Today I worked on one of the most important exercises in my React course:
splitting a huge component into multiple smaller, meaningful components.
The course gave me one large file with all the UI and logic inside a single component.
My task was simple but very important:
Take the giant component and break it into a clean component structure.
And today, I finally completed it.
The Starting Point: One Giant File From the Course π
Inside the course, they gave me a full working example:
Everything was inside one massive component.
This wasnβt a mistake β this was intentional.
The goal was to force me to practice splitting.
And honestly, it was the perfect challenge.
My Task: Split the Huge Component Into Logical Parts π§©
Instead of splitting randomly, I followed a clear rule:
Each component should represent a meaningful part of the UI.
Hereβs how I broke it down:
β NavBar Section
All of these are related to navigation, so they stay together.
β Main Section
Holds the two major panels:
β Movie Listing Components
Inside ListBox, I split:
β Watched Section Components
Inside WatchedBox, I split:
By splitting this way, the structure became crystal clear.
The Final Component Structure I Created
App
ββ NavBar
β ββ Logo
β ββ Search
β ββ NumResults
ββ Main
β ββ ListBox
β β ββ MovieList
β β ββ Movie
β ββ WatchedBox
β ββ WatchedMoviesSummary
β ββ WatchedMovieList
β ββ WatchedMovie
This is clean, readable, and exactly what the course wanted me to practice.
What I Learned Today
β 1. Huge Components Are a Starting Point
The course intentionally gave me a huge component so I could learn how to break it down myself.
β 2. Splitting Should Be Logical, Not Random
A component must represent a real βpieceβ of the UI.
β 3. Medium Components Make Everything Easier
Clear, understandable blocks β better developer experience.
β 4. After Splitting, State Becomes Easier
Each piece controls its own logic instead of everything mixing together.
Final Thoughts π
Today was not just a coding exercise β it was a mindset shift.
I learned:
This exercise improved my React thinking more than anything else.
Tomorrow, Iβll continue the next part of my course and apply the same principles to new features.
π Note
If you want to know which framework and approach I used to split this huge component, then definitely read this blog of mine.
More...
splitting a huge component into multiple smaller, meaningful components.
The course gave me one large file with all the UI and logic inside a single component.
My task was simple but very important:
Take the giant component and break it into a clean component structure.
And today, I finally completed it.
The Starting Point: One Giant File From the Course π
Inside the course, they gave me a full working example:
- Navbar
- Search
- Movie List
- Watched Movies
- Summary
- Toggling sections
- Movie cards
- Watched movie cards
- Average ratings
- All useState logic
Everything was inside one massive component.
This wasnβt a mistake β this was intentional.
The goal was to force me to practice splitting.
And honestly, it was the perfect challenge.
My Task: Split the Huge Component Into Logical Parts π§©
Instead of splitting randomly, I followed a clear rule:
Each component should represent a meaningful part of the UI.
Hereβs how I broke it down:
β NavBar Section
- Logo
- Search
- NumResults
All of these are related to navigation, so they stay together.
β Main Section
Holds the two major panels:
- ListBox (the movies list)
- WatchedBox (the watched movies section)
β Movie Listing Components
Inside ListBox, I split:
- MovieList
- Movie
β Watched Section Components
Inside WatchedBox, I split:
- WatchedMoviesSummary
- WatchedMovieList
- WatchedMovie
By splitting this way, the structure became crystal clear.
The Final Component Structure I Created
App
ββ NavBar
β ββ Logo
β ββ Search
β ββ NumResults
ββ Main
β ββ ListBox
β β ββ MovieList
β β ββ Movie
β ββ WatchedBox
β ββ WatchedMoviesSummary
β ββ WatchedMovieList
β ββ WatchedMovie
This is clean, readable, and exactly what the course wanted me to practice.
What I Learned Today
β 1. Huge Components Are a Starting Point
The course intentionally gave me a huge component so I could learn how to break it down myself.
β 2. Splitting Should Be Logical, Not Random
A component must represent a real βpieceβ of the UI.
β 3. Medium Components Make Everything Easier
Clear, understandable blocks β better developer experience.
β 4. After Splitting, State Becomes Easier
Each piece controls its own logic instead of everything mixing together.
Final Thoughts π
Today was not just a coding exercise β it was a mindset shift.
I learned:
- how to take a large messy component
- understand its structure
- identify natural boundaries
- and break it into clean, reusable parts
This exercise improved my React thinking more than anything else.
Tomorrow, Iβll continue the next part of my course and apply the same principles to new features.
π Note
If you want to know which framework and approach I used to split this huge component, then definitely read this blog of mine.
More...