Develop Reference

Child component doesn't rerender but parent component does rerender. How to make child component rerender?

Parent component does rerender upon receiving new props but its child component doesn't rerender. Child components only render for the first time and never rerender nor receive props from the redux store
I'm getting updated data from redux store in Parent component but not in the child components. Child components only receive data from redux store when they render for the first time
My Parent Component Home.js
Object seaFCLJSON look like this
const seaFCLJSON ={"rates": {"sort":"faster", "someOther": "someOtherValues"}};
when the redux store gets updated, seaFCLJSON looks like this
const seaFCLJSON ={"rates": {"sort":"cheaper","someOther": "someOtherValues"}};
class Home extends Component {
state = {
seaFCLJSON: {}
};
componentDidMount = () => {
this.setState({ seaFCLJSON: this.props.seaFCLJSON });
};
componentWillReceiveProps = nextProps => {
if (this.state.seaFCLJSON !== nextProps.seaFCLJSON) {
this.setState({ seaFCLJSON: nextProps.seaFCLJSON });
}
};
render() {
const { seaFCLJSON } = this.props;
return (
<>
{!isEmpty(seaFCLJSON) && seaFCLJSON.rates && seaFCLJSON.rates.fcl ? (
<FCLContainer fclJSON={seaFCLJSON} />
) : null} //it never rerenders upon getting updated data from redux store
<h5>{JSON.stringify(seaFCLJSON.rates && seaFCLJSON.rates.sort)}</h5> //it rerenders everytime upon getting updated data from redux store
</>
);
}
}
const mapStateToProps = state => {
return {
seaFCLJSON: state.route.seaFCLJSON
};
};
export default connect(
mapStateToProps,
actions
)(Home);
isEmpty.js
export const isEmpty = obj => {
return Object.entries(obj).length === 0 && obj.constructor === Object;
};
My Child Component FCLContainer.js
class FCLContainer extends Component {
state = {
seaFCLJSON: {}
};
componentDidMount = () => {
this.setState({ seaFCLJSON: this.props.seaFCLJSON });
};
componentWillReceiveProps = nextProps => {
console.log("outside state value: ", this.state.seaFCLJSON);
if (this.state.seaFCLJSON !== nextProps.seaFCLJSON) {
this.setState({ seaFCLJSON: nextProps.seaFCLJSON });
console.log("inside state value: ", this.state.seaFCLJSON);
}
};
render() {
const { seaFCLJSON } = this.state;
console.log("rendering .. parent props: ", this.props.fclJSON);
console.log("rendering .. redux store props: ", this.props.seaFCLJSON);
return (
<>
<div className="home-result-container">
<div>
<h5>This child component never rerenders :(</h5>
</div>
</div>
</>
);
}
}
const mapStateToProps = state => {
return {
seaFCLJSON: state.route.seaFCLJSON
};
};
export default connect(
mapStateToProps,
actions
)(FCLContainer);
I don't know whether there are problems in Parent component or problems in the child component. componentWillReceiveProps gets invoked in the parent component but not in the child component. Please ignore any missing semi-colon or braces because I have omitted some unnecessary codes.
Edit 1: I just duplicated value from props to state just for debugging purposes.
I will appreciate your help. Thank you.
Edit 2: I was directly changing an object in redux actions. That's the reason CWRP was not getting fired. It was the problem. For more check out my answer below.

componentWillReceiveProps will be deprecated in react 17, use componentDidUpdate instead, which is invoked immediately after updating occurs
Try something like this:
componentDidUpdate(prevProps, prevState) {
if (this.prevProps.seaFCLJSON !== this.props.seaFCLJSON) {
this.setState({ seaFCLJSON: this.props.seaFCLJSON });
}
};

At the first place it is absolutely meaningless to duplicate value from props to state, what is the meaning of it? Totally pointless, just keep it in props
About your issue - most probably this condition doesnt match, thats why child component doesnt trigger
!isEmpty(seaFCLJSON) && seaFCLJSON.rates && seaFCLJSON.rates.fcl
check it in debugger

As far as I can see, your problem is that you pass the following to your child component:
<FCLContainer fclJSON={seaFCLJSON} />
But you assume that you receive a prop called 'seaFCLJSON':
componentDidMount = () => {
this.setState({ seaFCLJSON: this.props.seaFCLJSON });
};
You should change your code to:
<FCLContainer seaFCLJSON={seaFCLJSON} />
Apart from that, as #Paul McLoughlin already mentioned, you should use the prop directly instead of adding it to your state.

