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(New) React Context from a Nested Component not working

I'm having serious issues with the "new" React Context ( https://reactjs.org/docs/context.html ) to work like I want/expect from the documentation. I'm using React v.16.8.6 (upgrading will probably take ages, it's a big app). I know there is a bit of a mix between old and new stuff but plz don't get stuck on that..
I did it like this to be as flexible as possible but it doesn't work.
The issue is, when it comes to contextAddToCart(..) it only executes the empty function instead of the one I defined in state as the documentation this.addToCart. I have consumers in other places as well. It seems like perhaps it's executing this in the wrong order. Or every time a Compontent imports MinicartContext it's reset to empty fn.. I don't know how to get around this..
I'll just post the relevant code I think will explain it best:
webpack.config.js:
const APP_DIR = path.resolve(__dirname, 'src/');
module.exports = function config(env, argv = {}) {
return {
resolve: {
extensions: ['.js', '.jsx'],
modules: [
path.resolve(__dirname, 'src/'),
'node_modules',
],
alias: {
contexts: path.resolve(__dirname, './src/contexts.js'),
},
contexts.js
import React from 'react';
export const MinicartContext = React.createContext({
addToCart: () => {},
getState: () => {},
});
MinicartContainer.jsx
import React, { Component } from 'react';
import PropTypes from 'prop-types';
import {
MinicartContext,
} from 'contexts';
export default class MinicartContainer extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.addToCart = (product, qty) => {
const { prices } = product;
const { grandTotal, qtyTotal } = this.state;
this.setState({
grandTotal: grandTotal + prices.price,
qtyTotal: qtyTotal + qty,
});
};
this.state = {
grandTotal: -1,
qtyTotal: -1,
currencyCode: '',
addToCart: this.addToCart,
};
}
render() {
const { children } = this.props;
return (
<MinicartContext.Provider value={this.state}>
{children}
</MinicartContext.Provider>
);
}
Header.jsx:
import React, { Component } from 'react';
import {
MinicartContext,
} from 'contexts';
class Header extends Component {
render() {
return (
<div>
<MinicartContainer MinicartContext={MinicartContext}>
<Minicart MinicartContext={MinicartContext} />
</MinicartContainer MinicartContext={MinicartContext}>
{/* stuff */}
<MinicartContainer MinicartContext={MinicartContext}>
<Minicart MinicartContext={MinicartContext} />
</MinicartContainer MinicartContext={MinicartContext}>
</div>
)
}
}
export default Header;
AddToCartButton.jsx
import {
MinicartContext,
} from 'contexts';
export default class AddToCartButton extends Component {
addToCart(e, contextAddToCart) {
e.preventDefault();
const QTY = 1;
const { product, active } = this.props;
// doing stuff ...
contextAddToCart(product, QTY);
}
render() {
return (
<React.Fragment>
<MinicartContext.Consumer>
{({context, addToCart}) => (
<div
onClick={(e) => { this.addToCart(e, addToCart); }}

Seems to me that you don't have fully understand how the context API words.
Here's my HOC implementation of contexts, maybe it can help you to understand better how things work.
export const MinicartContext = React.createContext({}) // Export the Context so we can use the Consumer in class and functional components (above). Don't use the Provider from here.
// Wrap the provider to add some custom values.
export const MinicartProvider = props => {
const addToCart = () => {
//Add a default version here
};
const getState = () => {
//Add a default version here
};
// Get the custom values and override with instance ones.
const value = {addToCart, getState, ...props.value}
return <MinicartContext.Provider value={value}>
{props.children}
</MinicartContext.Provider>
}
Then when using the provider:
const SomeComponent = props => {
const addToCart = () => {
//A custom version used only in this component, that need to override the default one
};
//Use the Wrapper, forget the MinicartContext.Provider
return <MinicartProvider value={{addToCart}}>
/* Stuff */
</MinicartProvider>
}
And when using the consumer you have three options:
Class Components with single context
export default class AddToCartButton extends Component {
static contextType = MinicartContext;
render (){
const {addToCart, getState} = this.context;
return (/*Something*/)
}
}
Class Components with multiple contexts
export default class AddToCartButton extends Component {
render (){
return (
<MinicartContext.Consumer>{value => {
const {addToCart, getState} = value
return (/*Something*/)
}}</MinicartContext.Consumer>
)
}
}
Functional Components
const AddToCartButton = props => {
const {addToCart, getState} = useContext(MinicartContext);
}
You can create the Wrapper Provider as a class component too, and pass the full state as value, but it's unnecessary complexity.
I Recommend you take a look at this guide about contexts, and also, avoid using the same name on the same scope... Your AddToCartButton.jsx file was reeeeally confusing :P

