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React JS state updates for collections of objects

I'm pretty new to React, and I'm trying to practice by building a simple notes app. As far as I can tell it's going great, but! I read that state should not be updated manually, so I'm copying my state array and filtering out a result for a removal operation.
But it fails! Rather, if I console log, it correctly removes the to-be-deleted element from the state array, however, when I call setState() on the copy to update my view, the list is wrong!
For some reason my React list is always removing the last element visually from the page, and appears then out of sync with my state.
The app itself is a Form container of sorts with a nested list and list-item component, which use props from the form class to manage.
What am I doing wrong?
Form Class
class NotesForm extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
const list = [
{ text: "Build out UI" },
{ text: "Add new note" },
{ text: "delete notes" },
{ text: "edit notes" }
];
this.state = {
'notes': list
};
// this.notes = list;
this.handleSubmit = this.handleSubmit.bind(this);
this.deleteNote = this.deleteNote.bind(this);
}
handleSubmit(e) {
e.preventDefault();
if (this.input.value.length === 0) { return; }
this.state.notes.push({text: this.input.value});
this.setState({ notes: this.state.notes });
this.input.value = "";
}
// BUG - deletes WRONG note!!
deleteNote(note) {
console.log({'DELETE_NOTE': note.text})
// var list = _.clone(this.state.notes);
var list = [...this.state.notes];
var filteredNotes = _.filter(list, function(n) {
return (n.text !== note.text);
})
console.log({
'list': list,
'filteredNotes': filteredNotes
})
this.setState({ notes: filteredNotes });
}
render() {
return (
<div className="row notes-form">
<div className="col-xs-12">
<form onSubmit={this.handleSubmit}>
<input type="text" className="new-note-input" ref={(input) => this.input = input} />
<br />
<button className="add-btn btn btn-info btn-block" type="button" onClick={this.handleSubmit}>Add</button>
<br />
<NotesList notes={this.state.notes} deleteNote={this.deleteNote} />
</form>
</div>
</div>
);
}
}
List Class
class NotesList extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
}
render() {
return (
<ul className="notes-list">
{this.props.notes.map((n, index) => <NotesListItem key={index} note={n} deleteNote={this.props.deleteNote} />)}
</ul>
);
}
}
List Item Class
class NotesListItem extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.state = {
'text': props.note.text
};
this.delete = this.delete.bind(this);
}
delete() {
this.props.deleteNote(this.props.note);
}
render() {
return (
<li className="notes-list-item">
<span className="item-text">{this.state.text}</span>
<div className="notes-btn-group btn-group" role="group">
<button className="delete-btn btn btn-danger" type="button" onClick={this.delete}>×</button>
</div>
</li>
);
}
}

Try using something like a unique id instead of index as the key for each NotesListItem in NotesList. See this related question (maybe a duplicate actually):
import React, { Component } from 'react';
import NotesListItem from './NotesListItem';
class NotesList extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
}
render() {
return (
<ul className="notes-list">
{this.props.notes.map((n, index) => <NotesListItem key={n.id} note={n} deleteNote={this.props.deleteNote} />)}
</ul>
);
}
}
export default NotesList;
You can use something like uuid to generate a "unique" id. There are many ways you could generate a unique key, but it depends on your data structure. Also using a unique id and filtering based on the id, can help avoid a situation where two notes in the array have the same text as filtering based on the text value would delete both of them.
import uuidv1 from 'uuid/v1';
// ...
handleSubmit(e) {
e.preventDefault();
if (this.input.value.length === 0) { return; }
this.state.notes.push({id: uuidv1(), text: this.input.value});
this.setState({ notes: this.state.notes });
this.input.value = "";
}
I only suggest to use something like this as it's possible your text could be duplicated. You could probably even get away with using something like:
{this.props.notes.map((n, index) => <NotesListItem key={index + n.text} note={n} deleteNote={this.props.deleteNote} />)}
Also, you shouldn't be directly mutating state like this.state.notes.push({text: this.input.value});. Try something like this instead:
handleSubmit(e) {
e.preventDefault();
if (this.input.value.length === 0) { return; }
const note = { id: uuidv1(), text: this.input.value };
const notes = [...this.state.notes, note];
this.setState({ notes });
this.input.value = "";
}
Also, I'd avoid using ref for handling controlled inputs, especially to set value. Why not create a property on state that handles the value of the input in combination with a simple onChange event handler. This would be in line with the React Forms documentation and the "standard" React way of handling input value updates:
handleChange(e) {
this.setState({ text: e.target.value });
}
handleSubmit(e) {
e.preventDefault();
if (this.state.text.length === 0) { return; }
const note = { id: uuidv1(), text: this.state.text };
const notes = [...this.state.notes, note];
this.setState({ text: '', notes });
}
render() {
// ...
<input type="text" className="new-note-input" value={this.state.text} onChange={this.handleChange} />
// ...
}
Here is an example in action.
The other answer may be enough to resolve your issue. I'd recommend to review the following article mentioned/linked in the React Keys documentation discuss the potential negative impacts of using an index as a key.
Hopefully that helps!