I found the issue I was directly mutating the object in actions. I only knew state should not be directly mutated in class or inside reducer. I changed the actions where I was directly changing an object and then saving it in redux store via dispatch and, then I received the updated props in CWRP. This really took me a lot of times to figure out. This kind of issue is hard to find out at least for me. I guess I get this from https://github.com/uberVU/react-guide/issues/17
A lesson I learned: Never directly mutate an Object
I changed this
//FCL sort by faster
export const sortByFasterFCLJSON = () => async (dispatch, getState) => {
let seaFCLJSON = getState().route.seaFCLJSON;
if (!seaFCLJSON.rates) return;
seaFCLJSON.rates.fcl = _.orderBy(
seaFCLJSON.rates.fcl,
["transit_time"],
["asc"]
);
seaFCLJSON.rates.sort = "Faster"; //this is the main culprit
dispatch({ type: SET_SEA_FCL_JSON, payload: seaFCLJSON });
};
to this
//FCL sort by faster
export const sortByFasterFCLJSON = () => async (dispatch, getState) => {
let seaFCLJSON = getState().route.seaFCLJSON;
if (!seaFCLJSON.rates) return;
seaFCLJSON.rates.fcl = _.orderBy(
seaFCLJSON.rates.fcl,
["transit_time"],
["asc"]
);
// seaFCLJSON.rates.sort = "Faster"; //this was the main culprit, got lost
seaFCLJSON = {
...seaFCLJSON,
rates: { ...seaFCLJSON.rates, sort: "Faster" }
};
dispatch({ type: SET_SEA_FCL_JSON, payload: seaFCLJSON });
};
the power of not mutating data
Side note: Redux Troubleshooting

getDerivedStateFromProps, change of state under the influence of changing props

I click Item -> I get data from url:https: // app / api / v1 / asset / $ {id}. The data is saved in loadItemId. I am moving loadItemId from the component Items to the component Details, then to the component AnotherItem.
Each time I click Item the props loadItemId changes in the getDerivedStateFromProps method. Problem: I'll click Element D -> I see in console.log 'true', then I'll click Element E --> It display in console.log true andfalse simultaneously, and it should display only false.
Trying to create a ternary operator {this.state.itemX ['completed'] ? this.start () : ''}. If {this.state.itemX ['completed'] call the function this.start ()
Code here: stackblitz
Picture: https://imgur.com/a/OBxMKCd
Items
class Items extends Component {
constructor (props) {
super(props);
this.state = {
itemId: null,
loadItemId: ''
}
}
selectItem = (id) => {
this.setState({
itemId: id
})
this.load(id);
}
load = (id) => {
axios.get
axios({
url: `https://app/api/v1/asset/${id}`,
method: "GET",
headers: {
'Authorization': `Bearer ${token}`
}
})
.then(response => {
this.setState({
loadItemId: response.data
});
})
.catch(error => {
console.log(error);
})
}
render () {
return (
<div >
<Item
key={item.id}
item={item}
selectItem={this.selectItem}
>
<Details
loadItemId={this.state.loadTime}
/>
</div>
)
}
Item
class Item extends Component {
render () {
return (
<div onClick={() => this.props.selectItem(item.id}>
</div>
)
}
}
Details
class Details extends Component {
constructor() {
super();
}
render () {
return (
<div>
<AnotherItem
loadItemId = {this.props.loadItemId}
/>
</div>
)
}
}
AnotherItem
class AnotherItem extends Component {
constructor() {
super();
this.state = {
itemX: ''
};
}
static getDerivedStateFromProps(nextProps, prevState) {
if(nextProps.loadItemId !== prevState.loadItemId) {
return { itemX: nextProps.loadItemId }
}
render () {
console.log(this.state.itemX ? this.state.itemX['completed'] : '');
{/*if this.state.loadX['completed'] === true, call function this.start()*/ }
return (
<button /*{this.state.loadX['completed'] ? this.start() : ''}*/ onClick={this.start}>
Start
</button>
);
}
}

