I am learning React and I am trying to call a function in a child component, that accesses a property that was passed from parent component and display it.
The props receives a "todo" object that has 2 properties, one of them is text.
I have tried to display the text directly without a function, like {this.props.todo.text} but it does not appear. I also tried like the code shows, by calling a function that returns the text.
This is my App.js
import React, { Component } from "react";
import NavBar from "./components/NavBar";
import "./App.css";
import TodoList from "./components/todoList";
import TodoElement from "./components/todoElement";
class App extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.state = {
todos: []
};
this.addNewTodo = this.addNewTodo.bind(this);
}
addNewTodo(input) {
const newTodo = {
text: input,
done: false
};
const todos = [...this.state.todos];
todos.push(newTodo);
this.setState({ todos });
}
render() {
return (
<div className="App">
<input type="text" id="text" />
<button
onClick={() => this.addNewTodo(document.getElementById("text"))}
>
Add new
</button>
{this.state.todos.map(todo => (
<TodoElement key={todo.text} todo={todo} />
))}
</div>
);
}
}
export default App;
This is my todoElement.jsx
import React, { Component } from "react";
class TodoElement extends Component {
state = {};
writeText() {
const texto = this.props.todo.text;
return texto;
}
render() {
return (
<div className="row">
<input type="checkbox" />
<p id={this.writeText()>{this.writeText()}</p>
<button>x</button>
</div>
);
}
}
export default TodoElement;
I expect that when I write in the input box, and press add, it will display the text.
From documentation
Refs provide a way to access DOM nodes or React elements created in the render method.
I'll write it as:
class App extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.state = {
todos: []
};
this.textRef = React.createRef();
this.addNewTodo = this.addNewTodo.bind(this);
}
addNewTodo() {
const newTodo = {
text: this.textRef.current.value,
done: false
};
const todos = [...this.state.todos, newTodo];
this.setState({ todos });
}
render() {
return (
<div className="App">
<input type="text" id="text" ref={this.textRef} />
<button onClick={this.addNewTodo}>Add new</button>
{this.state.todos.map(todo => (
<TodoElement key={todo.text} todo={todo} />
))}
</div>
);
}
}
In your approach, what you got as an argument to the parameter input of the method addNewTodo is an Element object. It is not the value you entered into the text field. To get the value, you need to call input.value. But this is approach is not we encourage in React, rather we use Ref when need to access the html native dom.
I have a few components that each contain inputs, and on the main component I have a button that will send that information all at once to the server. The problem is that the main component that has the button doesn't have the input content of the child components.
In the past I've passed down a method that would send the content back up into the state, but is there an easier less painful way of doing it? It just feels like an odd way of doing that.
Here's a short example of what I have and what I mean.
Main component:
import React from 'react';
import { Button } from 'react-toolbox/lib/button';
import Message from './Message';
class Main extends React.Component {
constructor() {
super();
this.state = { test: '' };
}
render() {
return (
<div className="container mainFrame">
<h2>Program</h2>
<Message />
</div>
);
}
}
export default Main;
And the message component:
import React from 'react';
import axios from 'axios';
import Input from 'react-toolbox/lib/input';
class Message extends React.Component {
constructor() {
super();
this.state = { message: '' };
this.handleChange = this.handleChange.bind(this);
}
handleChange(value) {
this.setState({ message: value });
}
render() {
return (
<Input
type="text"
label="Message"
name="name"
onChange={this.handleChange}
/>
);
}
}
export default Message;
To answer your question, yes. You can try using refs. Add a ref to Message component, and you will be able to access the child component's methods, state and everything. But thats not the conventional way, people generally use callbacks, as you mentioned earlier.
import React from 'react';
import { Button } from 'react-toolbox/lib/button';
import Message from './Message';
class Main extends React.Component {
constructor() {
super();
this.state = { test: '' };
}
clickHandler () {
let childState = this.refs.comp1.state //returns the child's state. not prefered.
