--- title: "An honest review of Gatsby, and the React community survey" publication: "React Status" issue: 209 published_at: "2020-10-07" canonical_url: "https://react.statuscode.com/issues/209" --- ⚛️ This week's React news, links, and libraries #209 — October 7, 2020 [Read on the Web](https://react.statuscode.com/issues/209) React Status Your weekly React news digest, every Wednesday [![\](https://res.cloudinary.com/cpress/image/upload/w_1280,e_sharpen:60/rum3l4opcr8odf0ql1pi.jpg)](https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/FRFQWPH) [Take the Official React 2020 Community Survey](https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/FRFQWPH) — The React Core Team [wants](https://twitter.com/dan_abramov/status/1313113329569869825) your input and it’s probably the least we can do for all their hard work 🙂 They’re working on new docs and other initiatives and will use the results of this survey to help direct their work going forward. All questions are optional too, so if you only have a few minutes and want to focus on areas that concern you, you can do this. React Core Team [An Honest Review of Gatsby](https://cra.mr/an-honest-review-of-gatsby/) — [Gatsby](https://www.gatsbyjs.org/) is a popular React-based framework commonly associated with (but not limited to!) building static sites. Sentry have been using it for their documentation and here’s the tale of how that’s gone. Spoiler: It’s not been all sunshine and roses.. plus [further discussion on Hacker News.](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24670252) David Cramer [![\](https://copm.s3.amazonaws.com/de89cec7.png)](https://www.telerik.com/react-wednesdays?utm_medium=cpm&utm_source=reactstatus&utm_campaign=kendo-ui-react-event-react-wed-eric-elliott) [On Twitch Today—Dive Into React Unit Testing w/ Eric Elliott](https://www.telerik.com/react-wednesdays?utm_medium=cpm&utm_source=reactstatus&utm_campaign=kendo-ui-react-event-react-wed-eric-elliott) — The one and only [Eric Elliot](https://twitter.com/_ericelliott) is joining TJ VanToll to share his knowledge about all things unit testing. Eric teaches developers essential software development skills and is the author of “Composing Software.” Join us live on Twitch. Progress KendoReact sponsor [jQuery to React: How We Rewrote the HelloSign Editor](https://dropbox.tech/application/jquery-to-react--how-we-rewrote-the-hellosign-editor) — eSignatures have been getting a lot of positive press recently, no doubt in part because signers currently have a great reason **not** to meet face-to-face. Here’s an excellent case study of how [Dropbox.Tech](https://dropbox.tech) recently replaced 12,000 lines of jQuery with an all new React app. Asa Ayers ▶[Create React App vs Next.js vs Gatsby](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFXQRONQqGA) — As you kick off a new project, you may still be considering alternative approaches to getting started. This concise video broadly compares some leading contenders so you can make the right choice between [Create React App](https://create-react-app.dev), [Next.js](https://nextjs.org) and [Gatsby](https://www.gatsbyjs.com). James Q. Quick [How You Should Structure Your React Applications](https://t.co/V7i8DSHwUO?amp=1) — Do you ever wonder how your method of organizing your React projects compares to how others do it? Everybody has an opinion, how does yours stack up? Thomas Guibert 💻 Jobs [React Developer at X-Team (Remote)](https://x-team.com/join/?utm_source=cooperpress&utm_medium=email-ad&utm_campaign=react) — Join the most energizing community for developers and work on projects for Riot Games, FOX, Sony, Coinbase, and more. X-Team [Find Your Next Job Through Vettery](https://www.vettery.com/tech?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=cooper-reactstatus&utm_term=tech&utm_content=grouped&utm_campaign=ad-77585) — Create a profile on Vettery to connect with hiring managers at startups and Fortune 500 companies. It's free for job-seekers. Vettery 🧑‍💻 _Interested in running a job listing in React Status? There's [more info here.](https://booking.cooperpress.com/jobs)_ 📘 Tutorials and Stories [Using Service Workers with `create-react-app`](https://blog.bitsrc.io/using-service-workers-with-react-27a4c5e2d1a9) — You may not yet realize that React service workers do much of the heavy lifting of modern [Progressive Web Apps](https://web.dev/what-are-pwas/). If one of those is on your radar, this article will introduce the concepts and show how you use [create-react-app](https://create-react-app.dev) to set them up. Shaumik Daityari [Building a Truly