The constructor of a Component only runs once. React will reuse component instances passing them new props. The problem here is that NodeListItem caches the text of the note in its own local state and uses that text in the render method. When its Parent passes a new note to it via the props, it does not use it. It uses the state which is now stale.
Child components should usually use data from props passed in by the Parent.
class NotesListItem extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
// The problem is this statement here
this.state = {
'text': props.note.text
};
this.delete = this.delete.bind(this);
}
}
Here is a fixed version of the NotesListItem class.
class NotesListItem extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.delete = this.delete.bind(this);
}
delete() {
this.props.deleteNote(this.props.note);
}
render() {
return (
<li className="notes-list-item">
<span className="item-text">{this.props.note.text}</span> {/* <-- using props */}
<div className="notes-btn-group btn-group" role="group">
<button
className="delete-btn btn btn-danger"
type="button"
onClick={this.delete}
>
×
</button>
</div>
</li>
);
}
}

Toggling visibility of array of stateless react components

I am trying to simply map over some data returned from an api and create a stateless component for each object returned. I want to be able to click on any of the components to toggle visibility of the rest of its data.
I have tried numerous ways to do it and keep hitting a brick wall, i've also scoured stack overflow and cannot seem to find an answer.
I have gotten it working by making them individual class components, however it seems like a lot of unnecessary code for just a toggle functionality.
Thank you in advance for any help or insight, here is a quick breakdown of what I have currently.
For clarification this is a simple app for me to learn about using react and an external api, it is not using redux.
fetched users in state of class component
class PersonList extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.state = {
resource: []
};
}
async componentDidMount() {
let fetchedData = await API_Call("people");
this.setState({ resource: fetchedData.results });
while (fetchedData.next) {
let req = await fetch(fetchedData.next);
fetchedData = await req.json();
this.setState({
resource: [...this.state.resource, ...fetchedData.results]
});
}
}
}
Then map over the results and render a component for each result
render() {
const mappedPeople = this.state.resource.map((person, i) => (
<Person key={i} {...person} />
));
return <div>{mappedPeople}</div>;
}
Is there i can make each person component a stateless component with the ability to click on it and display the rest of the data? Here is what I have currently.
class Person extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.state = {
visibility: false
};
}
toggleVisible = () => {
this.setState(prevState => ({
visibility: !prevState.visibility
}));
};
render() {
return (
<div>
<h1 onClick={this.toggleVisible}>{this.props.name}</h1>
{this.state.visibility && (
<div>
<p>{this.props.height}</p>
</div>
)}
</div>
);
}
}
Again thanks in advance for any insight or help!