let childValue = this.refs.comp1.getValue(); // calling a method that returns the child's value
}
render() {
return (
<div className="container mainFrame">
<h2>Program</h2>
<Message ref="comp1"/>
<Button onClick={this.clickHandler} />
</div>
);
}
}
export default Main;
import React from 'react';
import axios from 'axios';
import Input from 'react-toolbox/lib/input';
class Message extends React.Component {
constructor() {
super();
this.state = { message: '' };
this.handleChange = this.handleChange.bind(this);
}
handleChange(value) {
this.setState({ message: value });
}
getValue () {
return this.state.message;
}
render() {
return (
<Input
type="text"
label="Message"
name="name"
onChange={this.handleChange}
/>
);
}
}
export default Message;
You are doing what is suggested in docs so it's a good way.
I have a button that will send that information all at once to the server
I assume then it might be form you can use. If so you can just handle onSubmit event and create FormData object containing all nested input field names with their values (even in children components). No need for callbacks then.
handleSubmit(e){
e.preventDefault();
const form = e.currentTarget;
const formData = new FormData(form); // send it as a body of your request
// form data object will contain key value pairs corresponding to input `name`s and their values.
}
checkout Retrieving a FormData object from an HTML form
My structure looks as follows:
Component 1
- |- Component 2
- - |- Component 4
- - - |- Component 5
Component 3
Component 3 should display some data depending on state of Component 5.
Since props are immutable, I can't simply save its state in Component 1 and forward it, right? And yes, I've read about Redux, but I don't want to use it. I hope that it's possible to solve it just with react. Am I wrong?
For child-parent communication you should pass a function setting the state from parent to child, like this
class Parent extends React.Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props)
this.handler = this.handler.bind(this)
}
handler() {
this.setState({
someVar: 'some value'
})
}
render() {
return <Child handler = {this.handler} />
}
}
class Child extends React.Component {
render() {
return <Button onClick = {this.props.handler}/ >
}
}
This way the child can update the parent's state with the call of a function passed with props.
But you will have to rethink your components' structure, because as I understand components 5 and 3 are not related.
One possible solution is to wrap them in a higher level component which will contain the state of both component 1 and 3. This component will set the lower level state through props.
This is how to do it with the new useState hook.
Method - Pass the state changer function as a props to the child component and do whatever you want to do with the function:
import React, {useState} from 'react';
const ParentComponent = () => {
const[state, setState]=useState('');
return(
<ChildComponent stateChanger={setState} />
)
}
const ChildComponent = ({stateChanger, ...rest}) => {
return(
<button onClick={() => stateChanger('New data')}></button>
)
}
I found the following working solution to pass the onClick function argument from the child to the parent component:
Version with passing a method()
//ChildB component
class ChildB extends React.Component {
render() {
var handleToUpdate = this.props.handleToUpdate;
return (<div><button onClick={() => handleToUpdate('someVar')}>
Push me
</button>
</div>)
}
}
//ParentA component
class ParentA extends React.Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
var handleToUpdate = this.handleToUpdate.bind(this);
var arg1 = '';
}
handleToUpdate(someArg){
alert('We pass argument from Child to Parent: ' + someArg);
this.setState({arg1:someArg});
}
render() {
var handleToUpdate = this.handleToUpdate;
return (<div>
<ChildB handleToUpdate = {handleToUpdate.bind(this)} /></div>)
}
}
if(document.querySelector("#demo")){
ReactDOM.render(
<ParentA />,
document.querySelector("#demo")
);
}
Look at JSFiddle
Version with passing an Arrow function
//ChildB component
class ChildB extends React.Component {
render() {
var handleToUpdate = this.props.handleToUpdate;
return (<div>
<button onClick={() => handleToUpdate('someVar')}>
Push me
</button>
</div>)
}
}
//ParentA component
class ParentA extends React.Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
}
handleToUpdate = (someArg) => {
alert('We pass argument from Child to Parent: ' + someArg);
}
render() {
return (<div>
<ChildB handleToUpdate = {this.handleToUpdate} /></div>)
}
}
if(document.querySelector("#demo")){
ReactDOM.render(
<ParentA />,
document.querySelector("#demo")
);
}
Look at JSFiddle
I want to thank the most upvoted answer for giving me the idea of my own problem basically the variation of it with arrow function and passing param from child component:
class Parent extends React.Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props)
// without bind, replaced by arrow func below
}
handler = (val) => {
this.setState({
someVar: val
})
}
render() {
return <Child handler = {this.handler} />
}
}
class Child extends React.Component {
render() {
return <Button onClick = {() => this.props.handler('the passing value')}/ >
}
}
Hope it helps someone.