The issue I had was that I was using <MinicartContainer> in multiple places but all should act as one and the same. Changing it so it wrapped all elements made other elements reset their state when the context updated.
So the only solution I found was to make everything static (including state) inside MinicartContainer, and keep track of all the instances and then use forceUpdate() on all (needed) instances. (Since I am never doing this.setState nothing ever updates otherwise)
I though the new React context would be a clean replacement for things like Redux but as it stands today it's more a really vague specification which can replace Redux in a (sometimes) non standard way.
If you can just wrap all child Consumers with a single Provider component without any side-effects then you can make it a more clean implementation. That said I don't think what I have done is bad in any way but not what people expect a clean implementation should look like. Also this approach isn't mentioned in the docs at all either.

In addition to Toug's answer, I would memoize the exposed value prop of the provider. Otherwise it will re-render it's subscribers every time even if the state doesn't change.
export const MinicartContext = React.createContext({}) // Export the Context so we can use the Consumer in class and functional components (above). Don't use the Provider from here.
// Wrap the provider to add some custom values.
export const MinicartProvider = props => {
const addToCart = () => {
//Add a default version here
};
const getState = () => {
//Add a default version here
};
// Get the custom values and override with instance ones.
const value = useMemo(
() => ({addToCart, getState, ...props.value}),
[addToCart, getState, props.value]
);
return <MinicartContext.Provider value={value}>
{props.children}
</MinicartContext.Provider>
}

React - functions as props causing extra renders

I have some heavy forms that I'm dealing with. Thus, I'm trying to squeeze performance wherever I can find it. Recently I added the Why-did-you-render addon to get more insight on what might be slowing down my pages. I noticed that, for example, when I click on a checkbox component about all of my other components re-render. The justification is always the same. WDYR says
Re-rendered because of props changes: different functions with the
same name {prev onChangeHandler: ƒ} "!==" {next onChangeHandler: ƒ}
As much as possible, I try to respect best the best practices indications that I find. The callback functions that my component passes follow this pattern
import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';
export function TopLevelComponent({props}){
const defaultData = {name: '', useMale: false, useFemale: false}
const [data, setData] = useState(defData);
const { t } = useTranslation();
const updateState = (_attr, _val) => {
const update = {};
update[_attr] = _val;
setData({ ...data, ...update });
}
const updateName = (_v) => updateState('name', _v);//Text input
const updateUseMale = (_v) => updateState('useMale', _v);//checkbox
const updateUseFemale = (_v) => updateState('useFemale', _v);//checkbox
...
return <div>
...
<SomeInputComponent value={data.name} text={t('fullName')} onChangeHandler={updateName} />
<SomeCheckboxComponent value={data.useMale} onChangeHandler={updateUseMale} text={t('useMale')}/>
<SomeCheckboxComponent value={data.useFemale} onChangeHandler={updateUseFemale} text={t('useFemale')}/>
...
</div>
}
In an example like this one, altering any of the inputs (eg: Writing text in the text input or clicking one of the checkboxes) would cause the other 2 components to re-render with the justification presented above.
I guess that I could stop using functional components and utilize the shouldComponentUpdate() function, but functional components do present some advantages that I'd rather keep. How should I write my functions in such a way that interacting with one input does not force an update on another input?

