We Keep Coding

How to trigger useEffects before render in React?

I have a prop being passed from a parent component to a child component which changes based on the user's input.
I want to trigger a data fetch in the child component when that prop changes before the child component is rendered. How can I do it?
I tried in the following manner by using useEffects(()=>{},[props.a, props.b]) but that is always called after the render. Please help!
import React, { useEffect, useState } from "react";
import "./styles.css";
export default function parentComponent() {
const [inputs, setInputs] = useState({ a: "", b: "" });
return (
<>
<input
value={inputs.a}
onChange={(event) => {
const value = event.target.value;
setInputs((prevState) => {
return { ...prevState, a: value };
});
}}
/>
<input
value={inputs.b}
onChange={(event) => {
const value = event.target.value;
setInputs((prevState) => {
return { ...prevState, b: value };
});
}}
/>
<ChildComponent a={inputs.a} b={inputs.b} />
</>
);
}
function ChildComponent(props) {
const [isLoading, setIsLoading] = useState(true);
const [data, setData] = useState({});
useEffect(() => {
console.log("updating new data based on props.a: " + props.a);
setData({ name: "john " + props.a });
return () => {};
}, [props.a, props.b]);
useEffect(() => {
console.log("data successfully changed");
console.log(data);
if (Object.keys(data).length !== 0) {
setIsLoading(false);
}
return () => {};
}, [data]);
function renderPartOfComponent() {
console.log("rendering POC with props.a: " + props.a);
return <div>data is: {data.name}</div>;
}
return (
<div className="App">{isLoading ? null : renderPartOfComponent()}</div>
);
}
In the console what I get is:
rendering POC with props.a: fe
rendering POC with props.a: fe
updating new data based on props.a: fe
rendering POC with props.a: fe
rendering POC with props.a: fe
data successfully changed
Object {name: "john fe"}
rendering POC with props.a: fe
rendering POC with props.a: fe
If you know how I can make the code more efficient, that would be a great help as well!
Here's the codesandbox link for the code: https://codesandbox.io/s/determined-northcutt-6z9f8?file=/src/App.js:0-1466

Solution
You can use useMemo, which doesn't wait for a re-render. It will execute as long as the dependencies are changed.
useMemo(()=>{
doSomething() //Doesn't want until render is completed
}, [dep1, dep2])

You can use function below:
// utils.js
const useBeforeRender = (callback, deps) => {
const [isRun, setIsRun] = useState(false);
if (!isRun) {
callback();
setIsRun(true);
}
useEffect(() => () => setIsRun(false), deps);
};
// yourComponent.js
useBeforeRender(() => someFunc(), []);

useEffect is always called after the render phase of the component. This is to avoid any side-effects from happening during the render commit phase (as it'd cause the component to become highly inconsistent and keep trying to render itself).
Your ParentComponent consists of Input, Input & ChildComponent.
As you type in textbox, ParentComponent: inputs state is modified.
This state change causes ChildComponent to re-render, hence renderPartOfComponent is called (as isLoading remains false from previous render).
After re-render, useEffect will be invoked (Parent's state propagates to Child).
Since isLoading state is modified from the effects, another rendering happens.

I found the solution by creating and maintaining state within the ChildComponent
So, the order of processes was this:
props modified -> render takes place -> useEffect block is executed.
I found the workaround by simply instantiating a state within the childComponent and making sure that the props state is the same as the one in the child component before rendering, else it would just show loading... This works perfectly.

