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What is useCallback in React and when to use it?

I have gone through a couple of articles on useCallback and useMemo on when to use and when not to use but I have mostly seen very contrived code. I was looking at a code at my company where I have noticed someone have done this:
const takePhoto = useCallback(() => {
launchCamera({ mediaType: "photo", cameraType: "front" }, onPickImage);
}, []);
const pickPhotoFromLibrary = async () => {
launchImageLibrary({ mediaType: "photo" }, onPickImage);
}
const onUploadPress = useCallback(() => {
Alert.alert(
"Upload Photo",
"From where would you like to take your photo?",
[
{ text: "Camera", onPress: () => takePhoto() },
{ text: "Library", onPress: () => pickPhotoFromLibrary() },
]
);
}, [pickPhotoFromLibrary, takePhoto]);
This is how onUploadPress is called:
<TouchableOpacity
style={styles.retakeButton}
onPress={onUploadPress}
>
Do you think this is the correct way of calling it? Based on my understanding from those articles, this looks in-correct. Can someone tell me when to use useCallback and also maybe explain useCallback in more human terms?
Article I read: When to useMemo and useCallback.

useCallback returns a normal JavaScript function regarding how to use it. It is the same as the one it gets as first parameter regarding what it does. The difference is that this function doesn't get recreated on a new memory reference every time the component re-renders, while a normal function does. It gets recreated on a new reference if one of the variables inside useCalback's dependency array changes.
Now, why would you wanna bother with this? Well, It's worth it whenever the normal behavior of a function is problematic for you. For example, if you have that function in the dependency array of an useEffect, or if you pass it down to a component that is memoized with memo.
The callback of an useEffect gets called on the first render and every time one of the variables inside the dependency array changes. And since normally a new version of that function is created on every render, the callback might get called infinitely. So useCallback is used to memoize it.
A memoized component with memo re-renders only if its state or props changes, not because its parent re-renders. And since normally a new version of that passed function as props is created, when the parent re-renders, the child component gets a new reference, hence it re-renders. So useCallback is used to memoize it.
To illustrate, I created the below working React application. Click on that button to trigger re-renders of the parent and watch the console. Hope it clears things up!
const MemoizedChildWithMemoizedFunctionInProps = React.memo(
({ memoizedDummyFunction }) => {
console.log("MemoizedChildWithMemoizedFunctionInProps renders");
return <div></div>;
}
);
const MemoizedChildWithNonMemoizedFunctionInProps = React.memo(
({ nonMemoizedDummyFunction }) => {
console.log("MemoizedChildWithNonMemoizedFunctionInProps renders");
return <div></div>;
}
);
const NonMemoizedChild = () => {
console.log("Non memoized child renders");
return <div></div>;
};
const Parent = () => {
const [state, setState] = React.useState(true);
const nonMemoizedFunction = () => {};
const memoizedFunction = React.useCallback(() => {}, []);
React.useEffect(() => {
console.log("useEffect callback with nonMemoizedFunction runs");
}, [nonMemoizedFunction]);
React.useEffect(() => {
console.log("useEffect callback with memoizedFunction runs");
}, [memoizedFunction]);
console.clear();
console.log("Parent renders");
return (
<div>
<button onClick={() => setState((prev) => !prev)}>Toggle state</button>
<MemoizedChildWithMemoizedFunctionInProps
memoizedFunction={memoizedFunction}
/>
<MemoizedChildWithNonMemoizedFunctionInProps
nonMemoizedFunction={nonMemoizedFunction}
/>
<NonMemoizedChild />
</div>
);
}
ReactDOM.render(
<Parent />,
document.getElementById("root")
);
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react/16.8.0/umd/react.production.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react-dom/16.8.0/umd/react-dom.production.min.js"></script>
<div id="root"></div>
It's to know that memoizing is not free, doing it wrong is worse than not having it. In your case, using useCallback for onUploadPress is a waste because a non memoized function, pickPhotoFromLibrary, is in the dependency array. Also, it's a waste if TouchableOpacity is not memoized with memo, which I'm not sure it's.
As a side note, there is useMemo, which behaves and is used like useCallback to memoize non-function but referenced values such as objects and arrays for the same reasons, or to memoize any result of a heavy calculation that you don't wanna repeat between renders.
A great resource to understand React render process in depth to know when to memorize and how to do it well: React Render.

