glass, Henry Zhu (of Babel notoriety) reflected on the challenges he’s faced since leaving his job and working full-time in open source. Henry detailed the challenges of balancing work with fundraising — and the “catch-22ness” of it all — as well the unrelenting fear of not living up to the community’s expectations.

This talk resonated with me because I’ve always pictured a career in open source as one of freedom, but the picture Henry painted was anything but. It was a stark reminder that open source is often thankless work.

Check out the Rest

While I’ve detailed a select few, there really wasn’t a bad talk at the conference, and I highly recommend watching them all on the React Rally YouTube channel. And whatever you do, don’t miss Eve Porcello’s Everything You Need to Know About GraphQL in 3 Components. It’s probably the most hilarious introduction to GraphQL you will ever see.