Nowadays you can use useLayoutEffect which is a version of useEffect that fires before the browser repaints the screen.
Docs: https://beta.reactjs.org/reference/react/useLayoutEffect

Persist data with localStorage - React.js

I'm confused about how to use localStorage to persist the data that's coming from calling the API.
I want whenever I refresh the page, the callApi inside useEffect to not render new data and keep the existing data unchanged.
Any help would be appreciated.
import React, { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
import axios from 'axios';
import { Layout, Loading, OverviewHeader, OverviewSubHeader, SiteCard } from '../components';
const Overview = () => {
const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
const [sites, setSites] = useState([]);
useEffect(() => {
async function callApi() {
const response = await axios.get(`https://randomuser.me/api/?results=3`);
const sites = response?.data?.results;
console.log('sites', sites);
setSites(sites);
await localStorage.setItem('sites', JSON.stringify(sites));
setLoading(false);
}
callApi();
}, []);
return (
<div>
<Layout>
<OverviewHeader />
<OverviewSubHeader />
<div className='overview-page-wrapper'>
{loading ? (
<Loading />
) : (
sites.map(site => {
return (
<React.Fragment>
<SiteCard
key={site.login.uuid}
siteId={site.login.uuid}
image={site.picture.large}
firstName={site.name.first}
lastName={site.name.last}
city={site.location.city}
country={site.location.country}
sensors={site.dob.age}
notifications={site.registered.age}
latitude={site.location.coordinates.latitude}
longitude={site.location.coordinates.longitude}
{...site}
/>
</React.Fragment>
);
})
)}
</div>
</Layout>
</div>
);
};
export default Overview;

I'm not too sure what you're trying to accomplish, seeing as you'd likely want to refresh that data at some point.
Maybe you could indicate what behaviour/scenario you're trying to cater for?
In any case, to answer your question, what you could do is smth like:
const [displayedSites, setDisplayedSites] = useState([])
// this does both setting the state for your UI
// and stores to localStorage
const setAndSaveDisplayedSites = (fetchedSites) => {
setDisplayedSites(sites)
localStorage.setItem('sites', JSON.stringify(sites))
}
useEffect(() => {
(async function () {
const localSites = localStorage.getItem(sites);
if (!localSites) {
// this will only ever fetch if it is your first time mounting this component
// I suppose you would need to call setAndSaveDisplayedSites
// from a "refresh" button
const fetchedSites = await getSitesFromAPI()
setAndSaveDisplayedSites(fetchedSites)
return
}
const parsedLocalSites = JSON.parse(localSites)
setDisplayedSites(parsedLocalSites)
})()
}, [])
also checkout this hook that takes care of some things for you: https://usehooks.com/useLocalStorage/

Use the useContext hook for this purpose OR if you really just want to use the local storage anyhow, then use it but manage different states/variables for that.
Your current state (that you want to render on the screen)
Your fetched data (the one that you want to keep)
Hope this makes sense. Thankyou!

In React how can I append values to functional state when it is a dependency of useEffect without triggering another API call?

I have a todo list app which users can read and save items to. Here, Todo is a functional component that queries an API for the users current items on their list using the useEffect() hook. When a successful response is received the data is added to the component's state using useState() and rendered as part of the ItemList component.
When a user submits the form within the AddItemForm component a call back is fired that updates the state of newItem, a dependency of useEffect, which triggers another call to the API and a re-render of the component.
Logically, everything above works. However, it seems wrong to make an extra request to the API simply to receive the data that is already available but I can't find the correct pattern that would allow me to push the item available in useCallback to the items array without causing useEffect to loop infinitely yet still update the ItemList component.
Is there away for my app to push new date from the form submission to items array whilst updating the view and only calling the API once when the page loads?
function Todo() {
const [items, setItems] = useState();
const [newItem, setNewItem] = useState();
useEffect(() => {
fetch('https://example.com/items').then(
(response) => {
setItems(response.data.items);
}, (error) => {
console.log(error);
},
);
}, [newItem]);
const updateItemList = useCallback((item) => {
setNewItem(item);
});
return (
<>
<AddItemForm callback={updateItemList} />
<ItemList items={items} />
</>
);
}
function ItemList(props) {
const { items } = props;
return (
<div>
{ items
&& items.map((item) => <p>{item.description}</p>)}
</div>
);
}

Call API only on start by removing newItem from useEffect(...,[]).
Then add item to the items by destructuring in setItems:
const updateItemList = (item) => {
setItems([...items, item]);
}