You could keep an object visible in your parent component that will have keys representing a person index and a value saying if the person is visible or not. This way you can toggle the person's index in this single object instead of having stateful child components.
Example
class PersonList extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.state = {
resource: [],
visible: {}
};
}
// ...
toggleVisibility = index => {
this.setState(previousState => {
const visible = { ...previousState.visibile };
visible[index] = !visible[index];
return { visible };
});
};
render() {
const mappedPeople = this.state.resource.map((person, i) => (
<Person
key={i}
{...person}
visible={this.state.visible[i]}
onClick={() => this.toggleVisibility(i)}
/>
));
return <div>{mappedPeople}</div>;
}
}
const Person = (props) => (
<div>
<h1 onClick={props.onClick}>{props.name}</h1>
{props.visible && (
<div>
<p>{props.height}</p>
</div>
)}
</div>
);

Similar idea with #Tholle but a different approach. Assuming there is an id in the person object we are changing visibles state and toggling ids.
class PersonList extends React.Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props)
this.state = {
resource: this.props.persons,
visibles: {},
}
}
toggleVisible = id => this.setState( prevState => ({
visibles: { ...prevState.visibles, [id]: !prevState.visibles[id] },
}))
render() {
const mappedPeople =
this.state.resource.map((person, i) =>
<Person
key={person.id}
visibles={this.state.visibles}
toggleVisible={this.toggleVisible}
{...person}
/>
)
return (
<div>
{mappedPeople}
</div>
)
}
}
const Person = (props) => {
const handleVisible = () =>
props.toggleVisible( props.id );
return (
<div>
<h1 onClick={handleVisible}>
{props.name}</h1>
{props.visibles[props.id] &&
<div>
<p>{props.height}</p>
</div>
}
</div>
);
}
const persons = [
{ id: 1, name: "foo", height: 10 },
{ id: 2, name: "bar", height: 20 },
{ id: 3, name: "baz", height: 30 },
]
const rootElement = document.getElementById("root");
ReactDOM.render(<PersonList persons={persons} />, rootElement);
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react/15.1.0/react.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react/15.1.0/react-dom.min.js"></script>
<div id="root"></div>

You can make sure your "this.state.resource" array has a visibility flag on each object:
this.state.resource = [
{ ..., visibility: true },
{ ..., visibility: false}
...
];
Do this by modifying your fetch a little bit.
let fetchedData = await API_Call("people");
this.setState({
resource: fetchedData.results.map(p => ({...p, visiblity: true}))
});
Merge your Person component back into PersonList (like you are trying to do), and on your onclick, do this:
onClick={() => this.toggleVisible(i)}
Change toggleVisible() function to do the following.
toggleVisible = (idx) => {
const personList = this.state.resource;
personList[idx].visibility = !personList[idx].visibility;
this.setState({ resource: personList });
}
So now, when you are doing:
this.state.resource.map((person, i) => ...
... you have access to "person.visibility" and your onclick will toggle the particular index that is clicked.
I think that directly answers your question, however...
I would continue with breaking out Person into it's own component, it really is good practice!
Other than better organization, one of the main reason is to avoid lamdas in props (which i actually did above). Since you need to do an onClick per index, you either need to use data attributes, or actually use React.Component for each person item.
You can research this a bit here:
https://github.com/yannickcr/eslint-plugin-react/blob/master/docs/rules/jsx-no-bind.md
BTW you can still create "components" that aren't "React.Component"s like this:
import React from 'react';
const Person = ({ exProp1, exProp2, exProp3}) => {
return <div>{exProp1 + exProp2 + exProp3}</div>
}
Person.propTypes = {
...
}
export default Person;
As you can see, nothing is inheriting from React.Component, so you are getting the best of both worlds (create components without creating "Components"). I would lean towards this approach, vs putting everything inline. But if your application is not extremely large and you just want to get it done, going with the first approach isn't terribly bad.

How to remove an instance of a React component class instantiated by its parent's state?