The problem stems from the way you define your change handlers:
const updateName = (_v) => updateState('name', _v)
This line is called on each render and thus, every time your component is rendered, the prop has a new (albeit functionality-wise identical) value. The same holds for every other handler as well.
As an easy solution you can either upgrade your functional component to a fully fledged component and cache the handlers outside of the render function, or you can implement shouldComponentUpdate() in your child components.

You need to use memo for your child components to reduce renders
const SomeInputComponent = props => {
};
export default memo(SomeInputComponent);
// if it still causes rerender witout any prop change then you can use callback to allow or block render
e.f.
function arePropsEqual(prevProps, nextProps) {
return prevProps.name === nextProps.name; // use your logic to determine if props are same or not
}
export default memo(SomeInputComponent, arePropsEqual);
/* One reason for re-render is that `onChange` callback passed to child components is new on each parent render which causes child components to re-render even if you use `momo` because function is updated on each render so in order to fix this, you can use React hook `useCallback` to get the same function reference on each render.
So in you parent component, you need to do something like
*/
import { useCallback } from 'react';
const updateName = useCallback((_v) => updateState('name', _v), [])

You have to memoize parent function before pass to children, using useCallback for functional component or converting to class property if you use class.
export default class Parent extends React.PureComponent {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.onClick = this.onClick.bind(this);
}
onClick() {
console.log("click");
}
render() {
return (
<ChildComponent
onClick={ this.onClick }
/>
);
}
}
with useCallback:
Parent = () => {
const onClick = useCallback(
() => console.log('click'),
[]
);
return (
<ChildComponent
onClick={onClick}
/>
);
}

Window is not defined in Next.js React app

In my Next.js app I can't seem to access window:
Unhandled Rejection (ReferenceError): window is not defined
componentWillMount() {
console.log('window.innerHeight', window.innerHeight);
}

̶A̶n̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶s̶o̶l̶u̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶u̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶c̶e̶s̶s̶.̶b̶r̶o̶w̶s̶e̶r ̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶e̶x̶e̶c̶u̶t̶e̶ ̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶m̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶d̶u̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶r̶e̶n̶d̶e̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶l̶i̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶s̶i̶d̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶l̶y̶.
But process object has been deprecated in Webpack5 and also NextJS, because it is a NodeJS variable for backend side only.
So we have to use back window object from the browser.
if (typeof window !== "undefined") {
// Client-side-only code
}
Other solution is by using react hook to replace componentDidMount:
useEffect(() => {
// Client-side-only code
})

Move the code from componentWillMount() to componentDidMount():
componentDidMount() {
console.log('window.innerHeight', window.innerHeight);
}
In Next.js, componentDidMount() is executed only on the client where window and other browser specific APIs will be available. From the Next.js wiki:
Next.js is universal, which means it executes code first server-side,
then client-side. The window object is only present client-side, so if
you absolutely need to have access to it in some React component, you
should put that code in componentDidMount. This lifecycle method will
only be executed on the client. You may also want to check if there
isn't some alternative universal library which may suit your needs.
Along the same lines, componentWillMount() will be deprecated in v17 of React, so it effectively will be potentially unsafe to use in the very near future.

If you use React Hooks you can move the code into the Effect Hook:
import * as React from "react";
export const MyComp = () => {
React.useEffect(() => {
// window is accessible here.
console.log("window.innerHeight", window.innerHeight);
}, []);
return (<div></div>)
}
The code inside useEffect is only executed on the client (in the browser), thus it has access to window.

