Intern level: Lifecycle Methods and Hooks in React

Introduction to React Hooks

React Hooks are functions that let you use state and other React features in functional components. Before hooks, stateful logic was only available in class components. Hooks provide a more direct API to the React concepts you already know, such as state, lifecycle methods, and context.

Key Hooks in React

useState

useState is a hook that lets you add state to functional components.

Example:

import React, { useState } from 'react';

const Counter = () => {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0);

  return (
    <div>
      <p>You clicked {count} times</p>
      <button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>Click me</button>
    </div>
  );
};

export default Counter;

In this example, useState initializes the count state variable to 0. The setCount function is used to update the state when the button is clicked.

useEffect

useEffect is a hook that lets you perform side effects in functional components, such as fetching data, directly interacting with the DOM, and setting up subscriptions. It combines the functionality of several lifecycle methods in class components (componentDidMount, componentDidUpdate, and componentWillUnmount).

Example:

import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';

const DataFetcher = () => {
  const [data, setData] = useState(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    fetch('https://api.example.com/data')
      .then(response => response.json())
      .then(data => setData(data));
  }, []);

  return (
    <div>
      {data ? <pre class="brush:php;toolbar:false">{JSON.stringify(data, null, 2)}

: 'Loading...'}

); }; export default DataFetcher;

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In this example, useEffect fetches data from an API when the component mounts.

useContext

useContext is a hook that lets you access the context value for a given context.

Example:

import React, { useContext } from 'react';

const ThemeContext = React.createContext('light');

const ThemedComponent = () => {
  const theme = useContext(ThemeContext);

  return <div>The current theme is {theme}</div>;
};

export default ThemedComponent;

In this example, useContext accesses the current value of ThemeContext.

useReducer

useReducer is a hook that lets you manage complex state logic in a functional component. It is an alternative to useState.

Example:

import React, { useReducer } from 'react';

const initialState = { count: 0 };

const reducer = (state, action) => {
  switch (action.type) {
    case 'increment':
      return { count: state.count + 1 };
    case 'decrement':
      return { count: state.count - 1 };
    default:
      return state;
  }
};

const Counter = () => {
  const [state, dispatch] = useReducer(reducer, initialState);

  return (
    <div>
      <p>Count: {state.count}</p>
      <button onClick={() => dispatch({ type: 'increment' })}>Increment</button>
      <button onClick={() => dispatch({ type: 'decrement' })}>Decrement</button>
    </div>
  );
};

export default Counter;

In this example, useReducer manages the count state with a reducer function.

Custom Hooks

Custom hooks let you reuse stateful logic across multiple components. A custom hook is a function that uses built-in hooks.

Example:

import { useState, useEffect } from 'react';

const useFetch = (url) => {
  const [data, setData] = useState(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    fetch(url)
      .then(response => response.json())
      .then(data => setData(data));
  }, [url]);

  return data;
};

const DataFetcher = ({ url }) => {
  const data = useFetch(url);

  return (
    <div>
      {data ? <pre class="brush:php;toolbar:false">{JSON.stringify(data, null, 2)}

: 'Loading...'}

); }; export default DataFetcher;

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