In simple words, useCallback is used to save the function reference somewhere outside the component render so we could use the same reference again. That reference will be changed whenever one of the variables in the dependencies array changes.
As you know React tries to minimize the re-rendering process by watching some variables' value changes, then it decides to re-render not depending on the old-value and new-value of those variables.
So, the basic usage of useCallback is to hold old-value and the new-value equally.
I will try to demonstrate it more by giving some examples in situations we must use useCalback in.
Example 1: When the function is one of the dependencies array of the useEffect.
function Component(){
const [state, setState] = useState()
// Should use `useCallback`
function handleChange(input){
setState(...)
}
useEffect(()=>{
handleChange(...)
},[handleChange])
return ...
}
Example 2: When the function is being passed to one of the children components. Especially when it is being called on their useEffect hook, it leads to an infinite loop.
function Parent(){
const [state, setState] = useState()
function handleChange(input){
setState(...)
}
return <Child onChange={handleChange} />
}
function Child({onChange}){
const [state, setState] = useState()
useEffect(()=>{
onChange(...)
},[onChange])
return "Child"
}
Example 3: When you use React Context that holds a state and returns only the state setters functions, you need the consumer of that context to not rerender every time the state update as it may harm the performance.
const Context = React.createContext();
function ContextProvider({children}){
const [state, setState] = useState([]);
// Should use `useCallback`
const addToState = (input) => {
setState(prev => [...prev, input]);
}
// Should use `useCallback`
const removeFromState = (input) => {
setState(prev => prev.filter(elem => elem.id !== input.id));
}
// Should use `useCallback` with empty []
const getState = () => {
return state;
}
const contextValue= React.useMemo(
() => ({ addToState , removeFromState , getState}),
[addToState , removeFromState , getState]
);
// if we used `useCallback`, our contextValue will never change, and all the subscribers will not re-render
<Context.Provider value={contextValue}>
{children}
</Context.Provider>
}
Example 4: If you are subscribed to the observer, timer, document events, and need to unsubscribe when the component unmounts or for any other reason. So we need to access the same reference to unsubscribe from it.
function Component(){
// should use `useCallback`
const handler = () => {...}
useEffect(() => {
element.addEventListener(eventType, handler)
return () => element.removeEventListener(eventType, handler)
}, [eventType, element])
return ...
}
That's it, there are multiple situations you can use it too, but I hope these examples demonstrated the main idea behind useCallback. And always remember you don't need to use it if the cost of the re-render is negligible.

Is it correct to use two different useState hook to store an array and a filtered array for passing to components?

I am currently porting my Pokemon project to React as I just learned the basics of React just a couple of weeks ago and want to see how well I can adapt it. Right now, the way I have my code architectured is to use two different useState hooks, one for the original array fetched from the PokeAPI and is only set once. This original array is also passed into my form object, which filters it according to a few form elements such as a Pokemon type or the Pokemon's name. And another useState hook is used to keep track of the filteredList which is what gets rendered to the website using the Array.map() function.
const [pokemonList, setPokemonList] = useState([]);
const [filteredList, setPokemonFilteredList] = useState([]);
Here's the useEffect() hook where we fetch and set the states
useEffect(() => {
const getPokemon = async () => {
const list = await fetchPokemon();
setPokemonList(list);
setPokemonFilteredList(list);
};
And finally the pokemonList state variable and setPokemonFilteredList methods get passed into the <PokemonSearchForm>
<PokemonSearchForm pokemonList={pokemonList} setPokemonList={setPokemonFilteredList} />
So as my question title suggests, is the way I use two different useState() 'correct'? Maybe a different way is for the child component to access pokemonList variable? But I believe this may be an anti-pattern.

It is better practice to not maintain duplicate or, in this case, derived state because you may run into divergence. For example, if your original pokemon data got updated, how would you make sure your filtered data got updated and then the filters re-applied? It gets hairy very fast.
The preferred alternative is to maintain the original data and filters in state and then compute the derived state (in this case, filter the list) during render.
function App() {
const [pokemonList, setPokemonList] = useState([]);
// Some default filter state
const [filters, setFilters] = useState({
types: ["any"],
search: ""
});
const filteredList = pokemonList.filter((pokemon) => {
// Filter logic here
});
return <PokemonSearchForm setFilters={setFilters} />
}

I would refactor this in a few different ways:
Keep the filter state in your parent component, the child component will simply notify it when those change.
Ditch the useState for useMemo which computes a value every time its dependencies change.
function YourComponent() {
const [filters, setFilters] = useState({});
const [pokemons, setPokemons] = useState([]);
useEffect(
() => {
const list = await fetchPokemon();
setPokemons(list);
},
[]
);
// This will run each time `filters` or `pokemons` change.
const filteredPokemons = useMemo(
() => {
return pokemons.filter((pokemon) => {
// Perform any filtering logic you may have,
// based on the filters set by the child component.
if (filters.name) {
return pokemon.name.includes(filters.name);
}
// etc...
});
},
[filters, pokemons]
);
return (
<PokemonSearchForm
pokemons={filteredPokemons}
onChange={setFilters}
/>
);
}

Locking behavior of object in JS?