With No SSR
https://nextjs.org/docs/advanced-features/dynamic-import#with-no-ssr
import dynamic from 'next/dynamic'
const DynamicComponentWithNoSSR = dynamic(
() => import('../components/hello3'),
{ ssr: false }
)
function Home() {
return (
<div>
<Header />
<DynamicComponentWithNoSSR />
<p>HOME PAGE is here!</p>
</div>
)
}
export default Home

The error occurs because window is not yet available, while component is still mounting. You can access window object after component is mounted.
You can create a very useful hook for getting dynamic window.innerHeight or window.innerWidth
const useDeviceSize = () => {
const [width, setWidth] = useState(0)
const [height, setHeight] = useState(0)
const handleWindowResize = () => {
setWidth(window.innerWidth);
setHeight(window.innerHeight);
}
useEffect(() => {
// component is mounted and window is available
handleWindowResize();
window.addEventListener('resize', handleWindowResize);
// unsubscribe from the event on component unmount
return () => window.removeEventListener('resize', handleWindowResize);
}, []);
return [width, height]
}
export default useDeviceSize
Use case:
const [width, height] = useDeviceSize();

componentWillMount() lifecycle hook works both on server as well as client side. In your case server would not know about window or document during page serving, the suggestion is to move the code to either
Solution 1:
componentDidMount()
Or, Solution 2
In case it is something that you only want to perform in then you could write something like:
componentWillMount() {
if (typeof window !== 'undefined') {
console.log('window.innerHeight', window.innerHeight);
}
}

In the constructor of your class Component you can add
if (typeof window === 'undefined') {
global.window = {}
}
Example:
import React, { Component } from 'react'
class MyClassName extends Component {
constructor(props){
super(props)
...
if (typeof window === 'undefined') {
global.window = {}
}
}
This will avoid the error (in my case, the error would occur after I would click reload of the page).

global?.window && window.innerHeight
It's important to use the operator ?., otherwise the build command might crash.

Best solution ever
import dynamic from 'next/dynamic';
const Chart = dynamic(()=> import('react-apexcharts'), {
ssr:false,
})

A bit late but you could also consider using Dynamic Imports from next turn off SSR for that component.
You can warp the import for your component inside a dynamic function and then, use the returned value as the actual component.
import dynamic from 'next/dynamic'
const BoardDynamic = dynamic(() => import('../components/Board.tsx'), {
ssr: false,
})
<>
<BoardDynamic />
</>

I have to access the hash from the URL so I come up with this
const hash = global.window && window.location.hash;

Here's an easy-to-use workaround that I did.
const runOnClient = (func: () => any) => {
if (typeof window !== "undefined") {
if (window.document.readyState == "loading") {
window.addEventListener("load", func);
} else {
func();
}
}
};
Usage:
runOnClient(() => {
// access window as you like
})
// or async
runOnClient(async () => {
// remember to catch errors that might be raised in promises, and use the `await` keyword wherever needed
})
This is better than just typeof window !== "undefined", because if you just check that the window is not undefined, it won't work if your page was redirected to, it just works once while loading. But this workaround works even if the page was redirected to, not just once while loading.

I was facing the same problem when i was developing a web application in next.js This fixed my problem, you have to refer to refer the window object in a life cycle method or a react Hook. For example lets say i want to create a store variable with redux and in this store i want to use a windows object i can do it as follows:
let store
useEffect(()=>{
store = createStore(rootReducers, window.__REDUX_DEVTOOLS_EXTENSION__ &&
window.__REDUX_DEVTOOLS_EXTENSION__())
}, [])
....
So basically, when you are working with window's object always use a hook to play around or componentDidMount() life cycle method