Seeking advice: Reason for maximum update depth exceed

I am new to React and GraphQL. Trying to update React state with GraphQL subscription feed but it generates the update depth error.
Here is the simplified code:
import { Subscription } from 'react-apollo';
...
function Comp() {
const [test, setTest] = useState([]);
const Sub = function() {
return (
<Subscription subscription={someStatement}>
{
result => setTest(...test, result.data);
return null;
}
</Subscription>
);
};
const Draw = function() {
return (
<div> { test.map(x => <p>{x}</p>) } </div>
);
};
return (
<div>
<Sub />
<Draw />
<div/>
);
};
export default Comp;
Regular query works fine in the app and the Subscription tag returns usable results, so I believe the problem is on the React side.
I assume the displayed code contains the source of error because commenting out the function "Sub" stops the depth error.

You see what happens is when this part renders
<Subscription subscription={someStatement}>
{
result => setTest(...test, result.data);
return null;
}
</Subscription>
setTest() is called and state is set which causes a re-render, that re-render cause the above block to re-render and setTest() is called again and the loop goes on.
Try to fetch and setTest() in your useEffect() Hook so it does not gets stuck in that re-render loop.
useEffect like
useEffect(() => {
//idk where result obj are you getting from but it is supposed to be
//like this
setTest(...test, result.data);
}, [test] )
Component Like
<Subscription subscription={someStatement} />

Is it possible to share states between components using the useState() hook in React?

I was experimenting with the new Hook feature in React. Considering I have the following two components (using React Hooks) -
const HookComponent = () => {
const [username, setUsername] = useState('Abrar');
const [count, setState] = useState();
const handleChange = (e) => {
setUsername(e.target.value);
}
return (
<div>
<input name="userName" value={username} onChange={handleChange}/>
<p>{username}</p>
<p>From HookComponent: {count}</p>
</div>
)
}
const HookComponent2 = () => {
const [count, setCount] = useState(999);
return (
<div>
<p>You clicked {count} times</p>
<button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>
Click me
</button>
</div>
);
}
Hooks claim to solve the problem of sharing stateful logic between components but I found that the states between HookComponent and HookComponent2 are not sharable. For example the change of count in HookComponent2 does not render a change in the HookComponent.
Is it possible to share states between components using the useState() hook?

If you are referring to component state, then hooks will not help you share it between components. Component state is local to the component. If your state lives in context, then useContext hook would be helpful.
Fundamentally, I think you misunderstood the line "sharing stateful logic between components". Stateful logic is different from state. Stateful logic is stuff that you do that modifies state. For e.g., a component subscribing to a store in componentDidMount() and unsubscribing in componentWillUnmount(). This subscribing/unsubscribing behavior can be implemented in a hook and components which need this behavior can just use the hook.
If you want to share state between components, there are various ways to do so, each with its own merits:
1. Lift State Up
Lift state up to a common ancestor component of the two components.
function Ancestor() {
const [count, setCount] = useState(999);
return <>
<DescendantA count={count} onCountChange={setCount} />
<DescendantB count={count} onCountChange={setCount} />
</>;
}
This state sharing approach is not fundamentally different from the traditional way of using state, hooks just give us a different way to declare component state.
2. Context
If the descendants are too deep down in the component hierarchy and you don't want to pass the state down too many layers, you could use the Context API.
There's a useContext hook which you can leverage on within the child components.
3. External State Management Solution
State management libraries like Redux or Mobx. Your state will then live in a store outside of React and components can connect/subscribe to the store to receive updates.