I like the answer regarding passing functions around. It's a very handy technique.
On the flip side you can also achieve this using pub/sub or using a variant, a dispatcher, as Flux does. The theory is super simple. Have component 5 dispatch a message which component 3 is listening for. Component 3 then updates its state which triggers the re-render. This requires stateful components, which, depending on your viewpoint, may or may not be an anti-pattern. I'm against them personally and would rather that something else is listening for dispatches and changes state from the very top-down (Redux does this, but it adds additional terminology).
import { Dispatcher } from 'flux'
import { Component } from 'React'
const dispatcher = new Dispatcher()
// Component 3
// Some methods, such as constructor, omitted for brevity
class StatefulParent extends Component {
state = {
text: 'foo'
}
componentDidMount() {
dispatcher.register( dispatch => {
if ( dispatch.type === 'change' ) {
this.setState({ text: 'bar' })
}
}
}
render() {
return <h1>{ this.state.text }</h1>
}
}
// Click handler
const onClick = event => {
dispatcher.dispatch({
type: 'change'
})
}
// Component 5 in your example
const StatelessChild = props => {
return <button onClick={ onClick }>Click me</button>
}
The dispatcher bundles with Flux is very simple. It simply registers callbacks and invokes them when any dispatch occurs, passing through the contents on the dispatch (in the above terse example there is no payload with the dispatch, simply a message id). You could adapt this to traditional pub/sub (e.g., using the EventEmitter from events, or some other version) very easily if that makes more sense to you.
I found the following working solution to pass the onClick function argument from the child to the parent component with a parameter:
Parent class:
class Parent extends React.Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props)
// Bind the this context to the handler function
this.handler = this.handler.bind(this);
// Set some state
this.state = {
messageShown: false
};
}
// This method will be sent to the child component
handler(param1) {
console.log(param1);
this.setState({
messageShown: true
});
}
// Render the child component and set the action property with the handler as value
render() {
return <Child action={this.handler} />
}}
Child class:
class Child extends React.Component {
render() {
return (
<div>
{/* The button will execute the handler function set by the parent component */}
<Button onClick={this.props.action.bind(this,param1)} />
</div>
)
} }
Whenever you require to communicate between a child to the parent at any level down, then it's better to make use of context. In the parent component define the context that can be invoked by the child, such as:
In the parent component, in your case component 3,
static childContextTypes = {
parentMethod: React.PropTypes.func.isRequired
};
getChildContext() {
return {
parentMethod: (parameter_from_child) => this.parentMethod(parameter_from_child)
};
}
parentMethod(parameter_from_child){
// Update the state with parameter_from_child
}
Now in the child component (component 5 in your case), just tell this component that it wants to use the context of its parent.
static contextTypes = {
parentMethod: React.PropTypes.func.isRequired
};
render() {
return(
<TouchableHighlight
onPress = {() => this.context.parentMethod(new_state_value)}
underlayColor='gray' >
<Text> update state in parent component </Text>
</TouchableHighlight>
)}
You can find the Demo project in this GitHub repository.
It seems that we can only pass data from parent to child as React promotes unidirectional data flow, but to make the parent update itself when something happens in its "child component", we generally use what is called a "callback function".