On every click of increment button:
Expectation: current count is logged
Reality: initial value of count, i.e. 3 is logged
import React, { useState, useEffect } from "react";
function SomeLibrary(props) {
const [mapState, setMapState] = useState(undefined);
useEffect(() => {
console.log("setting map");
// Run exactly once at mount of component
setMapState(props.map);
}, []);
useEffect(() => {
if (mapState) {
mapState.key();
}
}, [props]);
return <div> ... </div>;
}
export default function App() {
const [count, setCount] = React.useState(3);
const map = { key: () => {
console.log("fn", count);
}};
return (
<div>
Active count: {count} <br />
<button onClick={() => {
setCount(count + 1);
}}
>
Increment
</button>
<SomeLibrary map={map} />
</div>
);
}
Run here
Does the object in JS locks the values of variables inside it after initializing?
I want to know the reason why function in object doesn't use the current value of count whenever invoked but React ref gets the current value in that same scenario
I don't understand why this works:
Replace the map variable with this:
const [count, setCount] = React.useState(3);
const stateRef = useRef();
stateRef.current = count;
const map = { key: () => {
console.log("fn", stateRef.current);
}};

Does the object in JS locks the values of variables inside it after initializing?
No.
You're effectively setting state of SomeLibrary with an initial value when it mounts, and never again updating that state, so it continually logs its initial value.
const [mapState, setMapState] = useState(undefined);
useEffect(() => {
console.log("setting map");
// Run only once at mount of component
setMapState(props.map); // <-- no other `setMapState` exists
}, []); // <-- runs once when mounting
By simply adding props.map to the dependency array this effect runs only when map updates, and correctly updates state.
useEffect(() => {
console.log("setting map");
// Run only once at mount of component
setMapState(props.map);
}, [props.map]);
Notice, however, the state of SomeLibrary is a render cycle behind that of App. This is because the value of the queued state update in SomeLibrary isn't available until the next render cycle. It is also an anti-pattern to store passed props in local component state (with few exceptions).
Why React ref gets the current value in that same scenario?
const [count, setCount] = React.useState(3);
const stateRef = useRef();
stateRef.current = count; // <-- stateRef is a stable reference
const map = { key: () => {
console.log("fn", stateRef.current); // <-- ref enclosed in callback
}};
When react component props or state update, a re-render is triggered. The useRef does not, it's used to hold values between or through render cycles, i.e. it is a stable object reference. This reference is enclosed in the callback function in the map object passed as a prop. When the count state updates in App a rerender is triggered and stateRef.current = count; updates the value stored in the ref, i.e. this is akin to an object mutation.
Another piece to the puzzle is functional components are always rerendered when their parent rerenders. The passed map object is a new object when passed in props.
It's this rerendering that allows SomeLibrary to run the second effect to invoke the non-updated-in-state callback mapState.key, but this time the object reference being console logged has been mutated.

When and why to useEffect

This may seem like a weird question, but I do not really see many use cases for useEffect in React (I am currently working on a several thousand-lines React codebase, and never used it once), and I think that there may be something I do not fully grasp.
If you are writing a functional component, what difference does it make to put your "effect" code in a useEffect hook vs. simply executing it in the body of the functional component (which is also executed on every render) ?
A typical use case would be fetching data when mounting a component : I see two approaches to this, one with useEffect and one without :
// without useEffect
const MyComponent = () => {
[data, setData] = useState();
if (!data) fetchDataFromAPI().then(res => setData(res));
return(
{data ? <div>{data}</div> : <div>Loading...</div>}
)
}
// with useEffect
const MyComponent = () => {
[data, setData] = useState();
useEffect(() => {
fetchDataFromAPI().then(res => setData(res))
}, []);
return(
{data ? <div>{data}</div> : <div>Loading...</div>}
)
}
Is there an advantage (performance-wise or other) to useEffect in such usecases ?

I. Cleanup
What if your component gets destroyed before the fetch is completed? You get an error.
useEffect gives you an easy way to cleanup in handler's return value.
II. Reactions to prop change.
What if you have a userId passed in a props that you use to fetch data. Without useEffect you'll have to duplicate userId in the state to be able to tell if it changed so that you can fetch the new data.

