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How to pass async state to child component props?

I'm new to react and I am trying to fetch data from an API and pass the data to a child component. I've passed the data to the state on my parent component, however, when I pass it to the child component as props it logs as an empty array. I'm sure there is something simple I am overlooking but I don't know what, my code is below
PARENT COMPONENT
import React, {Component} from 'react';
import Child from '../src/child';
import './App.css';
class App extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.state = {
properties: []
}
}
getData = () => {
fetch('url')
.then(response => {
return response.text()
})
.then(xml => {
return new DOMParser().parseFromString(xml, "application/xml")
})
.then(data => {
const propList = data.getElementsByTagName("propertyname");
const latitude = data.getElementsByTagName("latitude");
const longitude = data.getElementsByTagName("longitude");
var allProps = [];
for (let i=0; i<propList.length; i++) {
allProps.push({
name: propList[i].textContent,
lat: parseFloat(latitude[i].textContent),
lng: parseFloat(longitude[i].textContent)
});
}
this.setState({properties: allProps});
});
}
componentDidMount = () => this.getData();
render () {
return (
<div>
<Child data={this.state.properties} />
</div>
)
}
}
export default App;
CHILD COMPONENT
import React, {Component} from 'react';
class Child extends Component {
initChild = () => {
console.log(this.props.data); // returns empty array
const properties = this.props.data.map(property => [property.name, property.lat, property.lng]);
}
componentDidMount = () => this.initChild();
render () {
return (
<div>Test</div>
)
}
}
export default Child;

Change the componentDidMount in the child to componentDidUpdate.
The componentDidMount lifecycle method is called only once in the starting. Whereas, the componentDidUpdate lifecycle method gets called whenever there is a change in the state of the application. Since api calls are asynchronous, the initChild() function is already called once before the api call's results are passed to the child.

You can use conditional rendering
import React, {Component} from 'react';
class Child extends Component {
initChild = () => {
if(this.props.data){
const properties = this.props.data.map(property => [property.name, property.lat, property.lng]);
}
}
componentDidMount = () => this.initChild();
render () {
return (
<div>Test</div>
)
}
}
export default Child;

testing the async function passed as a prop from parent to child

i have a parent component where i have a handleClick which is passed as a prop to the child.
// parent.js
_handleClick = async (buttonName, id) => {
if(buttonName === 'yes'){
... some logic
}else{
... some logic
}
}
<Child
handleClick={(buttonName, id) => this._handleClick(buttonName, id)}
/>
so right now how can i call the _handleClick and run the test cases. How should i call the method .
I have tried below but didnt worked as expected since its an arrow function and it expects two parameters.
//test.js
const wrapper = shallow(<parent />)
expect(wrapper.find('Child').length).toEqual(1)
wrapper.find('Child').prop('handleClick')

wrapper.find('Child').prop('handleClick') is the function, so you can just call it like this:
wrapper.find('Child').prop('handleClick')( /* your args here */ );
Here is a simplified working example:
import { shallow } from 'enzyme';
import * as React from 'react';
const Child = () => (<div></div>);
class Parent extends React.Component {
constructor(...args) {
super(...args);
this.state = { val: 'initial' };
}
_handleClick = async (buttonName, id) => {
// ... await something ...
this.setState({ val: buttonName });
}
render() {
return (<Child handleClick={(buttonName, id) => this._handleClick(buttonName, id)} />);
}
}
test('click handler', async () => {
const wrapper = shallow(<Parent />);
expect(wrapper.find('Child').length).toEqual(1); // Success!
await wrapper.find('Child').prop('handleClick')('the button name'); // <= call the handler
expect(wrapper.state()).toEqual({ val: 'the button name' }); // Success!
});

Well, you may need to render the parent component with the mount method as opposed to shallow. This will render the child element, otherwise just a placeholder will be rendered. Then, you you may want to trigger the actual click event by clicking the button or whatever triggers the event in the child component.

