What is React Context API and how do you use it?

Instruction: Describe the purpose of the Context API in React and provide an example of how it can be used to manage global state.

Context: This question tests the candidate's ability to work with React's Context API for managing global application state without prop drilling.

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The React Context API is essentially designed for sharing data that can be considered “global” for a tree of React components, such as the current authenticated user, theme, or preferred language. Thus, it allows components to access this data directly, regardless of where they are located in the component tree.

Let me clarify with an example to demonstrate how the Context API can be applied, particularly in managing global state. Imagine we're developing a theme switcher feature in our application. Traditionally, the theme state and the function to toggle this theme would need to be passed down through props to all components that require access to this data. However, with Context, we...

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