here:
selectItem = (id) => {
this.setState({
itemId: id
})
this.load(id);
}
you call setState(), then 'Item' and 'Details' and 'AnotherItem' call their render method. so you see log for previous 'loadItemId'.
when 'load' method work done. here:
this.setState({
loadItemId: response.data
});
you setState() again, then 'Item' and 'Details' and 'AnotherItem' call their render method again. in this time you see log for new 'loadItemId'.
solution
setState both state in one place. after load method done, instead of:
this.setState({
loadItemId: response.data
});
write:
this.setState({
itemId: id,
loadItemId: response.data
});
and remove:
this.setState({
itemId: id
})
from 'selectItem' method.

Need some clarification, but think I can still address this at high level. As suggested in comment above, with the information presented, it does not seem that your component AnotherItem actually needs to maintain state to determine the correct time at which to invoke start() method (although it may need to be stateful for other reasons, as noted below).
It appears the functionality you are trying to achieve (invoke start method at particular time) can be completed solely with a comparison of old/new props by the componentDidUpdate lifecycle method. As provided by the React docs, getDerivedStateFromProps is actually reserved for a few 'rare' cases, none of which I believe are present here. Rather, it seems that you want to call a certain method, perhaps perform some calculation, when new props are received and meet a certain condition (e.g., not equal to old props). That can be achieved by hooking into componentDidUpdate.
class AnotherItem extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.state = {}
}
start = () => { do something, perform a calculation }
// Invoked when new props are passed
componentDidUpdate(prevProps) {
// Test condition to determine whether to call start() method based on new props,
// (can add other conditionals limit number of calls to start, e.g.,
// compare other properties of loadItemId from prevProps and this.props) .
if (this.props.loadItemId && this.props.loadItemId.completed === true) {
//Possibly store result from start() in state if needed
const result = this.start();
}
}
}
render () {
// Render UI, maybe based on updated state/result of start method if
// needed
);
}
}

You are encountering this behaviour because you are changing state of Items component on each click with
this.setState({
itemId: id
})
When changing its state, Items component rerenders causing AnotherItem to rerender (because that is child component) with it's previous state which has completed as true (since you've clicked element D before). Then async request completes and another rerender is caused with
this.setState({
loadItemId: response.data
});
which initiates another AnotherItem rerender and expected result which is false.
Try removing state change in selectItem and you'll get desired result.
I'd suggest you read this article and try to structure your code differently.
EDIT
You can easily fix this with adding loader to your component:
selectItem = (id) => {
this.setState({
itemId: id,
loading: true
})
this.load(id);
}
load = (id) => {
axios.get
axios({
url: `https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/${id}`,
method: "GET"
})
.then(response => {
this.setState({
loading: false,
loadItemId: response.data
});
})
.catch(error => {
console.log(error);
})
}
render() {
return (
<div >
<ul>
{this.state.items.map((item, index) =>
<Item
key={item.id}
item={item}
selectItem={this.selectItem}
/>
)
}
</ul>
{this.state.loading ? <span>Loading...</span> : <Details
itemId={this.state.itemId}
loadItemId={this.state.loadItemId}
/>}
</div>
)
}
This way, you'll rerender your Details component only when you have data fetched and no unnecessary rerenders will occur.

set multiple states, and push to state of array in one onClick function

I'm running into a recurring issue in my code where I want to grab multiple pieces of data from a component to set as states, and push those into an array which is having its own state updated. The way I am doing it currently isn't working and I think it's because I do not understand the order of the way things happen in js and react.
Here's an example of something I'm doing that doesn't work: jsfiddle here or code below.
import React, {Component} from 'react';
class App extends Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.state = {
categoryTitle: null,
categorySubtitle: null,
categoryArray: [],
}
}
pushToCategoryArray = () => {
this.state.categoryArray.push({
'categoryTitle': this.state.categoryTitle,
'categorySubtitle': this.state.categorySubtitle,
})
}
setCategoryStates = (categoryTitle, categorySubtitle) => {
this.setState({
categoryTitle: categoryTitle,
categorySubtitle: categorySubtitle,
})
this.pushToCategoryArray();
}
render() {
return (
<CategoryComponent
setCategoryStates={this.setCategoryStates}
categoryTitle={'Category Title Text'}
categorySubtitle={'Category Subtitle Text'}
/>
);
}
}
class CategoryComponent extends Component {
render() {
var categoryTitle = this.props.categoryTitle;
var categorySubtitle = this.props.categorySubtitle;
return (
<div onClick={() => (this.props.setCategoryStates(
categoryTitle,
categorySubtitle,
))}
>
<h1>{categoryTitle}</h1>
<h2>{categorySubtitle}</h2>
</div>
);
}
}
I can see in the console that I am grabbing the categoryTitle and categorySubtitle that I want, but they get pushed as null into this.state.categoryArray. Is this a scenario where I need to be using promises? Taking another approach?