React Context API and avoiding re-renders

I have updated this with an update at the bottom
Is there a way to maintain a monolithic root state (like Redux) with multiple Context API Consumers working on their own part of their Provider value without triggering a re-render on every isolated change?
Having already read through this related question and tried some variations to test out some of the insights provided there, I am still confused about how to avoid re-renders.
Complete code is below and online here: https://codesandbox.io/s/504qzw02nl
The issue is that according to devtools, every component sees an "update" (a re-render), even though SectionB is the only component that sees any render changes and even though b is the only part of the state tree that changes. I've tried this with functional components and with PureComponent and see the same render thrashing.
Because nothing is being passed as props (at the component level) I can't see how to detect or prevent this. In this case, I am passing the entire app state into the provider, but I've also tried passing in fragments of the state tree and see the same problem. Clearly, I am doing something very wrong.
import React, { Component, createContext } from 'react';
const defaultState = {
a: { x: 1, y: 2, z: 3 },
b: { x: 4, y: 5, z: 6 },
incrementBX: () => { }
};
let Context = createContext(defaultState);
class App extends Component {
constructor(...args) {
super(...args);
this.state = {
...defaultState,
incrementBX: this.incrementBX.bind(this)
}
}
incrementBX() {
let { b } = this.state;
let newB = { ...b, x: b.x + 1 };
this.setState({ b: newB });
}
render() {
return (
<Context.Provider value={this.state}>
<SectionA />
<SectionB />
<SectionC />
</Context.Provider>
);
}
}
export default App;
class SectionA extends Component {
render() {
return (<Context.Consumer>{
({ a }) => <div>{a.x}</div>
}</Context.Consumer>);
}
}
class SectionB extends Component {
render() {
return (<Context.Consumer>{
({ b }) => <div>{b.x}</div>
}</Context.Consumer>);
}
}
class SectionC extends Component {
render() {
return (<Context.Consumer>{
({ incrementBX }) => <button onClick={incrementBX}>Increment a x</button>
}</Context.Consumer>);
}
}
Edit: I understand that there may be a bug in the way react-devtools detects or displays re-renders. I've expanded on my code above in a way that displays the problem. I now cannot tell if what I am doing is actually causing re-renders or not. Based on what I've read from Dan Abramov, I think I'm using Provider and Consumer correctly, but I cannot definitively tell if that's true. I welcome any insights.

There are some ways to avoid re-renders, also make your state management "redux-like". I will show you how I've been doing, it far from being a redux, because redux offer so many functionalities that aren't so trivial to implement, like the ability to dispatch actions to any reducer from any actions or the combineReducers and so many others.
Create your reducer
export const initialState = {
...
};
export const reducer = (state, action) => {
...
};
Create your ContextProvider component
export const AppContext = React.createContext({someDefaultValue})
export function ContextProvider(props) {
const [state, dispatch] = useReducer(reducer, initialState)
const context = {
someValue: state.someValue,
someOtherValue: state.someOtherValue,
setSomeValue: input => dispatch('something'),
}
return (
<AppContext.Provider value={context}>
{props.children}
</AppContext.Provider>
);
}
Use your ContextProvider at top level of your App, or where you want it
function App(props) {
...
return(
<AppContext>
...
</AppContext>
)
}
Write components as pure functional component
This way they will only re-render when those specific dependencies update with new values
const MyComponent = React.memo(({
somePropFromContext,
setSomePropFromContext,
otherPropFromContext,
someRegularPropNotFromContext,
}) => {
... // regular component logic
return(
... // regular component return
)
});
Have a function to select props from context (like redux map...)
function select(){
const { someValue, otherValue, setSomeValue } = useContext(AppContext);
return {
somePropFromContext: someValue,
setSomePropFromContext: setSomeValue,
otherPropFromContext: otherValue,
}
}
Write a connectToContext HOC
function connectToContext(WrappedComponent, select){
return function(props){
const selectors = select();
return <WrappedComponent {...selectors} {...props}/>
}
}
Put it all together
import connectToContext from ...
import AppContext from ...
const MyComponent = React.memo(...
...
)
function select(){
...
}
export default connectToContext(MyComponent, select)
Usage
<MyComponent someRegularPropNotFromContext={something} />
//inside MyComponent:
...
<button onClick={input => setSomeValueFromContext(input)}>...
...
Demo that I did on other StackOverflow question
Demo on codesandbox
The re-render avoided
MyComponent will re-render only if the specifics props from context updates with a new value, else it will stay there.
The code inside select will run every time any value from context updates, but it does nothing and is cheap.
Other solutions
I suggest check this out Preventing rerenders with React.memo and useContext hook.