We pass the function defined in the parent to the child as "props" and
call that function from the child triggering it in the parent
component.
class Parent extends React.Component {
handler = (Value_Passed_From_SubChild) => {
console.log("Parent got triggered when a grandchild button was clicked");
console.log("Parent->Child->SubChild");
console.log(Value_Passed_From_SubChild);
}
render() {
return <Child handler = {this.handler} />
}
}
class Child extends React.Component {
render() {
return <SubChild handler = {this.props.handler}/ >
}
}
class SubChild extends React.Component {
constructor(props){
super(props);
this.state = {
somethingImp : [1,2,3,4]
}
}
render() {
return <button onClick = {this.props.handler(this.state.somethingImp)}>Clickme<button/>
}
}
React.render(<Parent />,document.getElementById('app'));
HTML
----
<div id="app"></div>
In this example we can make data pass from sub child → child → parent by passing function to its direct child.
Most of the answers given previously are for React.Component-based designs. If you are using useState in the recent upgrades of the React library, then follow this answer.
I've used a top rated answer from this page many times, but while learning React, I've found a better way to do that, without binding and without an inline function inside props.
Just look here:
class Parent extends React.Component {
constructor() {
super();
this.state = {
someVar: value
}
}
handleChange = (someValue) => {
this.setState({someVar: someValue})
}
render() {
return <Child handler={this.handleChange} />
}
}
export const Child = ({handler}) => {
return <Button onClick={handler} />
}
The key is in an arrow function:
handleChange = (someValue) => {
this.setState({someVar: someValue})
}
You can read more here.
Simply pass the parent's setState function via props to the child component.
function ParentComp() {
const [searchValue, setSearchValue] = useState("");
return <SearchBox setSearchValue={setSearchValue} searchValue={searchValue} />;
}
then in child component:
function SearchBox({ searchValue, setSearchValue }) {
return (
<input
id="search-post"
type="text"
value={searchValue}
onChange={(e) => setSearchValue(e.target.value)}
placeholder="Search Blogs ..."
/>
)
}
A second example to handle click from child component:
// We've below function and component in parent component
const clickHandler = (val) => {
alert(`httpRequest sent. \nValue Received: ${val}`);
};
// JSX
<HttpRequest clickHandler={clickHandler} />
this is how you get function from parent component then pass a value and fire clickHandler through it.
function HttpRequest({ clickHandler }) {
const [content, setContent] = useState("initialState");
return (
<button onClick={() => clickHandler(content)}>
Send Request
</button>
);
}
export default HttpRequest;
We can create ParentComponent and with a handleInputChange method to update the ParentComponent state. Import the ChildComponent and we pass two props from the parent to the child component i.e., the handleInputChange function and count.
import React, { Component } from 'react';
import ChildComponent from './ChildComponent';
class ParentComponent extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.handleInputChange = this.handleInputChange.bind(this);
this.state = {
count: '',
};
}
handleInputChange(e) {
const { value, name } = e.target;
this.setState({ [name]: value });
}
render() {
const { count } = this.state;
return (
<ChildComponent count={count} handleInputChange={this.handleInputChange} />
);
}
}
Now we create the ChildComponent file and save it as ChildComponent.jsx. This component is stateless because the child component doesn't have a state. We use the prop-types library for props type checking.
import React from 'react';
import { func, number } from 'prop-types';
const ChildComponent = ({ handleInputChange, count }) => (
<input onChange={handleInputChange} value={count} name="count" />
);
ChildComponent.propTypes = {
count: number,
handleInputChange: func.isRequired,
};
ChildComponent.defaultProps = {
count: 0,
};
export default ChildComponent;
If you want to update the parent component,
class ParentComponent extends React.Component {
constructor(props){
super(props);
this.state = {
page: 0
}
}
handler(val){
console.log(val) // 1
}
render(){
return (
<ChildComponent onChange={this.handler} />
)
}
}
class ChildComponent extends React.Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.state = {
page: 1
};
}
someMethod = (page) => {
this.setState({ page: page });
this.props.onChange(page)
}
render() {
return (
<Button
onClick={() => this.someMethod()}
> Click
</Button>
)
}
}
Here onChange is an attribute with "handler" method bound to its instance. We passed the method handler to the Child class component, to receive via the onChange property in its props argument.
