Develop Reference

How to save a component state after re-rendering? React js

There are some movie cards that clients can click on them and their color changes to gray with a blur effect, meaning that the movie is selected.
At the same time, the movie id is transferred to an array list. In the search bar, you can search for your favorite movie but the thing is after you type something in the input area the movie cards that were gray loses their style (I suppose because they are deleted and rendered again based on my code) but the array part works well and they are still in the array list.
How can I preserve their style?
Search Page:
export default function Index(data) {
const info = data.data.body.result;
const [selectedList, setSelectedList] = useState([]);
const [searchTerm, setSearchTerm] = useState('');
return (
<>
<main className={parentstyle.main_container}>
<NavBar />
<div className={style.searchbar_container}>
<CustomSearch
onChange={(e) => {
setSearchTerm(e.target.value);
}}
/>
</div>
<div className={style.card_container}>
{info
.filter((value) => {
if (searchTerm === '') {
return value;
} else if (
value.name
.toLocaleLowerCase()
.includes(searchTerm.toLocaleLowerCase())
) {
return value;
}
})
.map((value, key) => {
return (
<MovieCard
movieName={value.name}
key={key}
movieId={value._id}
selected={selectedList}
setSelected={setSelectedList}
isSelected={false}
/>
);
})}
</div>
<div>
<h3 className={style.test}>{selectedList}</h3>
</div>
</main>
Movie Cards Component:
export default function Index({ selected, movieName, movieId, setSelected }) {
const [isActive, setActive] = useState(false);
const toggleClass = () => {
setActive(!isActive);
};
useEffect(()=>{
})
const pushToSelected = (e) => {
if (selected.includes(e.target.id)) {
selected.splice(selected.indexOf(e.target.id), 1);
console.log(selected);
} else {
selected.push(e.target.id);
console.log(selected);
console.log(e.target);
}
setSelected([...selected]);
toggleClass();
};
return (
<div>
<img
className={isActive ? style.movie_selected : style.movie}
id={movieId}
name={movieName}
src={`images/movies/${movieName}.jpg`}
alt={movieName}
onClick={pushToSelected}
/>
<h3 className={style.title}>{movieName}</h3>
</div>
);
}

I can't directly test your code so I will assume that this is the issue:
Don't directly transform a state (splice/push) - always create a clone or something.
Make the setActive based on the list and not dependent. (this is the real issue why the style gets removed)
try this:
const pushToSelected = (e) => {
if (selected.includes(e.target.id)) {
// filter out the id
setSelected(selected.filter(s => s !== e.target.id));
return;
}
// add the id
setSelected([...selected, e.target.id]);
};
// you may use useMemo here. up to you.
const isActive = selected.includes(movieId);
return (
<div>
<img
className={isActive ? style.movie_selected : style.movie}
id={movieId}
name={movieName}
src={`images/movies/${movieName}.jpg`}
alt={movieName}
onClick={pushToSelected}
/>
<h3 className={style.title}>{movieName}</h3>
</div>
);

This is a very broad topic. The best thing you can do is look up "React state management".
As with everything in the react ecosystem it can be handled by various different libraries.
But as of the latest versions of React, you can first start by checking out the built-in tools:
Check out the state lifecycle: https://reactjs.org/docs/state-and-lifecycle.html
(I see in your example you are using useState hooks, but I am adding these for more structured explanation for whoever needs it)
Then you might want to look at state-related hooks such as useState: https://reactjs.org/docs/hooks-state.html
useEffect (to go with useState):
https://reactjs.org/docs/hooks-effect.html
And useContext:
https://reactjs.org/docs/hooks-reference.html#usecontext
And for things outside of the built-in toolset, there are many popular state management libraries that also work with React with the most popular being: Redux, React-query, Mobx, Recoil, Flux, Hook-state. Please keep in mind that what you should use is dependant on your use case and needs. These can also help you out to persist your state not only between re-renders but also between refreshes of your app. More and more libraries pop up every day.
This is an ok article with a bit more info:
https://dev.to/workshub/state-management-battle-in-react-2021-hooks-redux-and-recoil-2am0#:~:text=State%20management%20is%20simply%20a,you%20can%20read%20and%20write.&text=When%20a%20user%20performs%20an,occur%20in%20the%20component's%20state.