I made a proof of concept on how to benefit from React.Context, but avoid re-rendering children that consume the context object. The solution makes use of React.useRef and CustomEvent. Whenever you change count or lang, only the component consuming the specific proprety gets updated.
Check it out below, or try the CodeSandbox
index.tsx
import * as React from 'react'
import {render} from 'react-dom'
import {CountProvider, useDispatch, useState} from './count-context'
function useConsume(prop: 'lang' | 'count') {
const contextState = useState()
const [state, setState] = React.useState(contextState[prop])
const listener = (e: CustomEvent) => {
if (e.detail && prop in e.detail) {
setState(e.detail[prop])
}
}
React.useEffect(() => {
document.addEventListener('update', listener)
return () => {
document.removeEventListener('update', listener)
}
}, [state])
return state
}
function CountDisplay() {
const count = useConsume('count')
console.log('CountDisplay()', count)
return (
<div>
{`The current count is ${count}`}
<br />
</div>
)
}
function LangDisplay() {
const lang = useConsume('lang')
console.log('LangDisplay()', lang)
return <div>{`The lang count is ${lang}`}</div>
}
function Counter() {
const dispatch = useDispatch()
return (
<button onClick={() => dispatch({type: 'increment'})}>
Increment count
</button>
)
}
function ChangeLang() {
const dispatch = useDispatch()
return <button onClick={() => dispatch({type: 'switch'})}>Switch</button>
}
function App() {
return (
<CountProvider>
<CountDisplay />
<LangDisplay />
<Counter />
<ChangeLang />
</CountProvider>
)
}
const rootElement = document.getElementById('root')
render(<App />, rootElement)
count-context.tsx
import * as React from 'react'
type Action = {type: 'increment'} | {type: 'decrement'} | {type: 'switch'}
type Dispatch = (action: Action) => void
type State = {count: number; lang: string}
type CountProviderProps = {children: React.ReactNode}
const CountStateContext = React.createContext<State | undefined>(undefined)
const CountDispatchContext = React.createContext<Dispatch | undefined>(
undefined,
)
function countReducer(state: State, action: Action) {
switch (action.type) {
case 'increment': {
return {...state, count: state.count + 1}
}
case 'switch': {
return {...state, lang: state.lang === 'en' ? 'ro' : 'en'}
}
default: {
throw new Error(`Unhandled action type: ${action.type}`)
}
}
}
function CountProvider({children}: CountProviderProps) {
const [state, dispatch] = React.useReducer(countReducer, {
count: 0,
lang: 'en',
})
const stateRef = React.useRef(state)
React.useEffect(() => {
const customEvent = new CustomEvent('update', {
detail: {count: state.count},
})
document.dispatchEvent(customEvent)
}, [state.count])
React.useEffect(() => {
const customEvent = new CustomEvent('update', {
detail: {lang: state.lang},
})
document.dispatchEvent(customEvent)
}, [state.lang])
return (
<CountStateContext.Provider value={stateRef.current}>
<CountDispatchContext.Provider value={dispatch}>
{children}
</CountDispatchContext.Provider>
</CountStateContext.Provider>
)
}
function useState() {
const context = React.useContext(CountStateContext)
if (context === undefined) {
throw new Error('useCount must be used within a CountProvider')
}
return context
}
function useDispatch() {
const context = React.useContext(CountDispatchContext)
if (context === undefined) {
throw new Error('useDispatch must be used within a AccountProvider')
}
return context
}
export {CountProvider, useState, useDispatch}

To my understanding, the context API is not meant to avoid re-render but is more like Redux. If you wish to avoid re-render, perhaps looks into PureComponent or lifecycle hook shouldComponentUpdate.
Here is a great link to improve performance, you can apply the same to the context API too

How to pass in an instance variable from a React component to its HOC?