I wrapped the general solution (if (typeof window === 'undefined') return;) in a custom hook, that I am very pleased with. It has a similiar interface to reacts useMemo hook which I really like.
import { useEffect, useMemo, useState } from "react";
const InitialState = Symbol("initial");
/**
*
* #param clientFactory Factory function similiar to `useMemo`. However, this function is only ever called on the client and will transform any returned promises into their resolved values.
* #param deps Factory function dependencies, just like in `useMemo`.
* #param serverFactory Factory function that may be called server side. Unlike the `clientFactory` function a resulting `Promise` will not be resolved, and will continue to be returned while the `clientFactory` is pending.
*/
export function useClientSideMemo<T = any, K = T>(
clientFactory: () => T | Promise<T>,
deps: Parameters<typeof useMemo>["1"],
serverFactory?: () => K
) {
const [memoized, setMemoized] = useState<T | typeof InitialState>(
InitialState
);
useEffect(() => {
(async () => {
setMemoized(await clientFactory());
})();
// eslint-disable-next-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
}, deps);
return typeof window === "undefined" || memoized === InitialState
? serverFactory?.()
: memoized;
}
Usage Example:
I am using it to dynamically import libaries that are not compatible with SSR in next.js, since its own dynamic import is only compatible with components.
const renderer = useClientSideMemo(
async () =>
(await import("#/components/table/renderers/HighlightTextRenderer"))
.HighlightTextRendererAlias,
[],
() => "text"
);
As you can see I even implemented a fallback factory callback, so you may provide a result when initially rendering on the server aswell. In all other aspects this hook should behave similiar to reacts useMemo hook. Open to feedback.

For such cases, Next.js has Dynamic Import.
A module that includes a library that only works in the browser, it's suggested to use Dynamic Import. Refer

Date: 06/08/2021
Check if the window object exists or not and then follow the code along with it.
function getSelectedAddress() {
if (typeof window === 'undefined') return;
// Some other logic
}

For Next.js version 12.1.0, I find that we can use process.title to determine whether we are in browser or in node side. Hope it helps!
export default function Projects(props) {
console.log({ 'process?.title': process?.title });
return (
<div></div>
);
}
1. From the terminal, I receive { 'process?.title': 'node' }
2. From Chrome devtool, I revice { 'process?.title': 'browser' }

I had this same issue when refreshing the page (caused by an import that didn't work well with SSR).
What fixed it for me was going to pages where this was occurring and forcing the import to be dynamic:
import dynamic from 'next/dynamic';
const SomeComponent = dynamic(()=>{return import('../Components/SomeComponent')}, {ssr: false});
//import SomeComponent from '../Components/SomeComponent'
Commenting out the original import and importing the component dynamically forces the client-side rendering of the component.
The dynamic import is covered in Nextjs's documentation here:
https://nextjs.org/docs/advanced-features/dynamic-import
I got to this solution by watching the youtube video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA0ie1RPP6g

You can define a state var and use the window event handle to handle changes like so.
const [height, setHeight] = useState();
useEffect(() => {
if (!height) setHeight(window.innerHeight - 140);
window.addEventListener("resize", () => {
setHeight(window.innerHeight - 140);
});
}, []);

You can try the below code snippet for use-cases such as - to get current pathname (CurrentUrl Path)
import { useRouter } from "next/router";
const navigator = useRouter()
console.log(navigator.pathname);

For anyone who somehow cannot use hook (for example, function component):
Use setTimeout(() => yourFunctionWithWindow()); will allow it get the window instance. Guess it just need a little more time to load.

I want to leave this approach that I found interesting for future researchers. It's using a custom hook useEventListener that can be used in so many others needs.
Note that you will need to apply a little change in the originally posted one, like I suggest here.
So it will finish like this:
import { useRef, useEffect } from 'react'
export const useEventListener = (eventName, handler, element) => {
const savedHandler = useRef()
useEffect(() => {
savedHandler.current = handler
}, [handler])
useEffect(() => {
element = !element ? window : element
const isSupported = element && element.addEventListener
if (!isSupported) return
const eventListener = (event) => savedHandler.current(event)
element.addEventListener(eventName, eventListener)
return () => {
element.removeEventListener(eventName, eventListener)
}
}, [eventName, element])
}

If it is NextJS app and inside _document.js, use below:
<script dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{
__html: `
var innerHeight = window.innerHeight;
`
}} />

event bus in React?

I'm mainly using Vue, and just recently picked up React. Loving it so far, and its quite similar in a lot of ways to Vue, which makes learning it way easier.
Now, let's consider two siblings component. I want to trigger something in component number one, when something happens in component number two. In Vue you can just bind window.bus = new Vue, and then emit in one of the components bus.$emit('event') and bind in the mounted() of the second component bus.$on('event', this.doSth).
How can you achieve that in React?

