React useEffect hook missing dependencies linter warnings - reactjs

I am using the React useEffect hook to obtain API data on component load, with the useAxios hook. The code is as below (simplified):
const [formData, setFormData] = useState<FormData>();
const [{ , executeGet] = useAxios('', {
manual: true,
});
const getFormData = async () => {
let r = await executeGet({ url: `http://blahblahblah/`});
return r.data;
};
useEffect(() => {
const getData = async () => {
try {
let response = await getAPIData();
if (response) {
setFormData(response);
} catch (e) {
setFormError(true);
}
};
getData();
}, []);
This pattern is used frequently in the codebase, but I am getting the linter warning:
React Hook useEffect has missing dependencies: 'getFormData'. Either include them or remove the dependency array react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
I can suppress the warning successfully with:
// eslint-disable-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
but it feels wrong to do this!
I can add constants to the dependency list without a problem, however when I add the getFormData function, I get an infinite loop. I have read around the area a lot and understand why the dependencies are needed. I am not sure if the useEffect hook is the best way to obtain the data, or whether there is a way to fetch data.

The problem is that you are defining getFormData within the component. In each render, it is reassigned. As is, this would mean that your initial useEffect would only be bound to to first getFormData, not the one from the most recent render. This causes a warning because often this is not what you intend, particularly if your getFormData depended on state or props that could change.
The simplest solution in this case is to move the definition of your getFormData outside of your component, and use Axios directly instead of using a hook. That way it wouldn't need to be defined on every render anyways.

you should initiate getFormData function using useCallback hook and then put it in useEffect dependency list.
const getFormData = useCallback(async () => {
let r = await executeGet({ url: `http://blahblahblah/`});
return r.data;
}, [executeGet]);
you can read more about useCallback in reactjs site:
https://reactjs.org/docs/hooks-reference.html#usecallback

Related

useEffect on infinite loop using async fetch function

I am trying to understand why the following useEffect is running in an infinite loop. I made the fetchSchedule helper function to call the getSchedule service (using Axios to query the API endpoint). Reason I did not define this function inside the useEffect hook is because I would like to alternatively also call it whenever the onStatus function is invoked (which toggles a Boolean PUT request on a separate endpoint).
The eslinter is requiring fetchSchedule be added to the array of dependencies, which seems to be triggering the infinite loop.
The way it should work is fetching the data from the database on first render, and then only each time either the value prop is updated or the onStatus button is toggled.
So far my research seems to point that this may have something to do with the way useEffect behaves with async functions and closures. I’m still trying to understand Hooks and evidently there’s something I’m not getting in my code…
import React, { useEffect, useCallback } from 'react';
import useStateRef from 'react-usestateref';
import { NavLink } from 'react-router-dom';
import { getSchedule, updateStatus } from '../../services/scheduleService';
import Status from './status';
// import Pagination from './pagination';
const List = ({ value }) => {
// eslint-disable-next-line
const [schedule, setSchedule, ref] = useStateRef([]);
// const [schedule, setSchedule] = useState([]);
const fetchSchedule = useCallback(async () => {
const { data } = await getSchedule(value);
setSchedule(data);
}, [value, setSchedule]);
const onStatus = (id) => {
updateStatus(id);
fetchSchedule();
console.log('fetch', ref.current[0].completed);
};
useEffect(() => {
fetchSchedule();
}, [fetchSchedule]);
return (...)
Update March 2021
After working with the repo owner for react-usestateref, the package now functions as originally intended and is safe to use as a replacement for useState as of version 1.0.5. The current implementation looks like this:
function useStateRef(defaultValue) {
var [state, setState] = React.useState(defaultValue);
var ref = React.useRef(state);
var dispatch = React.useCallback(function(val) {
ref.current = typeof val === "function" ?
val(ref.current) : val;
setState(ref.current);
}, []);
return [state, dispatch, ref];
};
You would be fine if it weren't for this react-usestateref import.
The hook returns a plain anonymous function for setting state which means that it will be recreated on every render - you cannot usefully include it in any dependency array as that too will be updated on every render. However, since the function is being returned from an unknown custom hook (and regardless, ESLint would correctly identify that it is not a proper setter function) you'll get warnings when you don't.
The 'problem' which it tries to solve is also going to introduce bad practice into your code - it's a pretty way to avoid properly handling dependencies which are there to make your code safer.
If you go back to a standard state hook I believe this code will work fine. Instead of trying to get a ref of the state in onStatus, make it async as well and return the data from fetchSchedule as well as setting it.
const [schedule, setSchedule] = useState([]);
const fetchSchedule = useCallback(async () => {
const { data } = await getSchedule(value);
setSchedule(data);
return data;
}, [value]);
const onStatus = async (id) => {
updateStatus(id);
const data = await fetchSchedule();
};
useEffect(() => {
fetchSchedule();
}, [fetchSchedule]);
Alternatively, although again I wouldn't really recommend using this, we could actually write a safe version of the useStateRef hook instead:
function useStateRef(defaultValue) {
var [state, setState] = React.useState(defaultValue);
var ref = React.useRef(defaultValue);
ref.current = state;
return [state, setState, ref];
}
A state setter function is always referentially identical throughout the lifespan of a component so this can be included in a dependency array without causing the effect/callback to be recreated.