The attribute onChange will be set in a props object like this:
props = {
onChange: this.handler
}
and passed to the child component.
So the child component can access the value of name in the props object like this props.onChange.
It's done through the use of render props.
Now the child component has a button “Click” with an onclick event set to call the handler method passed to it via onChange in its props argument object. So now this.props.onChange in the child holds the output method in the parent class.
Reference and credits: Bits and Pieces
If this same scenario is not spread everywhere you can use React's context, especially if you don't want to introduce all the overhead that state management libraries introduce. Plus, it's easier to learn. But be careful; you could overuse it and start writing bad code. Basically you define a Container component (that will hold and keep that piece of state for you) making all the components interested in writing/reading that piece of data to/from its children (not necessarily direct children).
Context - React
You could also use a plain React properly instead.
<Component5 onSomethingHappenedIn5={this.props.doSomethingAbout5} />
Pass doSomethingAbout5 up to Component 1:
<Component1>
<Component2 onSomethingHappenedIn5={somethingAbout5 => this.setState({somethingAbout5})}/>
<Component5 propThatDependsOn5={this.state.somethingAbout5}/>
<Component1/>
If this is a common problem, you should starting thinking moving the whole state of the application to somewhere else. You have a few options, the most common are:
Redux
Flux
Basically, instead of managing the application state in your component you send commands when something happens to get the state updated. Components pull the state from this container as well so all the data is centralized. This doesn't mean you can't use local state any more, but that's a more advanced topic.
We can set the parent state from a child component by passing a function into the child component as props as below:
class Parent extends React.Component{
state = { term : ''}
onInputChange = (event) => {
this.setState({term: event.target.value});
}
onFormSubmit = (event) => {
event.preventDefault();
this.props.onFormSubmit(this.state.term);
}
render(){
return (
<Child onInputChange={this.onInputChange} onFormSubmit=
{this.onFormSubmit} />
)
}
}
class Child extends React.Component{
render(){
return (
<div className="search-bar ui segment">
<form className="ui form" onSubmit={this.props.onFormSubmit}>
<div class="field">
<label>Search Video</label>
<input type="text" value={this.state.term} onChange=
{this.props.onInputChange} />
</div>
</form>
</div>
)
}
}
This way, the child will update the parent state onInputChange and onFormSubmit are props passed from parents. This can be called from event listeners in the child, hence the state will get updated there.
Parent Component
function Parent() {
const [value, setValue] = React.useState("");
function handleChange(newValue) {
setValue(newValue);
}
// We pass a callback to Child
return <Child value={value} onChange={handleChange} />;
}
Child Component
function Child(props) {
function handleChange(event) {
// Here, we invoke the callback with the new value
props.onChange(event.target.value);
}
return <input value={props.value} onChange={handleChange} />
}
Here is a short snippet to get two ways binding data.
The counter show the value from the parent and is updated from the child
class Parent extends React.Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props)
this.handler = this.handler.bind(this)
this.state = {
count: 0
}
}
handler() {
this.setState({
count: this.state.count + 1
})
}
render() {
return <Child handler={this.handler} count={this.state.count} />
}
}
class Child extends React.Component {
render() {
return <button onClick={this.props.handler}>Count {this.props.count}</button>
}
}
ReactDOM.render(<Parent />, document.getElementById("root"));
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react/16.6.3/umd/react.production.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react-dom/16.6.3/umd/react-dom.production.min.js"></script>
<div id="root"></div>
This is the way I do it:
type ParentProps = {}
type ParentState = { someValue: number }
class Parent extends React.Component<ParentProps, ParentState> {
constructor(props: ParentProps) {
super(props)
this.state = { someValue: 0 }
this.handleChange = this.handleChange.bind(this)
}
handleChange(value: number) {
this.setState({...this.state, someValue: value})
}
render() {
return <div>
<Child changeFunction={this.handleChange} defaultValue={this.state.someValue} />
<p>Value: {this.state.someValue}</p>
</div>
}
}
type ChildProps = { defaultValue: number, changeFunction: (value: number) => void}
type ChildState = { anotherValue: number }
class Child extends React.Component<ChildProps, ChildState> {
constructor(props: ChildProps) {
super(props)
this.state = { anotherValue: this.props.defaultValue }
this.handleChange = this.handleChange.bind(this)
}
handleChange(value: number) {
this.setState({...this.state, anotherValue: value})
this.props.changeFunction(value)
}
render() {
return <div>
<input onChange={event => this.handleChange(Number(event.target.value))} type='number' value={this.state.anotherValue}/>
</div>
}
}
As per your question, I understand that you need to display some conditional data in Component 3 which is based on the state of Component 5. Approach:
The state of Component 3 will hold a variable to check whether Component 5's state has that data
An arrow function which will change Component 3's state variable.