Implementing a function to swap array elements in React without mutating the original array

I am coding a react app in which a user can click a button to swap an item in an array with the item to its left. I wrote a function to implement this without mutating the original items array that is rendering on the page, but this function is not doing anything to my code, nor is it returning any errors.
Here is my app component, which defines the function swapLeft then passes that function down to the Item component as props:
import React, { useState } from "react";
import Form from "./components/Form";
import Item from "./components/Item";
import { nanoid } from "nanoid";
import './App.css';
function App(props) {
const [items, setItems] = useState(props.items);
function deleteItem(id) {
const remainingItems = items.filter(item => id !== item.id);
setItems(remainingItems);
}
function swapLeft(index) {
const index2 = index - 1;
const newItems = items.slice();
newItems[index] = items[index2];
newItems[index2] = items[index];
return newItems;
}
const itemList = items
.map((item, index) => (
<Item
id={item.id}
index={index}
name={item.name}
key={item.id}
deleteItem={deleteItem}
swapLeft={swapLeft}
/>
));
function addItem(name) {
const newItem = { id: "item-" + nanoid(), name: name };
setItems([...items, newItem]);
}
return (
<div className="form">
<Form addItem={addItem} />
<ul className="names">
{itemList}
</ul>
</div>
);
}
export default App;
And the Item component:
import React from "react";
import { Button, Card, CardContent, CardHeader } from 'semantic-ui-react'
export default function Item(props) {
return (
<Card>
<CardContent>
<CardHeader> {props.name}</CardHeader>
<Button onClick={() => props.deleteItem(props.id)}>
Delete <span className="visually-hidden"> {props.name}</span>
</Button>
</CardContent>
<CardContent style={{ display: 'flex' }}>
<i className="arrow left icon" onClick={() => props.swapLeft(props.index)} style={{ color: 'blue'}}></i>
<i className="arrow right icon" style={{ color: 'blue'}}></i>
</CardContent>
</Card>
);
}
Is there a better way for me to write this function and implement this? I suppose I could do something with the React setState hook, but this seemed like an easier solution. I am new to React so any insight would be helpful

The way React knows if the state has changed is whether the state is refers to an entirely different address in memory. In case of arrays, if you want React to rerender the page because the array in the state changed, you need to provide it an entirely new array. Modifying the existing array will not trigger the render process.
Basically, what you need to do is changed the last line of swapLeft function to
setItems(newItems)
If you want the changes to take effect immediately (which is what I guess you want to do here)
You can also use the return value from the function and change the state in another component, FYI.
EDIT:
I looked at this again, and your implementation of swap is also wrong, but even if you corrected it you still wouldn't see a change, unless you did what I mentioned above
The full correct function would be
function swapLeft(index) {
const index2 = index - 1;
const newItems = items.slice();
const temp = items[index];
newItems[index] = items[index2];
newItems[index2] = temp;
setItems(newItems);
}

Just to maybe clarify the previous one. If you don't call setState, your component doesn't rerender. This means that no matter what you do with those arrays, it won't be visible on the screen.

How can I render an array of components in react without them unmounting?