The thing is, useEffect is not executed on every render.
To see this more clearly, let's suppose that your component MyComponent is being rendered by a parent component (let's call it ParentComponent) and it receives a prop from that parent component that can change from a user action.
ParentComponent
const ParentComponent = () => {
const [ counter, setCounter ] = useState(0);
const onButtonClicked = () => setCounter(counter + 1);
return (
<>
<button onClick={onButtonClicked}>Click me!</button>
<MyComponent counter={counter} />
</>
);
}
And your MyComponent (slightly modified to read and use counter prop):
const MyComponent = ({ counter }) => {
[data, setData] = useState();
useEffect(() => {
fetchDataFromAPI().then(res => setData(res))
}, []);
return(
<div>
<div>{counter}</div>
{data ? <div>{data}</div> : <div>Loading...</div>}
</div>
)
}
Now, when the component MyComponent is mounted for the first time, the fetch operation will be performed. If later the user clicks on the button and the counter is increased, the useEffect will not be executed (but the MyComponent function will be called in order to update due to counter having changed)!
If you don't use useEffect, when the user clicks on the button, the fetch operation will be executed again, since the counter prop has changed and the render method of MyComponent is executed.

useEffect is handling the side effect of the problem. useEffect is the combination of componentDidMount and componentDidUpdate. every initial render and whenever props updated it will be executed.
For an exmaple:
useEffect(() => {
fetchDataFromAPI().then(res => setData(res))
}, []);
Another example:
let's assume you have multiple state variables, the component will re-render for every state values change. But We may need to run useEffect in a specific scenario, rather than executing it for each state change.
function SimpleUseEffect() {
let [userCount, setUserCount] = useState(0);
let [simpleCount, setSimpleCount] = useState(0);
useEffect(() => {
alert("Component User Count Updated...");
}, [userCount]);
useEffect(() => {
alert("Component Simple Count Updated");
}, [simpleCount]);
return (
<div>
<b>User Count: {userCount}</b>
<b>Simple Count: {simpleCount}</b>
<input type="button" onClick={() => setUserCount(userCount + 1}} value="Add Employee" />
<input type="button" onClick={() => setSimpleCount(simpleCount + 1}} value="Update Simple Count" />
</div>
)
}
In the above code whenever your props request changed, fetchDataFromAPI executes and updated the response data. If you don't use useEffect, You need to automatically handle all type of side effects.
Making asynchronous API calls for data
Setting a subscription to an observable
Manually updating the DOM element
Updating global variables from inside a function
for more details see this blog https://medium.com/better-programming/https-medium-com-mayank-gupta-6-88-react-useeffect-hooks-in-action-2da971cfe83f

Why is the cleanup function from `useEffect` called on every render?

I've been learning React and I read that the function returned from useEffect is meant to do cleanup and React performs the cleanup when the component unmounts.
So I experimented with it a bit but found in the following example that the function was called every time the component re-renders as opposed to only the time it got unmounted from the DOM, i.e. it console.log("unmount"); every time the component re-renders.
Why is that?
function Something({ setShow }) {
const [array, setArray] = useState([]);
const myRef = useRef(null);
useEffect(() => {
const id = setInterval(() => {
setArray(array.concat("hello"));
}, 3000);
myRef.current = id;
return () => {
console.log("unmount");
clearInterval(myRef.current);
};
}, [array]);
const unmount = () => {
setShow(false);
};
return (
<div>
{array.map((item, index) => {
return (
<p key={index}>
{Array(index + 1)
.fill(item)
.join("")}
</p>
);
})}
<button onClick={() => unmount()}>close</button>
</div>
);
}
function App() {
const [show, setShow] = useState(true);
return show ? <Something setShow={setShow} /> : null;
}
Live example: https://codesandbox.io/s/vigilant-leavitt-z1jd2

React performs the cleanup when the component unmounts.
I'm not sure where you read this but this statement is incorrect. React performs the cleanup when the dependencies to that hook changes and the effect hook needs to run again with new values. This behaviour is intentional to maintain the reactivity of the view to changing data. Going off the official example, let's say an app subscribes to status updates from a friends' profile. Being the great friend you are, you are decide to unfriend them and befriend someone else. Now the app needs to unsubscribe from the previous friend's status updates and listen to updates from your new friend. This is natural and easy to achieve with the way useEffect works.
useEffect(() => {
chatAPI.subscribe(props.friend.id);
return () => chatAPI.unsubscribe(props.friend.id);
}, [ props.friend.id ])
By including the friend id in the dependency list, we can indicate that the hook needs to run only when the friend id changes.
In your example you have specified the array in the dependency list and you are changing the array at a set interval. Every time you change the array, the hook reruns.
You can achieve the correct functionality simply by removing the array from the dependency list and using the callback version of the setState hook. The callback version always operates on the previous version of the state, so there is no need to refresh the hook every time the array changes.
useEffect(() => {
const id = setInterval(() => setArray(array => [ ...array, "hello" ]), 3000);
return () => {
console.log("unmount");
clearInterval(id);
};
}, []);
Some additional feedback would be to use the id directly in clearInterval as the value is closed upon (captured) when you create the cleanup function. There is no need to save it to a ref.