This occurs because setState is asynchronous (https://reactjs.org/docs/state-and-lifecycle.html#using-state-correctly).
Here's the problem
//State has categoryTitle as null and categorySubtitle as null.
this.state = {
categoryTitle: null,
categorySubtitle: null,
categoryArray: [],
}
//This gets the correct values in the parameters
setCategoryStates = (categoryTitle, categorySubtitle) => {
//This is correct, you're setting state BUT this is not sync
this.setState({
categoryTitle: categoryTitle,
categorySubtitle: categorySubtitle,
})
this.pushToCategoryArray();
}
//This method is using the state, which as can be seen from the constructor is null and hence you're pushing null into your array.
pushToCategoryArray = () => {
this.state.categoryArray.push({
'categoryTitle': this.state.categoryTitle,
'categorySubtitle': this.state.categorySubtitle,
})
}
Solution to your problem: pass callback to setState
setCategoryStates = (categoryTitle, categorySubtitle) => {
//This is correct, you're setting state BUT this is not sync
this.setState({
categoryTitle: categoryTitle,
categorySubtitle: categorySubtitle,
}, () => {
/*
Add state to the array
This callback will be called once the async state update has succeeded
So accessing state in this variable will be correct.
*/
this.pushToCategoryArray()
})
}
and change
pushToCategoryArray = () => {
//You don't need state, you can simply make these regular JavaScript variables
this.categoryArray.push({
'categoryTitle': this.state.categoryTitle,
'categorySubtitle': this.state.categorySubtitle,
})
}

I think React doesn't re-render because of the pushToCategoryArray that directly change state. Need to assign new array in this.setState function.
// this.state.categoryArray.push({...})
const prevCategoryArray = this.state.categoryArray
this.setState({
categoryArray: [ newObject, ...prevCategoryArray],
)}

How do I create an array after Axios response and Display it in React js

I am having trouble creating an array of titles from an Axios response. The method getTitles(props) receives data from the Axios response. How do I create an array of titles dynamically?
The functions I have tried in Javascript are for loops and EC6 mapping, nothing seems to work. Being new to react I could be missing something but I am not sure what it is.
React code
export default class Featured extends React.Component {
constructor() {
super();
this.state = {
data: null,
}
}
/**
* Received request from server
*/
componentDidMount(){
ApiCalls.articleData()
.then(function(data){
this.setState(function(){
return {
data: data
}
})
}.bind(this));
}
getTitles(props){
//-- What code do I place here?
console.log(props.data)
return ['test title', 'test title 2'];
}
/**
* Render request
*/
render() {
let dataResponse = JSON.stringify(this.state.data, null, 2);
const Articles = this.getTitles(this.state).map((title, i) => <Article key={i} title={title}/> );
return (
<div class="row">{Articles}
<pre>{dataResponse}</pre>
</div>
);
}
}
Axios Code
var ApiCalls = {
articleData: function(id){
return axios.all([getArticles(id)])
.then(function(arr){
return arr[0].data.data;
})
.catch(function (error) {
console.log(error);
})
},

React setState behaves asynchronously . Your articles get rendered before the ajax was called and was not re rendered due to asynchrony in setState.
This is what doc(https://reactjs.org/docs/react-component.html#setstate) says
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. If you need to set the state based on the previous state, read about the updater argument below.
You can render the article after successful ajax call like below
componentDidMount(){
ApiCalls.articleData()
.then(function(data){
render(<Article data={data}/>, document.getElementById('...'));
}.bind(this));
}