(Pardon the verbose question. I'm brand new to React and ES6, and I'm probably overly-convoluting this.)
I am writing an app that contains a button component. This button calls a method onAddChild that creates another component of class ColorModule by adding a value to an array stored in the App's state.
In each newly created ColorModule, I want to include another button that will remove the module. Since this component is created by an array.map method, my thought is that if I can find the index of the array item that corresponds with the component and use that index in array.splice then perhaps that component will be removed (untested theory). That said, I'm not really sure how to find the index where I would use this in my onRemoveModule method.
Two part question: 1) How would I go about finding the index of the array item in my state, and 2) if I'm completely off base or there's a better way to do this altogether, what does that solution look like?
imports...
class App extends Component {
static propTypes = {
children: PropTypes.node,
};
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.state = {
// Here's the array in question...
moduleList: [1],
};
this.onAddChild = this.onAddChild.bind(this);
this.onRemoveModule = this.onRemoveModule.bind(this);
this.className = bemClassName.bind(null, this.constructor.name);
}
onAddChild(module) {
const moduleList = this.state.moduleList;
this.setState({ moduleList: moduleList.concat(1) });
}
onRemoveModule( e ) {
e.preventDefault();
...¯\_(ツ)_/¯
}
render() {
const { className } = this;
return (
<div className={className('container')}>
<Header onAddChild={this.onAddChild} /> /* Add module button lives here */
<div className="cf">
{this.state.moduleList.map(
( delta, index ) => {
return (
<ColorModule
className="cf"
onRemove={this.onRemoveModule}
key={index}
moduleId={'colorModule' + index}
/>
); /* Remove module button would live in the module itself */
}
)}
</div>
</div>
);
}
}
export default App;

Well this part is pretty easy, all you need to do is pass the index as prop to the ColorModule component and when calling the onRemove method in it you could pass it back to the onRemoveModule. However react optimizes based on keys and its a really good idea to have a unique id given to each module instance.
class App extends Component {
static propTypes = {
children: PropTypes.node,
};
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.state = {
// Here's the array in question...
moduleList: [1],
};
this.onAddChild = this.onAddChild.bind(this);
this.onRemoveModule = this.onRemoveModule.bind(this);
this.className = bemClassName.bind(null, this.constructor.name);
}
onAddChild(module) {
const moduleList = this.state.moduleList;
this.setState({ moduleList: moduleList.concat(uuid()) }); //uuid must return a unique id everytime to be used as component key
}
onRemoveModule( index ) {
// now with this index you can update the moduleList
}
render() {
const { className } = this;
return (
<div className="cf">
{this.state.moduleList.map(
( delta, index ) => {
return (
<ColorModule
className="cf"
index={index}
onRemove={this.onRemoveModule}
key={delta}
moduleId={'colorModule' + delta}
/>
);
}
)}
</div>
);
}
}
Now in ColorModule component
class ColorModule extends React.Component {
onRemoveClick=() => {
this.props.onRemove(this.props.index);
}
}
Check this answer for more details on how to pass data from Child component to Parent

I ended up solving this problem using some of the guidance here from #ShubhamKhatri (didn't know about unique ID generation!), but I took a slightly different approach and handled the solution using state manipulation in App without needing a new method in my ColorModule component. I also never knew about currying in ES6, so that discovery made passing in the index values needed to manipulate my state array possible
If I'm off-base here or being inefficient, I'm definitely still open to feedback on a better way!
class App extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.state = {
moduleList: [{ id: UniqId(), removeModule: false }],
};
this.onAddChild = this.onAddChild.bind(this);
this.className = bemClassName.bind(null, this.constructor.name);
}
onAddChild(module) {
const moduleList = this.state.moduleList;
this.setState({
moduleList: moduleList.concat({
id: UniqId(),
removeModule: false,
}),
});
}
onRemoveModule = ( i, arr ) => (e) => {
const moduleList = this.state.moduleList;
e.preventDefault();
moduleList[i].removeModule = true;
this.setState({ moduleList: moduleList });
}
render() {
const { className } = this;
return (
<div className={className('container')}>
<Header onAddChild={this.onAddChild} />
<div className="cf">
{this.state.moduleList.map(
( delta, index ) => {
if ( !this.state.moduleList[index].removeModule ) {
return (
<ColorModule
className="cf"
onRemove={this.onRemoveModule( index, this.state.moduleList )}
index={index}
key={delta.id}
moduleId={'colorModule' + delta}
/>
);
}
}
)}
</div>
</div>
);
}
}