Passing an arrow function to Component 5 with props.
Component 5 has an arrow function which will change Component 3's state variable
An arrow function of Component 5 called on loading itself
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react/16.6.3/umd/react.production.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react-dom/16.6.3/umd/react-dom.production.min.js"></script>
Class Component3 extends React.Component {
state = {
someData = true
}
checkForData = (result) => {
this.setState({someData : result})
}
render() {
if(this.state.someData) {
return(
<Component5 hasData = {this.checkForData} />
//Other Data
);
}
else {
return(
//Other Data
);
}
}
}
export default Component3;
class Component5 extends React.Component {
state = {
dataValue = "XYZ"
}
checkForData = () => {
if(this.state.dataValue === "XYZ") {
this.props.hasData(true);
}
else {
this.props.hasData(false);
}
}
render() {
return(
<div onLoad = {this.checkForData}>
//Conditional Data
</div>
);
}
}
export default Component5;
To set state of parent in the child you can use callback.
const Child = ({handleClick}) => (
<button on click={() => handleClick('some vale')}>change value</button>
)
const parent = () => {
const [value, setValue] = useState(null)
return <Child handleClick={setValue} />
}
In your structure it seems Components 1 an 3 are brothers. So you has 3 options:
1- Put the state into the parent of them(not recommended for 4 layer parent-child).
2- Use useContext and useRducer(or useState) together.
3- Use state managers like redux, mobx ...
This seem to work for me
Parent:
...
const [open, setOpen] = React.useState(false);
const handleDrawerClose = () => {
setOpen(false);
};
...
return (
<PrimaryNavigationAccordion
handleDrawerClose={handleDrawerClose}
/>
);
Child:
...
export default function PrimaryNavigationAccordion({
props,
handleDrawerClose,
})
...
<Link
to={menuItem.url}
component={RouterLink}
color="inherit"
underline="hover"
onClick={() => handleDrawerClose()}
>
{menuItem.label}
</Link>
You can do it by passing a reference for the parent to child, as:
Having a parent component A in A.js with a method updateAState
Having a child component B in B.js
Having a wrapper function that renders <A><B></B></A> in C.js
In C.js you can use useRef as following:
import React, { useRef } from "react";
export default function C()
{
const parentARef = useRef();
const handleChildBClick = () => parentARef.current.updateAState();
return (
<A ref={parentARef}>
<B onClick={handleChildBClick}>
</B>
</A>
);
}
Guidance Reference: https://stackoverflow.com/a/56496607/1770571
Data cannot be passed from child to parent in React. Data must be passed from parent to child. In this case, you can use either the built-in Context API or a third-party state management solution such as Redux, Mobx, or Apollo GraphQL. However, if your app structure is too small, you can store your data in your parent element and then send it to your child via prop drilling. But if your project is larger, it will be messy.
<Footer
action={()=>this.setState({showChart: true})}
/>
<footer className="row">
<button type="button" onClick={this.props.action}>Edit</button>
{console.log(this.props)}
</footer>
Try this example to write inline setState, it avoids creating another function.