Declarative Field Dependencies in React: How Configuration Replaces useEffect Spaghetti
The Problem
Complex forms are everywhere in enterprise applications. Registration forms, checkout flows, survey builders, data entry systems. They all share a common challenge: fields that depend on other fields.
Country selection shows state dropdown. Application type determines available submission types. Certain combinations trigger validation rules or show warnings.
The standard React approach? useEffect hooks watching field changes. For simple cases, this works. For complex forms with 30+ fields and multiple dependency chains? It becomes unmaintainable.