I have an array of React components that receive props from a map function, however the issue is that the components are mounted and unmounted on any state update. This is not an issue with array keys.
Please see codesandbox link.
const example = () => {
const components = [
(props: any) => (
<LandingFirstStep
eventImage={eventImage}
safeAreaPadding={safeAreaPadding}
isActive={props.isActive}
onClick={progressToNextIndex}
/>
),
(props: any) => (
<CameraOnboarding
safeAreaPadding={safeAreaPadding}
circleSize={circleSize}
isActive={props.isActive}
onNextClick={progressToNextIndex}
/>
),
];
return (
<div>
{components.map((Comp, index) => {
const isActive = index === currentIndex;
return <Comp key={`component-key-${index}`} isActive={isActive} />;
})}
</div>
)
}
If I render them outside of the component.map like so the follow, the component persists on any state change.
<Comp1 isActive={x === y}
<Comp2 isActive={x === y}
Would love to know what I'm doing wrong here as I am baffled.
Please take a look at this Codesandbox.
I believe I am doing something wrong when declaring the array of functions that return components, as you can see, ComponentOne is re-rendered when the button is pressed, but component two is not.

You should take a look at the key property in React. It helps React to identify which items have changed, are added, or are removed. Keys should be given to the elements inside the array to give the elements a stable identity

I think there are two problems:
To get React to reuse them efficiently, you need to add a key property to them:
return (
<div>
{components.map((Comp, index) => {
const isActive = index === currentIndex;
return <Comp key={anAppropriateKeyValue} isActive={isActive} />;
})}
</div>
);
Don't just use index for key unless the order of the list never changes (but it's fine if the list is static, as it appears to be in your question). That might mean you need to change your array to an array of objects with keys and components. From the docs linked above:
We don’t recommend using indexes for keys if the order of items may change. This can negatively impact performance and may cause issues with component state. Check out Robin Pokorny’s article for an in-depth explanation on the negative impacts of using an index as a key. If you choose not to assign an explicit key to list items then React will default to using indexes as keys.
I suspect you're recreating the example array every time. That means that the functions you're creating in the array initializer are recreated each time, which means to React they're not the same component function as the previous render. Instead, make those functions stable. There are a couple of ways to do that, but for instance you can just directly use your LandingFirstStep and CameraOnboarding components in the map callback.
const components = [
{
Comp: LandingFirstStep,
props: {
// Any props for this component other than `isActive`...
onClick: progressToNextIndex
}
},
{
Comp: CameraOnboarding,
props: {
// Any props for this component other than `isActive`...
onNextClick: progressToNextIndex
}
},
];
then in the map:
{components.map(({Comp, props}, index) => {
const isActive = index === currentIndex;
return <Comp key={index} isActive={isActive} {...props} />;
})}
There are other ways to handle it, such as via useMemo or useCallback, but to me this is the simple way — and it gives you a place to put a meaningful key if you need one rather than using index.
Here's an example handling both of those things and showing when the components mount/unmount; as you can see, they no longer unmount/mount when the index changes:
const {useState, useEffect, useCallback} = React;
function LandingFirstStep({isActive, onClick}) {
useEffect(() => {
console.log(`LandingFirstStep mounted`);
return () => {
console.log(`LandingFirstStep unmounted`);
};
}, []);
return <div className={isActive ? "active" : ""} onClick={isActive && onClick}>LoadingFirstStep, isActive = {String(isActive)}</div>;
}
function CameraOnboarding({isActive, onNextClick}) {
useEffect(() => {
console.log(`CameraOnboarding mounted`);
return () => {
console.log(`CameraOnboarding unmounted`);
};
}, []);
return <div className={isActive ? "active" : ""} onClick={isActive && onNextClick}>CameraOnboarding, isActive = {String(isActive)}</div>;
}
const Example = () => {
const [currentIndex, setCurrentIndex] = useState(0);
const progressToNextIndex = useCallback(() => {
setCurrentIndex(i => (i + 1) % components.length);
});
const components = [
{
Comp: LandingFirstStep,
props: {
onClick: progressToNextIndex
}
},
{
Comp: CameraOnboarding,
props: {
onNextClick: progressToNextIndex
}
},
];
return (
<div>
{components.map(({Comp, props}, index) => {
const isActive = index === currentIndex;
return <Comp key={index} isActive={isActive} {...props} />;
})}
</div>
);
};
ReactDOM.render(<Example/>, document.getElementById("root"));
.active {
cursor: pointer;
}
<div id="root"></div>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react/17.0.1/umd/react.production.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react-dom/17.0.1/umd/react-dom.production.min.js"></script>