React Hooks Firebase - useEffect hook not returning any data

I am trying to use the useEffect hook in React to listen for changes in a location in firestore.
Initially I didn't have an empty array as the second prop in the useEffect method and I didn't unsubscribe from the onSnapshot listener. I received the correct data in the projects variable after a short delay.
However, when I experienced extreme performance issues, I added in the unsubscribe and empty array which I should have put in earlier. Strangely, now no data is returned but the performance issues are gone.
What might be preventing the variable updating to reflect the data in firestore?
function useProjects(organisation) {
const [projects, setProjects] = useState({
docs: []
});
useEffect(() => {
if (!organisation.docs[0]) return;
const unsubscribe = firebase.firestore().collection('organisations').doc(organisation.docs[0].id).collection("projects").onSnapshot(snapshot => {
setProjects(snapshot);
});
return () => unsubscribe()
}, []);
return projects
};
const projects = useProjects(organisation);
You'll need a value in the dependency array for the useEffect hook. I'd probably suggest the values you are using in the useEffectHook. Otherwise with [] as the dependency array, the effect will only trigger once (on mount) and never again. The point of the dependency array is to tell react to re run the hook whenever a dependency changes.
Here's an example I'd suggest based on what's in the hook currently (using the id that you send to firebase in the call). I'm using optional chaining here as it makes the logic less verbose.
function useProjects(organisation) {
const [projects, setProjects] = useState({
docs: []
});
useEffect(() => {
if (!organisation.docs[0]) return;
const unsubscribe = firebase.firestore().collection('organisations').doc(organisation.docs[0].id).collection("projects").onSnapshot(snapshot => {
setProjects(snapshot);
});
return () => unsubscribe()
}, [organization.docs[0]?.id]);
return projects
};