I typically use component composition to reuse logic the React way. For example, here is a simplified version on how I would add interaction logic to a component. In this case I would make CanvasElement selectable:
CanvasElement.js
import React, { Component } from 'react'
import Selectable from './Selectable'
import './CanvasElement.css'
export default class CanvasElement extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props)
this.state = {
selected: false
}
this.interactionElRef = React.createRef()
}
onSelected = (selected) => {
this.setState({ selected})
}
render() {
return (
<Selectable
iElRef={this.interactionElRef}
onSelected={this.onSelected}>
<div ref={this.interactionElRef} className={'canvas-element ' + (this.state.selected ? 'selected' : '')}>
Select me
</div>
</Selectable>
)
}
}
Selectable.js
import { Component } from 'react'
import PropTypes from 'prop-types'
export default class Selectable extends Component {
static propTypes = {
iElRef: PropTypes.shape({
current: PropTypes.instanceOf(Element)
}).isRequired,
onSelected: PropTypes.func.isRequired
}
constructor(props) {
super(props)
this.state = {
selected: false
}
}
onClick = (e) => {
const selected = !this.state.selected
this.setState({ selected })
this.props.onSelected(selected)
}
componentDidMount() {
this.props.iElRef.current.addEventListener('click', this.onClick)
}
componentWillUnmount() {
this.props.iElRef.current.removeEventListener('click', this.onClick)
}
render() {
return this.props.children
}
}
Works well enough. The Selectable wrapper does not need to create a new div because its parent provides it with a reference to another element that is to become selectable.
However, I've been recommended on numerous occasions to stop using such Wrapper composition and instead achieve reusability through Higher Order Components. Willing to experiment with HoCs, I gave it a try but did not come further than this:
CanvasElement.js
import React, { Component } from 'react'
import Selectable from '../enhancers/Selectable'
import flow from 'lodash.flow'
import './CanvasElement.css'
class CanvasElement extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props)
this.interactionElRef = React.createRef()
}
render() {
return (
<div ref={this.interactionElRef}>
Select me
</div>
)
}
}
export default flow(
Selectable()
)(CanvasElement)
Selectable.js
import React, { Component } from 'react'
export default function makeSelectable() {
return function decorateComponent(WrappedComponent) {
return class Selectable extends Component {
componentDidMount() {
// attach to interaction element reference here
}
render() {
return (
<WrappedComponent {...this.props} />
)
}
}
}
}
The problem is that there appears to be no obvious way to connect the enhanced component's reference (an instance variable) to the higher order component (the enhancer).
How would I "pass in" the instance variable (the interactionElRef) from the CanvasElement to its HOC?

I came up with a different strategy. It acts roughly like the Redux connect function, providing props that the wrapped component isn't responsible for creating, but the child is responsible for using them as they see fit:
CanvasElement.js
import React, { Component } from "react";
import makeSelectable from "./Selectable";
class CanvasElement extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
}
render() {
const { onClick, selected } = this.props;
return <div onClick={onClick}>{`Selected: ${selected}`}</div>;
}
}
CanvasElement.propTypes = {
onClick: PropTypes.func,
selected: PropTypes.bool,
};
CanvasElement.defaultProps = {
onClick: () => {},
selected: false,
};
export default makeSelectable()(CanvasElement);
Selectable.js
import React, { Component } from "react";
export default makeSelectable = () => WrappedComponent => {
const selectableFactory = React.createFactory(WrappedComponent);
return class Selectable extends Component {
state = {
isSelected: false
};
handleClick = () => {
this.setState({
isSelected: !this.state.isSelected
});
};
render() {
return selectableFactory({
...this.props,
onClick: this.handleClick,
selected: this.state.isSelected
});
}
}
};
https://codesandbox.io/s/7zwwxw5y41
I know that doesn't answer your question. I think you're trying to let the child get away without any knowledge of the parent.
The ref route feels wrong, though. I like the idea of connecting the tools to the child. You can respond to the click in either one.
Let me know what you think.

