Immutable State
Immutable state is a programming concept where data or objects cannot be modified after creation, requiring new instances for any changes. It is a core principle in functional programming and state management, ensuring predictable behavior by preventing side effects and accidental mutations. This approach simplifies debugging, enables time-travel debugging, and supports concurrency by avoiding shared mutable state.
Developers should use immutable state in scenarios requiring predictable state changes, such as in React applications with Redux or Zustand for UI state management, or in concurrent systems to prevent race conditions. It is essential for functional programming paradigms, enabling pure functions and referential transparency, and is valuable in distributed systems where data consistency and immutability reduce bugs and improve reliability.