Accessible Clickable Div](https://eng.wealthfront.com/2020/10/01/building-a-truly-accessible-clickable-div/) — [WealthFront](https://www.wealthfront.com) is committed to the delivery of apps which embrace the challenges of accessibility. Their in-house `ExpandedClickableArea` component is a great example. And this is novel: they’re using their article as a means of attracting new engineering talent. Andrew Easton [Demystifying React Native’s Animated API: Part 1](https://drop.engineering/demystifying-react-natives-animated-api-part-1-681da7ca4661) — There are some stunning animations being implemented with CSS. However, React Native animations don’t work quite the same way and you’ll need to adjust your approach. This post from the [Drop](https://www.joindrop.com) Engineering blog explains. Simon Steer [Getting Started with Gatsby: Build Your First Static Site](https://www.sitepoint.com/gatsby-guide/) — We like it when an article starts with the assumption we know nothing of a new tool or technique and then, using a simple example, illustrates everything we need to know to get to at least a basic understanding. Maria Antonietta Perna [Unit Testing In React Native Applications](https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2020/09/unit-testing-react-native-applications/) — Testing your components to ensure they’re ready for prime time means [unit testing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_testing) them thoroughly. This is how you use [Jest](https://jestjs.io) JavaScript testing framework to achieve this goal. Fortune Ikechi [Getting Started with OpenTelemetry in JavaScript](https://opentelemetry.lightstep.com/js?utm_campaign=react&utm_source=cooper&utm_medium=Email) Lightstep sponsor [Lightweight, Modern React.js Setup for GraphQL using Vite and urql](https://zaiste.net/posts/modern-lightweight-reactjs-setup-graphql-vite-urql/) — A prescriptive, easy-to-follow guide to getting your first React/[GraphQL](https://graphql.org) project off the ground. Jakub Neander (Zaiste) 🔧 Code and Tools [![\](https://res.cloudinary.com/cpress/image/upload/w_1280,e_sharpen:60/y3dqpi7p8gvvise1ihx6.jpg)](https://github.com/vasturiano/react-force-graph) [react-force-graph: Beautiful Visualization of Complex Network Relationships](https://github.com/vasturiano/react-force-graph) — When Hollywood wants to convey the notion of software which is just over the horizon, it seems like [force graphs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force-directed_graph_drawing) are the way they do it. But the fact is they are a great way to visualize complex relationships in an interactive way and they’re actually here already. Vasco Asturiano [How to Measure Performance Metrics in React Native Apps](https://blog.newrelic.com/engineering/measure-performance-metrics-in-react-native-apps/?utm_campaign=FY21-Q3-DEV-OBSV-AMER-RS-NL-SL-B_MPM&utm_medium=NL&utm_source=RS&utm_content=B_MPM&fiscal_year=FY21&quarter=Q3>m=DEV&program=OBSV&ad_type=SL&geo=AMER) — Track component load times with the lifecycle API so you can focus on what matters: shipping features for your users. New Relic sponsor [A List of Various React + TypeScript 'Starter Kits'](https://github.com/typescript-cheatsheets/react/blob/main/docs/basic/setup.md#react--typescript-starter-kits) — With different frameworks, different scenarios (cloud, browser, local), or a full on manual setup approach. Shawn Wang [react-plotly.js: How React Does Plotly](https://github.com/plotly/react-plotly.js) — Your key to accessing the beautiful and functional [Plotly JavaScript Open Source Graphing Library](https://plotly.com/javascript/). Plotly [React-Menu: All The Menu Use Cases You'll Ever Need](https://szhsin.github.io/react-menu/) — This covers just about every menu use case, many of which are not available in more popular React libraries. This includes submenus, radio and checkbox functionality. Zheng Song [Upcount: Invoicing with React and Electron](https://github.com/madisvain/upcount) — While it may not necessarily revolutionize the way you do business, everybody could use a good, basic, cross-platform invoicing app. Madis Väin [react-avatar: An All-in-One Component for User Personalization](https://github.com/kirill3333/react-avatar) — A nice, all-in-one component to professionalize your app while enabling your users to easily express themselves through their avatar. Everybody wins. Kirill Novikov This issue was curated by Terence C. Gannon and edited by the Cooperpress team. A **[Cooperpress](https://cooperpress.com/)** publication. 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