Just as you did on DOM element for CanvasElement, Ref can be attached to class component as well, checkout the doc for Adding a Ref to a Class Component
export default function makeSelectable() {
return function decorateComponent(WrappedComponent) {
return class Selectable extends Component {
canvasElement = React.createRef()
componentDidMount() {
// attach to interaction element reference here
console.log(this.canvasElement.current.interactionElRef)
}
render() {
return (
<WrappedComponent ref={this.canvasElement} {...this.props} />
)
}
}
}
}
Also, do checkout Ref forwarding if you need child instance reference in ancestors that's multiple levels higher in the render tree. All those solutions are based on assumptions that you're on react 16.3+.
Some caveats:
In rare cases, you might want to have access to a child’s DOM node from a parent component. This is generally not recommended because it breaks component encapsulation, but it can occasionally be useful for triggering focus or measuring the size or position of a child DOM node.
While you could add a ref to the child component, this is not an ideal solution, as you would only get a component instance rather than a DOM node. Additionally, this wouldn’t work with functional components. https://reactjs.org/docs/forwarding-refs.html

I've now come up with an opinionated solution where the HoC injects two callback functions into the enhanced component, one to register the dom reference and another to register a callback that is called when an element is selected or deselected:
makeElementSelectable.js
import React, { Component } from 'react'
import PropTypes from 'prop-types'
import movementIsStationary from '../lib/movement-is-stationary';
/*
This enhancer injects the following props into your component:
- setInteractableRef(node) - a function to register a React reference to the DOM element that should become selectable
- registerOnToggleSelected(cb(bool)) - a function to register a callback that should be called once the element is selected or deselected
*/
export default function makeElementSelectable() {
return function decorateComponent(WrappedComponent) {
return class Selectable extends Component {
static propTypes = {
selectable: PropTypes.bool.isRequired,
selected: PropTypes.bool
}
eventsAdded = false
state = {
selected: this.props.selected || false,
lastDownX: null,
lastDownY: null
}
setInteractableRef = (ref) => {
this.ref = ref
if (!this.eventsAdded && this.ref.current) {
this.addEventListeners(this.ref.current)
}
// other HoCs may set interactable references too
this.props.setInteractableRef && this.props.setInteractableRef(ref)
}
registerOnToggleSelected = (cb) => {
this.onToggleSelected = cb
}
componentDidMount() {
if (!this.eventsAdded && this.ref && this.ref.current) {
this.addEventListeners(this.ref.current)
}
}
componentWillUnmount() {
if (this.eventsAdded && this.ref && this.ref.current) {
this.removeEventListeners(this.ref.current)
}
}
/*
keep track of where the mouse was last pressed down
*/
onMouseDown = (e) => {
const lastDownX = e.clientX
const lastDownY = e.clientY
this.setState({
lastDownX, lastDownY
})
}
/*
toggle selected if there was a stationary click
only consider clicks on the exact element we are making interactable
*/
onClick = (e) => {
if (
this.props.selectable
&& e.target === this.ref.current
&& movementIsStationary(this.state.lastDownX, this.state.lastDownY, e.clientX, e.clientY)
) {
const selected = !this.state.selected
this.onToggleSelected && this.onToggleSelected(selected, e)
this.setState({ selected })
}
}
addEventListeners = (node) => {
node.addEventListener('click', this.onClick)
node.addEventListener('mousedown', this.onMouseDown)
this.eventsAdded = true
}
removeEventListeners = (node) => {
node.removeEventListener('click', this.onClick)
node.removeEventListener('mousedown', this.onMouseDown)
this.eventsAdded = false
}
render() {
return (
<WrappedComponent
{...this.props}
setInteractableRef={this.setInteractableRef}
registerOnToggleSelected={this.registerOnToggleSelected} />
)
}
}
}
}
CanvasElement.js
import React, { PureComponent } from 'react'
import { connect } from 'react-redux'
import { bindActionCreators } from 'redux'
import PropTypes from 'prop-types'
import flowRight from 'lodash.flowright'
import { moveSelectedElements } from '../actions/canvas'
import makeElementSelectable from '../enhancers/makeElementSelectable'
class CanvasElement extends PureComponent {
static propTypes = {
setInteractableRef: PropTypes.func.isRequired,
registerOnToggleSelected: PropTypes.func
}
interactionRef = React.createRef()
componentDidMount() {
this.props.setInteractableRef(this.interactionRef)
this.props.registerOnToggleSelected(this.onToggleSelected)
}
onToggleSelected = async (selected) => {
await this.props.selectElement(this.props.id, selected)
}
render() {
return (
<div ref={this.interactionRef}>
Select me
</div>
)
}
}
const mapStateToProps = (state, ownProps) => {
const {
canvas: {
selectedElements
}
} = state
const selected = !!selectedElements[ownProps.id]
return {
selected
}
}
const mapDispatchToProps = dispatch => ({
selectElement: bindActionCreators(selectElement, dispatch)
})
const ComposedCanvasElement = flowRight(
connect(mapStateToProps, mapDispatchToProps),
makeElementSelectable()
)(CanvasElement)
export default ComposedCanvasElement
This works, but I can think of at least one significant issue: the HoC injects 2 props into the enhanced component; but the enhanced component has no way of declaratively defining which props are injected and just needs to "trust" that these props are magically available
Would appreciate feedback / thoughts on this approach. Perhaps there is a better way, e.g. by passing in a "mapProps" object to makeElementSelectable to explicitly define which props are being injected?