It is possible without any external state management library. Just use a simple observable implementation:
function makeObservable(target) {
let listeners = []; // initial listeners can be passed an an argument aswell
let value = target;
function get() {
return value;
}
function set(newValue) {
if (value === newValue) return;
value = newValue;
listeners.forEach((l) => l(value));
}
function subscribe(listenerFunc) {
listeners.push(listenerFunc);
return () => unsubscribe(listenerFunc); // will be used inside React.useEffect
}
function unsubscribe(listenerFunc) {
listeners = listeners.filter((l) => l !== listenerFunc);
}
return {
get,
set,
subscribe,
};
}
And then create a store and hook it to react by using subscribe in useEffect:
const userStore = makeObservable({ name: "user", count: 0 });
const useUser = () => {
const [user, setUser] = React.useState(userStore.get());
React.useEffect(() => {
return userStore.subscribe(setUser);
}, []);
const actions = React.useMemo(() => {
return {
setName: (name) => userStore.set({ ...user, name }),
incrementCount: () => userStore.set({ ...user, count: user.count + 1 }),
decrementCount: () => userStore.set({ ...user, count: user.count - 1 }),
}
}, [user])
return {
state: user,
actions
}
}
And that should work. No need for React.Context or lifting state up

This is possible using the useBetween hook.
See in codesandbox
import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { useBetween } from 'use-between';
const useShareableState = () => {
const [username, setUsername] = useState('Abrar');
const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
return {
username,
setUsername,
count,
setCount
}
}
const HookComponent = () => {
const { username, setUsername, count } = useBetween(useShareableState);
const handleChange = (e) => {
setUsername(e.target.value);
}
return (
<div>
<input name="userName" value={username} onChange={handleChange}/>
<p>{username}</p>
<p>From HookComponent: {count}</p>
</div>
)
}
const HookComponent2 = () => {
const { count, setCount } = useBetween(useShareableState);
return (
<div>
<p>You clicked {count} times</p>
<button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>
Click me
</button>
</div>
);
}
We move React hooks stateful logic from HookComponent to useShareableState.
We call useShareableState using useBetween in each component.
useBetween is a way to call any hook. But so that the state will not be stored in the React component.
For the same hook, the result of the call will be the same. So we can call one hook in different components and work together on one state. When updating the shared state, each component using it will be updated too.
Disclaimer: I'm the author of the use-between package.

the doc states:
We import the useState Hook from React. It lets us keep local state in a function component.
it is not mentioned that the state could be shared across components, useState hook just give you a quicker way to declare a state field and its correspondent setter in one single instruction.

I've created hooksy that allows you to do exactly this - https://github.com/pie6k/hooksy
import { createStore } from 'hooksy';
interface UserData {
username: string;
}
const defaultUser: UserData = { username: 'Foo' };
export const [useUserStore] = createStore(defaultUser); // we've created store with initial value.
// useUserStore has the same signature like react useState hook, but the state will be shared across all components using it
And later in any component
import React from 'react';
import { useUserStore } from './userStore';
export function UserInfo() {
const [user, setUser] = useUserStore(); // use it the same way like useState, but have state shared across any component using it (eg. if any of them will call setUser - all other components using it will get re-rendered with new state)
function login() {
setUser({ username: 'Foo' })
}
return (
<div>
{!user && <strong>You're logged out<button onPress={login}>Login</button></strong>}
{user && <strong>Logged as <strong>{user.username}</strong></strong>}
</div>
);
}

With hooks its not directly possible.
I recommend you to take a look at react-easy-state.
https://github.com/solkimicreb/react-easy-state
I use it in big Apps and it works like a charm.

I'm going to hell for this:
// src/hooks/useMessagePipe.ts
import { useReducer } from 'react'
let message = undefined
export default function useMessagePipe() {
const triggerRender = useReducer((bool) => !bool, true)[1]
function update(term: string) {
message = term.length > 0 ? term : undefined
triggerRender()
}
return {message: message, sendMessage: update}
}
Full explanation over at: https://stackoverflow.com/a/72917627/1246547
Yes, this is the dirtiest and most concise way i could come up with for solving that specific use case. And yes, for a clean way, you probably want to learn how to useContext, or alternatively take a look at react-easy-state or useBetween for low-footprint solutions, and flux or redux for the real thing.

You will still need to lift your state up to an ancestor component of HookComponent1 and HookComponent2. That's how you share state before and the latest hook api doesnt change anything about it.