The React docs have an explanation section exactly on this.
In short, the reason is because such design protects against stale data and update bugs.
The useEffect hook in React is designed to handle both the initial render and any subsequent renders (here's more about it).
Effects are controlled via their dependencies, not by the lifecycle of the component that uses them.
Anytime dependencies of an effect change, useEffect will cleanup the previous effect and run the new effect.
Such design is more predictable - each render has its own independent (pure) behavioral effect. This makes sure that the UI always shows the correct data (since the UI in React's mental model is a screenshot of the state for a particular render).
The way we control effects is through their dependencies.
To prevent cleanup from running on every render, we just have to not change the dependencies of the effect.
In your case concretely, the cleanup is happening because array is changing, i.e. Object.is(oldArray, newArray) === false
useEffect(() => {
// ...
}, [array]);
// ^^^^^ you're changing the dependency of the effect
You're causing this change with the following line:
useEffect(() => {
const id = setInterval(() => {
setArray(array.concat("hello")); // <-- changing the array changes the effect dep
}, 3000);
myRef.current = id;
return () => {
clearInterval(myRef.current);
};
}, [array]); // <-- the array is the effect dep

As others have said, the useEffect was depending on the changes of "array" that was specified in the 2nd parameter in the useEffect. So by setting it to empty array, that'd help to trigger useEffect once when the component mounted.
The trick here is to change the previous state of the Array.
setArray((arr) => arr.concat("hello"));
See below:
useEffect(() => {
const id = setInterval(() => {
setArray((arr) => arr.concat("hello"));
}, 3000);
myRef.current = id;
return () => {
console.log("unmount");
clearInterval(myRef.current);
};
}, []);
I forked your CodeSandbox for demonstration:
https://codesandbox.io/s/heuristic-maxwell-gcuf7?file=/src/index.js

Looking at the code I could guess its because of the second param [array]. You are updating it, so it will call a re-render. Try setting an empty array.
Every state update will call a re-render and unmount, and that array is changing.

It seems expected. As per the documentation here, useEffect is called after first render, every update and unmount.
https://reactjs.org/docs/hooks-effect.html#tip-optimizing-performance-by-skipping-effects
Tip
If you’re familiar with React class lifecycle methods, you can think
of useEffect Hook as componentDidMount, componentDidUpdate and before
componentWillUnmount combined.

This is a Jest test that shows the render and effect order.
As you can see from the expect, once the dependency foo changes due to the state update it triggers a NEW render followed by the cleanup function of the first render.
it("with useEffect async set state and timeout and cleanup", async () => {
jest.useFakeTimers();
let theRenderCount = 0;
const trackFn = jest.fn((label: string) => { });
function MyComponent() {
const renderCount = theRenderCount;
const [foo, setFoo] = useState("foo");
useEffect(() => {
trackFn(`useEffect ${renderCount}`);
(async () => {
await new Promise<string>((resolve) =>
setTimeout(() => resolve("bar"), 5000)
);
setFoo("bar");
})();
return () => trackFn(`useEffect cleanup ${renderCount}`);
}, [foo]);
++theRenderCount;
trackFn(`render ${renderCount}`);
return <span data-testid="asdf">{foo}</span>;
}
const { unmount } = render(<MyComponent></MyComponent>);
expect(screen.getByTestId("asdf").textContent).toBe("foo");
jest.advanceTimersByTime(4999);
expect(screen.getByTestId("asdf").textContent).toBe("foo");
jest.advanceTimersByTime(1);
await waitFor(() =>
expect(screen.getByTestId("asdf").textContent).toBe("bar")
);
trackFn("before unmount");
unmount();
expect(trackFn.mock.calls).toEqual([
['render 0'],
['useEffect 0'],
['render 1'],
['useEffect cleanup 0'],
['useEffect 1'],
['before unmount'],
['useEffect cleanup 1']
])
});