Event Bus is only a Global Function Register, can you use it
class _EventBus {
constructor() {
this.bus = {};
}
$off(id) {
delete this.bus[id];
}
$on(id, callback) {
this.bus[id] = callback;
}
$emit(id, ...params) {
if(this.bus[id])
this.bus[id](...params);
}
}
export const EventBus = new _EventBus();
The export const prevent multiple instances, making the class static

In the case of two sibling components, you would hold the state in the parent component and pass that state as a prop to both siblings:
class ParentComponent extends Component {
state = {
specialProp: "bar"
}
changeProp = () => {
// this.setState..
}
render() {
return (
<div>
<FirstSibling specialProp={this.state.specialProp} />
<SecondSibling changeProp={this.changeProp} specialProp={this.state.specialProp} />
</div>
);
}
}

For those that are still searching, look at this article: https://www.pluralsight.com/guides/how-to-communicate-between-independent-components-in-reactjs
The solution uses:
document.addEventListener for $on;
document.dispatchEvent for $emit;
document.removeEventListener for $off;
In my use case I had a component that contained a Refresh button that would trigger a data refresh in other components.
I did everything as it was presented in the article. In case you're using React with Functional Components, you might want to use the following useEffect:
useEffect(() => {
// The component might unmount when the request is in progress.
// Because of this an error will appear when we'll try to 'setData'.
let isMounted = true
const getData = () => {
reqData(db, path)
.then(result => {
if (isMounted) {
setData(result) // This is a useState
}
})
}
eventBus.on('refreshData', (data) => {
getData()
})
getData()
return () => {
isMounted = false
eventBus.remove('refreshData')
}
// Do not change the end of this useEffect. Keep it as it is. It simulates componentDidMount.
// eslint-disable-next-line
}, [])

A parent component can manage the state and methods consumed by child components when passed down through props.
The following example increments a count. SibOne displays the count and a button in SibTwo increments the count.
class App extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.state = {
count: 0
};
}
incrementCount = () => {
this.setState({
count: this.state.count + 1
});
}
render() {
return (
<div className="App">
<SibOne count={this.state.count}/>
<SibTwo incrementCount={this.incrementCount}/>
</div>
);
}
}
const SibOne = props => <div>Count: {props.count}</div>;
const SibTwo = props => (
<button onClick={props.incrementCount}>
Increment Count
</button>
);
Demo: https://codesandbox.io/s/zqp9wj2n63
More on Components and Props: https://reactjs.org/docs/components-and-props.html

Write-Once, use everywhere Event Bus (PubSub) system
I have used Vue for a long time and I enjoyed using the Event Bus too, was a pain that it wasn't readily available on react. Although, after a lot of research, I came up with an approach that should be easy to implement.
You can leverage Event Listeners and the CustomEvent API to implement the Event Bus architecture.
// event-bus.js file
const EventBus = {
$on (eventType, callback) {
document.addEventListener(eventType, (ev) => callback(ev.detail))
},
$dispatch (eventType, data) {
const event = new CustomEvent(eventType, { detail: data })
document.dispatchEvent(event)
},
$remove (eventType, callback) {
document.removeEventListener(eventType, callback)
}
}
export default EventBus
You can now go ahead to import the EventBus object to any file of choice, here is what the usage looks like for me.
For the publisher:
// publisher.js file
EventBus.$dispatch(message.name, message.value)
And on the subscriber's end:
// subscriber.js file
EventBus.$on('user.connect', (data) => console.log(data))

rxjs is one more option that you can explore. check if that can help you as they are providing observable and event based programs. It is also doing similar thing like what Eventbus is doing in vuejs.

Why can't I curry a react component?

