Q43: Why avoid overusing Refs for component communication?
Overusing refs breaks React's declarative data-flow paradigm, making component state changes side-effect driven and hard to trace. Standard props and callbacks should handle application data flow.
Key Takeaways
- React favors a declarative top-down data flow architecture.
- Reserve refs for imperative escape hatches like focus management, DOM measurement, or media playback.
Knowledge Check
What is the primary design philosophy of React data flow?