About infinite loop in useEffect

I am trying to build a redux process with react hooks, the code below is that I want to simulate a ComponentDidMount function with a getUsers(redux action) call in it which is a http request to fetch data.
The first version was like this
const { state, actions } = useContext(StoreContext);
const { getUsers } = actions;
useEffect(() => {
getUsers(); // React Hook useEffect has a missing dependency: 'getUsers'.
}, []);
but I got a linting warning "React Hook useEffect has a missing dependency: 'getUsers'. Either include it or remove the dependency array" in useEffect,
and then I added getUsers to dependency array, but got infinite loop there
useEffect(() => {
getUsers();
}, [getUsers])
Now I find a solution by using useRef
const fetchData = useRef(getUsers);
useEffect(() => {
fetchData.current();
}, []);
Not sure if this is the right way to do this, but it did solve the linting and the infinite loop (temporarily?)
My question is:
In the second version of the code, what exactly caused the infinite loop? does getUsers in dependency array changed after every render?
Your function have dependencies and React deems it unsafe not to list the dependencies. Say your function is depending on a property called users. Listing explicitly the implicit dependencies in the dependencies array won't work:
useEffect(() => {
getUsers();
}, [users]); // won't work
However, React says that the recommended way to fix this is to move the function inside the useEffect() function. This way, the warning won't say that it's missing a getUsers dependency, rather the dependency/ies that getUsers depends on.
function Example({ users }) {
useEffect(() => {
// we moved getUsers inside useEffect
function getUsers() {
console.log(users);
}
getUsers();
}, []); // users dependency missing
}
So you can then specify the users dependency:
useEffect(() => {
function getUsers() {
console.log(users);
}
getUsers();
}, [users]); // OK
However, you're getting that function from the props, it's not defined in your component.
What to do then? The solution to your problem would be to memoize your function.
useCallback will return a memoized version of the callback that only changes if one of the dependencies has changed. This is useful when passing callbacks to optimized child components that rely on reference equality to prevent unnecessary renders (e.g. shouldComponentUpdate).
You can't memoize it within your component as there will be the same warning:
const memoizedGetUsers = useCallback(
() => {
getUsers();
},
[], // same warning, missing the getUsers dependency
);
The solution is to memoize it right where the getUsers is defined and you will be then be able to list the dependencies:
// wrap getUsers inside useCallback
const getUsers = useCallback(
() => {
//getUsers' implementation using users
console.log(users);
},
[users], // OK
);
And in your component, you'll be able to do:
const { getUsers } = actions; // the memoized version
useEffect(() => {
getUsers();
}, [getUsers]); // it is now safe to set getUsers as a dependency
As to the reason why there was an infinite loop and why useRef worked. I'm guessing your function causes a rerender and at each iteration, getUsers was recreated which ends up in an endless loop. useRef returns an object { current: ... } and the difference between using useRef and creating this object { current: ... } yourself is that useRef returns the same object and doesn't create another one. So you were propbably using the same function.
You should declare getUsers inside useEffect it it's the only place you call getUsers
useEffect(() => {
const { getUsers } = props;
getUsers();
}, []);
By my information on React hooks the job of the second parameter is to be used as a variable of comparision as it would have been in shouldComponentUpdate.
By my understanding of the question getUsers is a function and not a variable that might changeon some condition and hence the infinite loop. Try passing a props that would change after getUsers is called.
import React, { useState,useEffect } from 'react';
function Input({getInputElement}) {
let [todoName, setTodoName] = useState('');
useEffect (() => {
getInputElement(todoName);
},[todoName]);
return (
<div>
<input id={'itemNameInput'} onChange={(e) => setTodoName(e.target.value)} value={todoName} />
</div>
);
}
export default Input;
useEffect : useEffect is a combination of componentDidMount, componentDidUpdate and shouldComponentUpdate. While componentDidMount runs after first render and componentDidUpdate runs after every update, useEffect runs after every render and thus covers both the scenarios. The second optional param to useEffect is the check for shouldComponentUpdate in our case [todoName].This basically checks if todoName has changed after rerender then only do whatever is inside useEffect function.
Hope this helps!

Best practises React hooks HTTP loading

I recently started another project with react, as I had a little time to fiddle around, I used functional components with hooks. I had no problem whatsoever, there's just one thing I'm not sure I use correctly, here is an example :
function MyComponent() {
const [data, setData] = useState([]);
const [dataLoaded, setDataLoaded] = useState(false);
var getDataFromHTTP = async () { ... }
var loadData = async () => {
if (!dataLoaded) {
setDataLoaded(true);
setData(await getDataFromHTTP());
}
}
loadData();
return( ... );
}
If I like how everything is done, I suppose it's dirty to use loadData(); like in the preceding example, and I tried to useEffect with something like this :
useEffect(() => {
loadData();
}, []);
but then I got a warning like "loadData should be a dependency of useEffect". If I omit the the second argument to useEffect, it looks like it's the same as putting it directly in MyComponent. So basically, my question, in this example what is the best practise to load data once when the component is mounted ? and of course, when props/state change, what is the best practise to reload it if needed ?
EDIT:
The warning I have with useEffect is :
[Warning] ./src/list/main.js (1.chunk.js, line 25568)
Line 53: React Hook useEffect has a missing dependency: 'loadData'. Either include it or remove the dependency array react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
The way useEffect works is whenever something in the dependencies array change React will run that effect
useEffect(() => {
loadData();
}, [loadData]); // <-- dependencies array
But as you have declared loadData as a normal function it will get re-assigned to a new function on every render and it will trigger the effect.
Best way would be to wrap your loadData function in an useCallback hook
const loadData = useCallback(async () => {
if (!dataLoaded) {
setDataLoaded(true);
setData(await getDataFromHTTP());
}
}, [])

