In Laymen's Terms

React Hooks are a way to add functionality to your React components without having to use class components.

When you create a new React component, you have the option of using a class component or a functional component. Class components have been around since the beginning of React and are the traditional way of creating components. They have a lot of built-in functionality, but can also be complex and difficult to understand.

Functional components, on the other hand, are simpler and easier to understand. They don't have as much built-in functionality as class components, but that's where React Hooks come in.

React Hooks are a way to add functionality to your functional components. They allow you to use state and other React features in functional components. This means you can use the same functionality that is available in class components, but in a simpler and easier to understand way.

Hooks are just JavaScript functions that you can call from your functional components. There are a few built-in hooks like useState and useEffect, but you can also create your own custom hooks.

For example, let's say you have a functional component that needs to keep track of a count. You can use the useState hook to create a state variable that keeps track of the count.

import { useState } from 'react';

function MyComponent() {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0);

  return (
    <div>
      <p>Count: {count}</p>
      <button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>Increment</button>
    </div>
  );
}

In this example, we're using the useState hook to create a state variable called count. We're initializing it with a value of 0. We're also creating a function called setCount that we can use to update the count.

In the JSX, we're displaying the count and a button that, when clicked, increments the count.

This is just a simple example of what you can do with React Hooks. There are many other hooks available like useEffect for handling side-effects, useContext for sharing state across components and many more.

React Hooks allow you to add functionality to your functional components in a simple and easy to understand way. They make it possible to use the same functionality that is available in class components, but in a way that is simpler and easier to understand.

In short, React Hooks are a way to add functionality to your functional components, it's easy to understand and maintain, and it allows you to use the same functionality that is available in class components.