Because of the post above, I was able to fix the issue by the code example below To see a working example goto the git repo
ApiCalls.articleData()
.then(function(data){
const newData = data.map(c => {
return c.attributes.title;
})
const addElement = newData.map((title, i) => <ContentTiles key={i} title={title}/> );
const newState = Object.assign({}, this.state, {
newData: addElement
});
this.setState(newState);
}.bind(this));

How store data from fetch

I'm pretty new in React and need some help.
I wanted display data from a movie database based on the search term. I'm using fetch inside my getMovies methode to get the data. The data is stored in data.Search but I don't know how to access it and store it in a variable.
class DataService
{
getMovies (searchTerm) {
//let dataStorage; //store somehow data.Search inside
fetch("http://www.omdbapi.com/?s=" + searchTerm, {
method: 'get'
})
.then((resp) => resp.json())
.then(function(data) {
return data.Search;
}).catch(function(error) {
console.log(error);// Error :(
});
}
//return dataStorage; //return data.Search
}

The below code is the correct react's way for your case, as simple as this:
import React from 'react';
export default class DataService extends React.Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.state = {
search_data: [], //for storing videos
};
this.getMovies = this.getMovies.bind(this); //bind this function to the current React Component
}
getMovies (searchTerm) {
fetch("http://www.omdbapi.com/?s=" + searchTerm, {
method: 'get'
})
.then((resp) => resp.json())
.then((data) => { //so that this callback function is bound to this React Component by itself
// Set state to bind search results into "search_data"
// or you can set "dataStorage = data.Search" here
// however, fetch is asynchronous, so using state is the correct way, it will update your view automatically if you render like I do below (in the render method)
this.setState({
search_data: data.Search,
});
});
}
componentDidMount() {
this.getMovies(); //start the fetch function here after elements appeared on page already
}
render() {
return (
{this.state.search_data.map((video, i) =>{
console.log(video);
// please use the correct key for your video below, I just assume it has a title
return(
<div>{video.title}</div>
)
})}
);
}
}
Feel free to post here any errors you may have, thanks

There are several ways of doing asynchronous tasks with React. The most basic one is to use setState and launch a Promise in the event handler. This might be viable for basic tasks but later on, you will encounter race conditions and other nasty stuff.
In order to do so, your service should return a Promise of results. On the React side when the query changes, the service is called to fetch new results. While doing so, there are few state transitions: setting loading flag in order to notify the user that the task is pending and when the promise resolves or rejects the data or an error is stored in the component. All you need is setState method.
More advanced techniques are based on Redux with redux-thunk or redux-saga middlewares. You may also consider RxJS - it is created especially for that kind of stuff providing debouncing, cancellation and other features out of the box.
Please see the following example of simple search view using yours DataService.
class DataService
{
//returns a Promise of search results, let the consumer handle errors
getMovies (searchTerm) {
return fetch("http://www.omdbapi.com/?s=" + searchTerm, {
method: 'get'
})
.then((resp) => resp.json())
.then(function(data) {
return data.Search;
})
}
}
const SearchResults = ({data, loading, error}) =>
<div>
{
data && data.map(({Title, Year, imdbID, Type, Poster}) =>
<div key={imdbID}>
{Title} - {Year} - {Type}
<img src={Poster} />
</div>
)
}
{loading && <div>Loading...</div>}
{error && <div>Error {error.message}</div>}
</div>
class SearchExample extends React.Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.handleChange = this.handleChange.bind(this)
this.state = {
data: [],
loading: false
};
}
handleChange(event) {
const service = new DataService();
//search query is target's value
const promise = service.getMovies(event.target.value);
//show that search is being performed
this.setState({
loading: true
})
//after the promise is resolved display the data or the error
promise.then(results => {
this.setState({
loading: false,
data: results
})
})
.catch(error => {
this.setState({
loading: false,
error: error
})
})
}
render() {
return (
<div>
<input placeholder="Search..." onChange={this.handleChange} type="search" />
<SearchResults data={this.state.data} loading={this.state.loading} error={this.state.error} />
</div>
)
}
}
ReactDOM.render(<SearchExample />, 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>
<div id="app"></div>