React returns older state value onClick

I am adding a component onclick and keeping track of the components using useState Array. However when I go to remove one of the added components, it doesn't recognize the full component Array size, only the state that was there when that component was initially added.
Is there a way to have the current state recognized within that delete function?
https://codesandbox.io/s/twilight-water-jxnup
import React, { useState } from "react";
export default function App() {
const Span = props => {
return (
<div>
<span>{props.index}</span>
<button onClick={() => deleteSpan(props.index)}>DELETE</button>
Length: {spans.length}
</div>
);
};
//set initial span w/ useState
const [spans, setSpans] = useState([<Span key={0} index={Math.random()} />]);
//add new span
const addSpan = () => {
let key = Math.random();
setSpans([...spans, <Span key={key} index={key} />]);
};
//delete span
const deleteSpan = index => {
console.log(spans);
console.log(spans.length);
};
//clear all spans
const clearInputs = () => {
setSpans([]);
};
return (
<>
{spans}
<button onClick={() => addSpan()}>add</button>
<button onClick={() => clearInputs()}>clear</button>
</>
);
}

UPDATE - Explaining why you are facing the issue descibed on your question
When you are adding your new span on your state, it's like it captures an image of the current values around it, including the value of spans. That is why logging spans on click returns you a different value. It's the value spans had when you added your <Span /> into your state.
This is one of the benefits of Closures. Every <Span /> you added, created a different closure, referencing a different version of the spans variable.
Is there a reason why you are pushing a Component into your state? I would suggest you to keep your state plain and clean. In that way, it's also reusable.
You can, for instance, use useState to create an empty array, where you will push data related to your spans. For the sake of the example, I will just push a timestamp, but for you might be something else.
export default function App() {
const Span = props => {
return (
<div>
<span>{props.index}</span>
<button onClick={() => setSpans(spans.filter(span => span !== props.span))}>DELETE</button>
Length: {spans.length}
</div>
);
};
const [spans, setSpans] = React.useState([]);
return (
<>
{spans.length
? spans.map((span, index) => (
<Span key={span} index={index} span={span} />
))
: null}
<button onClick={() => setSpans([
...spans,
new Date().getTime(),
])}>add</button>
<button onClick={() => setSpans([])}>clear</button>
</>
);
}
I hope this helps you find your way.

