Class Components
Class components are a way to define React components using ES6 classes, which extend React.Component and include a render() method to return JSX. They were the primary method for creating stateful and lifecycle-aware components in React before the introduction of hooks. Class components support local state management through this.state and lifecycle methods like componentDidMount and componentDidUpdate.
Developers should learn class components to understand legacy React codebases, as many older projects still use them extensively. They are useful for scenarios requiring complex lifecycle management or when working with libraries that haven't migrated to hooks. However, for new projects, functional components with hooks are generally preferred due to their simplicity and better performance.