Focus a certain input on a list of dynamically generated inputs

I have a list of dynamically generated inputs.
input --> onClick new Input beneath
[dynamically added]input
input
How can give just this dynamically added input focus?
The input has the textInput ref. This partly works:
componentWillUpdate(){
this.textInput.focus();
}
Yet, just works or the first new Input. Then it seems like the logic breaks.
the inputs are .map() from an array. Is there a way to either say, if the current rendered element has el.isActive to focus it. Or just say focus the input with the index 5?
CODE
Inputsgenerating file/component
import React from 'react';
import ReactDOM from 'react';
import _ from 'lodash'
class SeveralInputs extends React.Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.state = {
value: ' '
}
this.showIndex = this
.showIndex
.bind(this)
this.map = this
.map
.bind(this)
this.handleChange = this
.handleChange
.bind(this);
}
componentWillUpdate() {
this.textinput && this
.textInput
.focus();
}
render() {
return (
<ul>
{this.map()}
</ul>
)
}
map() {
{
return this
.props
.data
.map((name, index) => <li
onKeyPress={this
.showIndex
.bind(this, index)}
key={index}><input
onChange={this
.handleChange
.bind(this, index)}
task={this.task}
value={name.value}
ref={(input) => {
this.textInput = input;
}}
type="text"/>{name.value}</li>)
}
}
handleChange(index, e) {
let data = this
.props
.data
.splice(index, 1, {
value: e.target.value,
isActive: true
})
this
.props
.refreshState(data);
}
showIndex(index, e) {
if (e.which === 13 || e.keyPress === 13) {
let data = this.props.data[index].isActive = false
data = this
.props
.data
.splice(index + 1, 0, {
value: ' ',
isActive: true
})
this
.props
.refreshState(data);
} else {
return null
}
}
}
export default SeveralInputs
The data that lives in the parent component
const data = [
{
value: 0,
isActive: true
}, {
value: 2,
isActive: false
}
]
The parents state:
this.state = {
error: null,
data
};
The parents render
render() {
return (
<div>
{/* <Input/> */}
{/* <SeveralItems refreshState={this.refreshState} data={this.state.data.value}/> */}
<SeveralInputs refreshState={this.refreshState} data={this.state.data}/> {/* <SeveralInputsNested refreshState={this.refreshState} data={this.state.data}/> {this.items()} */}
</div>
);
}
refreshState(data) {
this.setState({data: this.state.data})
console.log(this.state.data)
}

The first issue I see is that in refreshState you pass some data that you do not handle, try this:
refreshState(newData) {
this.setState({data: newData})
}
And trying to log this.state right after won't work because :
setState() does not always immediately update the component. It may batch or defer the update until later. This makes reading this.state right after calling setState() a potential pitfall. Instead, use componentDidUpdate or a setState callback (setState(updater, callback)), either of which are guaranteed to fire after the update has been applied.