Update variable in React in class not extending component

I am trying to wrap my head around ReactJS and I am stumped with an issue where I want to be able to update the value of a local variable and return the updated value.
I've read about state and I've used that when working with React Components, however, this class is just defined as const and it doesn't extend React.Component.
Is there a different way I should be defining setting the variable?
Here is a simplified version of my code:
import React from 'react';
const WelcomeForm = ({welcome}) => {
var welcomeMsg = 'Test';
DynamicContentApi.loadDynamicContent('welcome_test').then((response) => {
// response.text has content
welcomeMsg = response.text;
}).catch(() => {
welcomeMsg = '';
});
return (
<p>{welcomeMsg}</p> // Returns 'Test'
);
};
export default WelcomeForm;

The easiest option here is to change your stateless component to a stateful component.
Stateless components are just JavaScript functions. They take in an
optional input, called prop.
Stateful components offer more features, and with more features comes more baggage. The primary reason to choose class components (stateful) over functional components (stateless) is that they can have state, that is what you want to update to re-render.
Here is what you can do:
class WelcomeForm extends React.Component {
state = {
welcomeMsg: ''
}
fetchFromApi() {
DynamicContentApi.loadDynamicContent("welcome_test")
.then(response => {
this.setState({welcomeMsg: response.text});
})
.catch((e) => console.log(e));
}
componentDidMount() {
fetchFromApi();
}
render() {
return (
<p>{welcomeMsg}</p>
);
}
};
If you want, for any reason, to keep your component stateless, you will have to put the loadDynamicContent() function on the Parent and pass the text to WelcomeForm as a prop. For example:
// Your WelcomeForm Component
const WelcomeForm = ({welcomeMsg}) => (
<p>{welcomeMsg}</p>
);
// Whatever it's Parent Component is
class Parent extends React.Component {
state = {
welcomeMsg: ''
}
fetchFromApi() {
DynamicContentApi.loadDynamicContent("welcome_test")
.then(response => {
// response.text has content
this.setState({welcomeMsg: response.text});
})
.catch((e) => console.log(e));
}
componentDidMount() {
fetchFromApi();
}
render() {
<WelcomeForm welcomeMsg={this.state.welcomeMsg} />
}
}

As suggested in the comments, you can pass the DynamicContentApi logic to outside:
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom'
DynamicContentApi.loadDynamicContent('welcome_test').then((response) => {
ReactDOM.render(<WelcomeForm data={response.text} />, document.getElementById('where you wanna render this'));
}).catch(() => {
console.log('error while fetching...');
});
And where you have your component:
import React from 'react';
export default class WelcomeForm extends React.Component {
render() {
return (
<p>{this.props.data}</p>
);
}
}