React Conf 2024 Highlights: Speakers Interviews

Andrew Clark explains that React 19 lets function components receive `ref` as a prop, removing the need for `forwardRef`; class components still receive refs as instances, outside their props. He describes Actions as a general pattern that can use server functions, while Server Actions also support progressive enhancement through HTML forms that work before hydration.

Clark says official compiler support starts with React 19 because its runtime is built into that release, though earlier versions can work with a polyfill. M. says teams on React 18 can use the published React Compiler Runtime, and that existing `useCallback` calls can be removed while `useMemo` bodies are inlined. The compiler can skip code that breaks React’s rules, and teams can configure which files or components it processes.

Kent C. Dodds describes React Server Components as a way to combine server-rendered static parts with interactive client components in specific places across an app. He says not every app needs them, but recommends using a React framework for production needs such as performance and usability. He highlights Evan Bacon’s demo as a practical example of server-driven UI.

Josh from Vercel discusses React 19 features for coordinating stylesheets, scripts, and metadata in HTML. Streaming lets users see parts of an app sooner, but can put document data in places that browser-based rendering tolerates and some HTML-processing tools do not. React can keep metadata in the head by placing it outside a Suspense boundary, with the trade-off of waiting longer for the full document.

Evan Bacon describes an Expo Router prototype that brings React Server Components and server-driven UI to web and native platforms. Its planned architecture builds on file-based routing, API routes, server rendering, static generation, and data fetching, with platform and native-client versions accounted for in endpoints. Bacon says the prototype helped him add features such as authentication and data access quickly, then focus on native styling and animations.