I've been getting started with react-redux and finding it a very interesting way to simplify the front end code for an application using many objects that it acquires from a back end service where the objects need to be updated on the front end in approximately real time.
Using a container class largely automates the watching (which updates the objects in the store when they change). Here's an example:
const MethodListContainer = React.createClass({
render(){
return <MethodList {...this.props} />},
componentDidMount(){
this.fetchAndWatch('/list/method')},
componentWillUnmount(){
if (isFunction(this._unwatch)) this._unwatch()},
fetchAndWatch(oId){
this.props.fetchObject(oId).then((obj) => {
this._unwatch = this.props.watchObject(oId);
return obj})}});
In trying to supply the rest of the application with as simple and clear separation as possible, I tried to supply an alternative 'connect' which would automatically supply an appropriate container thus:
const connect = (mapStateToProps, watchObjectId) => (component) => {
const ContainerComponent = React.createClass({
render(){
return <component {...this.props} />
},
componentDidMount(){
this.fetchAndWatch()},
componentWillUnmount(){
if (isFunction(this._unwatch)) this._unwatch()},
fetchAndWatch(){
this.props.fetchObject(watchObjectId).then((obj) => {
this._unwatch = this.props.watchObject(watchObjectId);
return obj})}
});
return reduxConnect(mapStateToProps, actions)(ContainerComponent)
};
This is then used thus:
module.exports = connect(mapStateToProps, '/list/method')(MethodList)
However, component does not get rendered. The container is rendered except that the component does not get instantiated or rendered. The component renders (and updates) as expected if I don't pass it as a parameter and reference it directly instead.
No errors or warnings are generated.
What am I doing wrong?

This is my workaround rather than an explanation for the error:
In connect_obj.js:
"use strict";
import React from 'react';
import {connect} from 'react-redux';
import {actions} from 'redux/main';
import {gets} from 'redux/main';
import {isFunction, omit} from 'lodash';
/*
A connected wrapper that expects an oId property for an object it can get in the store.
It fetches the object and places it on the 'obj' property for its children (this prop will start as null
because the fetch is async). It also ensures that the object is watched while the children are mounted.
*/
const mapStateToProps = (state, ownProps) => ({obj: gets.getObject(state, ownProps.oId)});
function connectObj(Wrapped){
const HOC = React.createClass({
render(){
return <Wrapped {...this.props} />
},
componentDidMount(){
this.fetchAndWatch()},
componentWillUnmount(){
if (isFunction(this._unwatch)) this._unwatch()},
fetchAndWatch(){
const {fetchObject, watchObject, oId} = this.props;
fetchObject(oId).then((obj) => {
this._unwatch = watchObject(oId);
return obj})}});
return connect(mapStateToProps, actions)(HOC)}
export default connectObj;
Then I can use it anywhere thus:
"use strict";
import React from 'react';
import connectObj from 'redux/connect_obj';
const Method = connectObj(React.createClass({
render(){
const {obj, oId} = this.props;
return (obj) ? <p>{obj.id}: {obj.name}/{obj.function}</p> : <p>Fetching {oId}</p>}}));
So connectObj achieves my goal of creating a project wide replacement for setting up the connect explicitly along with a container component to watch/unwatch the objects. This saves quite a lot of boiler plate and gives us a single place to maintain the setup and connection of the store to the components whose job is just to present the objects that may change over time (through updates from the service).
I still don't understand why my first attempt does not work and this workaround does not support injecting other state props (as all the actions are available there is no need to worry about the dispatches).

Try using a different variable name for the component parameter.
const connect = (mapStateToProps, watchObjectId) => (MyComponent) => {
const ContainerComponent = React.createClass({
render() {
return <MyComponent {...this.props} obj={this.state.obj} />
}
...
fetchAndWatch() {
fetchObject(watchObjectId).then(obj => {
this._unwatch = watchObject(watchObjectId);
this.setState({obj});
})
}
});
...
}
I think the problem might be because the component is in lower case (<component {...this.props} />). JSX treats lowercase elements as DOM element and capitalized as React element.
Edit:
If you need to access the obj data, you'll have to pass it as props to the component. Updated the code snippet