new Refs API in React

refs.js

class MyComponent extends React.Component {
  constructor(props) {
    super(props);
    // Refs are created using React.createRef().
    // Refs are commonly assigned to an instance property when a component is constructed so they can be referened throughout the component.
    this.myRef = React.createRef(); 
  }
  render() {
    // Refs are attached to React elements via the ref attribute
    return <div ref={this.myRef} />;
  }
}

// assessing refs: const node = this.myRef.current;