ReactJS clearing an input from parent component

I'm teaching myself react with a super simple app that asks the user to type a word presented in the UI. If user enters it correctly, the app shows another word, and so on.
I've got it almost working, except for one thing: after a word is entered correctly, I need to clear the input element. I've seen several answers here about how an input element can clear itself, but I need to clear it from the component that contains it, because that's where the input is checked...
// the app
class AppComponent extends React.Component {
constructor() {
super();
this.state = {
words: ['alpha', 'bravo', 'charlie'],
index: 0
};
}
renderWordsource() {
const word = this.state.words[this.state.index];
return <WordsourceComponent value={ word } />;
}
renderWordinput() {
return <WordinputComponent id={1} onChange={ this.onChange.bind(this) }/>;
}
onChange(id, value) {
const word = this.state.words[this.state.index];
if (word == value) {
alert('yes');
var nextIndex = (this.state.index == this.state.words.count-1)? 0 : this.state.index+1;
this.setState({ words:this.state.words, index:nextIndex });
}
}
render() {
return (
<div className="index">
<div>{this.renderWordsource()}</div>
<div>{this.renderWordinput()}</div>
</div>
);
}
}
// the input component
class WordinputComponent extends React.Component {
constructor(props) {
this.state = { text:''}
}
handleChange(event) {
var text = event.target.value;
this.props.onChange(this.props.id, text);
}
render() {
return (
<div className="wordinput-component">
<input type="text" onChange={this.handleChange.bind(this)} />
</div>
);
}
}
See where it says alert('yes')? That's where I think I should clear the value, but that doesn't make any sense because it's a parameter, not really the state of the component. Should I have the component pass itself to the change function? Maybe then I could alter it's state, but that sounds like a bad idea design-wise.

The 2 common ways of doing this is controlling the value through state in the parent or using a ref to clear the value. Added examples of both
The first one is using a ref and putting a function in the child component to clear
The second one is using state of the parent component and a controlled input field to clear it
class ParentComponent1 extends React.Component {
state = {
input2Value: ''
}
clearInput1() {
this.input1.clear();
}
clearInput2() {
this.setState({
input2Value: ''
});
}
handleInput2Change(evt) {
this.setState({
input2Value: evt.target.value
});
}
render() {
return (
<div>
<ChildComponent1 ref={input1 => this.input1 = input1}/>
<button onClick={this.clearInput1.bind(this)}>Clear</button>
<ChildComponent2 value={this.state.input2Value} onChange={this.handleInput2Change.bind(this)}/>
<button onClick={this.clearInput2.bind(this)}>Clear</button>
</div>
);
}
}
class ChildComponent1 extends React.Component {
clear() {
this.input.value = '';
}
render() {
return (
<input ref={input => this.input = input} />
);
}
}
class ChildComponent2 extends React.Component {
render() {
return (
<input value={this.props.value} onChange={this.props.onChange} />
);
}
}
ReactDOM.render(<ParentComponent1 />, document.body);
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react/15.1.0/react.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react/15.1.0/react-dom.min.js"></script>

I had a similar issue: I wanted to clear a form which contained multiple fields.
While the two solutions by #noveyak are working fine, I want to share a different idea, which gives me the ability to partition the responsibility between parent and child: parent knows when to clear the form, and the items know how to react to that, without using refs.
The idea is to use a revision counter which gets incremented each time Clear is pressed and to react to changes of this counter in children.
In the example below there are three quite simple children reacting to the Clear button.
class ParentComponent extends React.Component {
state = {revision: 0}
clearInput = () => {
this.setState((prev) => ({revision: prev.revision+1}))
}
render() {
return (
<div>
<ChildComponent revision={this.state.revision}/>
<ChildComponent revision={this.state.revision}/>
<ChildComponent revision={this.state.revision}/>
<button onClick={this.clearInput.bind(this)}>Clear</button>
</div>
);
}
}
class ChildComponent extends React.Component {
state = {value: ''}
componentWillReceiveProps(nextProps){
if(this.props.revision != nextProps.revision){
this.setState({value : ''});
}
}
saveValue = (event) => {
this.setState({value: event.target.value})
}
render() {
return (
<input value={this.state.value} onChange={this.saveValue} />
);
}
}
ReactDOM.render(<ParentComponent />, document.body);
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react/15.1.0/react.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react/15.1.0/react-dom.min.js"></script>
EDIT:
I've just stumbled upon this beautifully simple solution with key which is somewhat similar in spirit (you can pass parents's revision as child's key)

Very very very simple solution to clear form is add unique key in div under which you want to render form from your child component key={new Date().getTime()}:
render(){
return(
<div className="form_first_step fields_black" key={new Date().getTime()}>
<Form
className="first_step">
// form fields coming from child component
<AddressInfo />
</div>
</Form>
</div>
)
}