How to handle dependencies array for custom hooks in react

I'm creating a custom hook and would like to define an optional param so that I can pass in extra dependencies when needed. My code looks like the following snippet:
import { useEffect } from 'react';
function useCustomHook(param1, extraDeps) {
useEffect(() => {
// do something with param1 here
}, [param1, ...extraDeps])
}
The react-hooks/exhaustive-deps throws a warning saying
React Hook useEffect has a spread element in its dependency array. This means we can't statically verify whether you've passed the correct dependencies
Anyone have an idea about how to address that warning? Or it's not a good practice to pass deps array to custom hook?
For those who are interested in why extraDeps is needed. here's an example:
const NewComponent = (props) => {
[field1, setField1] = useState()
[field2, setField2] = useState()
// I only want this to be called when field1 change
useCustomHook('.css-selector', [field1]);
return <div>{field1}{field2}</div>;
}
I've found a useful alternative to the solutions proposed here. As mentioned in this Reddit topic, the React team apparently recommends something like:
// Pass the callback as a dependency
const useCustomHook = callback => {
useEffect(() => { /* do something */ }, [callback])
};
// Then the user wraps the callback in `useMemo` to avoid running the effect too often
// Whenever the deps change, useMemo will ensure that the callback changes, which will cause effect to re-run
useCustomHook(
useMemo(() => { /* do something */ }, [a, b, c])
);
I've used this technique and it worked very nicely.
I had a similar issue, I wanted an effect to be executed whenever some extra dependencies were changed.
I didn't manage to give those extra dependencies, but instead I made it the way around by giving the caller the callback I wanted to be executed and let him use it when he needs.
Example :
// This hook uses extraDeps unknown by EsLint which causes a warning
const useCustomEffect = (knowDep, extraDeps) => {
const doSomething = useCallback((knownDep) => {/**/}, [])
useEffect(() => {
doSomething(knownDep)
}, [doSomething, knownDep, ...extraDeps]) // Here there is the warning
}
//Instead of this, we give the caller the callback
const useCustomEffect = (knownDep) => {
const doSomething = useCallback((knownDep) => {/**/}, [])
useEffect(() => {
doSomething(knownDep)
}, [doSomething, knownDep]) // no more warning
return { doSomething }
}
// Use it like this
const { doSomething } = useCustomEffect(foo)
useEffect(doSomething, [bar, baz]) // now I can use my callback for any known dependency
The way you have defined your custom hook makes sense to me. In this case eslint cannot check your dependencies, but that does not mean that they are wrong. Simply disable the rule for this line to get rid of the warning:
function useCustomHook(param1, extraDeps) {
useEffect(() => {
// do something with param1 here
}, [param1, ...extraDeps]) // eslint-disable-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
}
Depending on the type of param1, it makes sense to enable the dependency check for your custom hook by defining it in your .eslintrc.cjs:
'react-hooks/exhaustive-deps': ['warn', {
additionalHooks: '(useCustomHook|useAnotherHook|...)'
}]
Here's whay you could do:
Move the state to your custom hook, run effects on it and return it.
Something like:
Component.js
function Component() {
const [field,setField] = useCustomHook(someProps);
}
useCustomHook.js
import {useState, useEffect} from 'react';
function useCustomHook(props) {
const [field,setField] = useState('');
useEffect(()=>{
// Use props received and perform effect after changes in field 1
},[field1]);
return([
field,
setField
]);
}
If you want to provide extra-deps you can use useDeepCompareEffect instead of useEffect.
https://github.com/kentcdodds/use-deep-compare-effect
I think the problem lies in how you are creating the dependency array on your custom hook. Every time you do [param1, ... extraDeps] you are creating a new Array, so React always see them as different.
Try changing your custom hook to:
function useCustomHook(deps) {
useEffect(() => {
// do something with param1 here
}, deps)
}
And then use it like
const NewComponent = (props) => {
[field1, setField1] = useState()
[field2, setField2] = useState()
// I only want this to be called when field1 change
useCustomHook(['.css-selector', field1]);
return <div>{field1}{field2}</div>;
}
Hope it helps!

Resources