Rendering a list of items in React with shared state

Original Question
I'm trying to render a list of items using React. The key is that the items share a common state, which can be controlled by each item.
For the sake of simplicity, let's say we have an array of strings. We have a List component that maps over the array, and generates the Item components. Each Item has a button that when clicked, it changes the state of all the items in the list (I've included a code snippet to convey what I'm trying to do).
I'm storing the state at the List component, and passing down its value to each Item child via props. The issue I'm encountering is that the button click (within Item) is not changing the UI state at all. I believe the issue has to do with the fact that items is not changing upon clicking the button (rightfully so), so React doesn't re-render the list (I would have expected some kind of UI update given the fact that the prop isEditing passed onto Item changes when the List state changes).
How can I have React handle this scenario?
Note: there seems to be a script error when clicking the Edit button in the code snippet, but I don't run into it when I run it locally. Instead, no errors are thrown, but nothing in the UI gets updated either. When I debug it, I can see that the state change in List is not propagated to its children.
Edited Question
Given the original question was not clear enough, I'm rephrasing it below.
Goal
I want to render a list of items in React. Each item should show a word, and an Edit button. The user should only be able edit one item at a time.
Acceptance Criteria
Upon loading, the user sees a list of words with an Edit button next to each.
When clicking Edit for item 1, only item 1 becomes editable and the Edit button becomes a Save button. The rest of the items on the list should no longer show their corresponding Edit button.
Upon clicking Save for item 0, the new value is shown for that item. All the Edit buttons (for the rest of the items) should become visible again.
Problem
On my original implementation, I was storing an edit state in the parent component (List), but this state wasn't properly being propagated to its Item children.
NOTE: My original implementation is lacking on the state management logic, which I found out later was the main culprit (see my response below). It also has a bind bug as noted by #Zhang below. I'm leaving it here for future reference, although it's not really a good example.
Here's my original implementation:
const items = ['foo', 'bar'];
class List extends React.Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.state = {
isEditing: false
};
}
toggleIsEditing() {
this.setState((prevState) => {
return {
isEditing: !prevState.isEditing
}
});
}
render() {
return (
<ul>
{items.map((val) => (
<Item value={val}
toggleIsEditing={this.toggleIsEditing}
isEditing={this.state.isEditing}/>
))}
</ul>
);
}
}
class Item extends React.Component {
render() {
return (
<li>
<div>
<span>{this.props.value}</span>
{ !this.props.isEditing &&
(<button onClick={this.props.toggleIsEditing}>
Edit
</button>)
}
{ this.props.isEditing &&
(<div>
<span>...Editing</span>
<button onClick={this.props.toggleIsEditing}>
Stop
</button>
</div>)
}
</div>
</li>
);
}
}
ReactDOM.render(<List />, document.getElementById('app'));
<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>
<body>
<div id="app" />
</body>

you didn't bind the parent scope when passing toggleIsEditing to child component
<Item value={val}
toggleIsEditing={this.toggleIsEditing.bind(this)}
isEditing={this.state.isEditing}/>

I figured out the solution when I rephrased my question, by rethinking through my implementation. I had a few issues with my original implementation:
The this in the non-lifecycle methods in the List class were not bound to the class scope (as noted by #ZhangBruce in his answer).
The state management logic in List was lacking other properties to be able to handle the use case.
Also, I believe adding state to the Item component itself was important to properly propagate the updates. Specifically, adding state.val was key (from what I understand). There may be other ways (possibly simpler), in which case I'd be curious to know, but in the meantime here's my solution:
const items = ['foo', 'bar'];
class List extends React.Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.state = {
editingFieldIndex: -1
};
}
setEdit = (index = -1) => {
this.setState({
editingFieldIndex: index
});
}
render() {
return (
<ul>
{items.map((val, index) => (
<Item val={val}
index={index}
setEdit={this.setEdit}
editingFieldIndex={this.state.editingFieldIndex} />
))}
</ul>
);
}
}
class Item extends React.Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.state = {
val: props.val
};
}
save = (evt) => {
this.setState({
val: evt.target.value
});
}
render() {
const { index, setEdit, editingFieldIndex } = this.props;
const { val } = this.state;
const shouldShowEditableValue = editingFieldIndex === index;
const shouldShowSaveAction = editingFieldIndex === index;
const shouldHideActions =
editingFieldIndex !== -1 && editingFieldIndex !== index;
const editableValue = (
<input value={val} onChange={(evt) => this.save(evt)}/>
)
const readOnlyValue = (
<span>{val}</span>
)
const editAction = (
<button onClick={() => setEdit(index)}>
Edit
</button>
)
const saveAction = (
<button onClick={() => setEdit()}>
Save
</button>
)
return (
<li>
<div>
{ console.log(`index=${index}`) }
{ console.log(`editingFieldIndex=${editingFieldIndex}`) }
{ console.log(`shouldHideActions=${shouldHideActions}`) }
{
shouldShowEditableValue
? editableValue
: readOnlyValue
}
{
!shouldHideActions
? shouldShowSaveAction
? saveAction
: editAction
: ""
}
</div>
</li>
);
}
}
ReactDOM.render(<List />, document.getElementById('app'));
<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>
<body>
<div id="app" />
</body>