React: Re-render behavior - reactjs

I'm somewhat new to react, and I'm trying to learn when every time a component will re-render. Usually I'm good at figuring this stuff out on my own, but I can't seem to find the logic in these
Exhibit A
const Science = () => {
console.log('Rendering')
useEffect(() => console.log('Effect ran'))
console.log('Returning')
return <div></div>
}
This outputs
Rendering
Returning
Rendering
Returning
Effect ran
I don't understand why it re-renders, and why the useEffect code comes after both renders and returns.
Exhibit B
const Science = () => {
console.log('Rendering')
useEffect(() => console.log('First effect ran'))
useEffect(() => console.log('Second effect ran'))
console.log('Returning')
return <div></div>
}
This outputs
Rendering
Returning
Rendering
Returning
First effect ran
Second effect ran
My guess to why it re-renders in Exhibit A was that useEffect causes a re-render, but seen here, only one useEffect will cause a re-render. Unsure of this behavior.
Exhibit C
const Science = () => {
console.log('Rendering')
let numRenders = useRef(0)
console.log(++numRenders.current)
console.log('Returning')
return <div></div>
}
This one really confuses me, as it outputs
Rendering
1
Returning
Rendering
1
Returning
I don't understand why on the second render, it doesn't increment. I know that it does permanently increment the value, and not just for the logging.
Thanks.

At first, your jsx is rendered. Then lifecycle hooks executed and the component is rerendered. then each time that any state changes the component is rendered or props are changed.
Your useEffect code doesn't have any dependencies but you did not mention it. This way is correct in this case
useEffect(() => console.log("useEffect was ran") , [])

useEffect callback executed asynchronously after the render phase, that's exactly A and B.
As for Exhibit C, it outputs:
Rendering
1
Returning
And not rendered twice, it renders twice because of other reasons (like a render of a parent which you not showing us). Anyways, useRef doesn't trigger render so due to closures updating the reference is pointless (it will always show the first value rendered).
In other words, as it's function component, render triggers the function and the updated value will be valuated.
See codesandbox attached.

Related

useCallback vs useEffect in React

What's the different between useEffect when you pass it dependencies as the second parameter and useCallback?
Don't both essentially run the function/code passed as the first parameter whenever the dependencies passed as the second parameter change?
From what I've read the two hooks are intended to serve different purposes, but my question is whether they in actuality could be used interchangeably because they functionally do the same thing
They're too different.
useEffect will run the function inside when the dependency array changes.
useCallback will create a new function when the dependency array changes.
You can't switch useEffect with useCallback alone because you also need the logic to run the newly created function. (I suppose you could implement this if you used a ref as well, but that'd be quite strange.)
You can't switch useCallback with useEffect because you very often don't want to run the newly created function immediately - rather, you usually want to pass it as a prop to some other component.
useCallback primarily exists for optimization purposes, to reduce re-renders of a child component.
No, They are not same.
useEffect - is used to run side effects in the component when something changes. useEffect does
not return you anything. It just runs a piece of code in the component.
useCallback - Whereas useCallback returns a function, it does not execute the code actually. It is important to understand that
functions are objects in Javascript. If you don't use useCallback, the function you define inside the component is
re-created whenever the component rebuilds.
Example
Consider this example, this component will go in a infinite loop. Think Why?
const TestComponent = props => {
const testFunction = () => {
// does something.
};
useEffect(() => {
testFunction();
// The effect calls testFunction, hence it should declare it as a dependency
// Otherwise, if something about testFunction changes (e.g. the data it uses), the effect would run the outdated version of testFunction
}, [testFunction]);
};
Because on each render the testFunction
would be re-created and we already know that ueEffect will run the code when ever the testFunction changes. And since testFunction changes on each render, the useEffect will keep on running, and hence an infinite loop.
To fix this, we have to tell react, hey please don't re-create the testFunction on each render, create it only on first render (or when something changes on which it depends).
const TestComponent = props => {
const testFunction = useCallback(() => {
// does something.
}, []);
useEffect(() => {
testFunction();
// The effect calls testFunction, hence it should declare it as a dependency
// Otherwise, if something about testFunction changes (e.g. the data it uses), the effect would run the outdated version of testFunction
}, [testFunction]);
};
This won't be a infinite loop, since instance of testFunction will change only on first render and hence useEffect will run only once.
useEffect will run the function inside when the dependency array changes.
useCallback will create a new function when the dependency array changes.
Let's take an example, If I run the below code and click the first button it'll always rerender MemoComponent as well. Why because every time
we are passing new onClick function to this. To avoid re-rendering of MemoComponent what we can do is wrap onClick to useCallback. Whenever you want to create a new function pass state to the dependence array.
If you want to perform some action on state change you can write inside useEffect.
const Button = ({ onClick }) => {
console.log("Render");
return <button onClick={onClick}>Click</button>;
};
const MemoComponent = React.memo(Button);
export default function Home() {
const [state, setState] = useState(1);
useEffect(() => {
console.log(state); // this will execute when state changes
}, [state]);
const onClick = () => {};
// const onClick = useCallback(() => {},[])
return (
<main>
<button onClick={() => setState(1 + state)}>{state}</button>
<MemoComponent onClick={onClick} />
</main>
);
}
useEffect
It's the alternative for the class component lifecycle methods componentDidMount, componentWillUnmount, componentDidUpdate, etc. You can also use it to create a side effect when dependencies change, i.e. "If some variable changes, do this".
Whenever you have some logic that is executed as reaction to a state change or before a change is about to happen.
useEffect(() => {
// execute when state changed
() => {
// execute before state is changed
}
}, [state]);
OR
useEffect(() => {
// execute when state changed
() => {
// execute before state is changed
}
}, []);
useCallback
On every render, everything that's inside a functional component will run again. If a child component has a dependency on a function from the parent component, the child will re-render every time the parent re-renders even if that function "doesn't change" (the reference changes, but what the function does won't).
It's used for optimization by avoiding unnecessary renders from the child, making the function change the reference only when dependencies change. You should use it when a function is a dependency of a side effect e.g. useEffect.
Whenever you have a function that is depending on certain states. This hook is for performance optimization and prevents a function inside your component to be reassigned unless the depending state is changed.
const myFunction = useCallback(() => {
// execute your logic for myFunction
}, [state]);
Without useCallback, myFunction will be reassigned on every render. Therefore it uses more compute time as it would with useCallback.

React Re-Render-Loop

I am currently trying to learn about the inner workings of React in context of when a component is re-rendered or especially when (callback-)functions are recreated.
In doing so, I have come across a phenomenon which I just cannot get my head around. It (only) happens when having a state comprising an array. Here is a minimal code that shows the "problem":
import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
export function Child({ value, onChange }) {
const [internalValue, setInternalValue] = useState(value);
// ... stuff interacting with internalValue
useEffect(() => {
onChange(internalValue);
}, [onChange, internalValue]);
return <div>{value}</div>;
}
export default function App() {
const [state, setState] = useState([9.0]);
return <Child value={state[0]} onChange={(v) => setState([v])} />;
}
The example comprises a Parent (App) Component with a state, being an array of a single number, which is given to the Child component. The Child may do some inner workings and set the internal state with setInternalValue, which in turn will trigger the effect. This effect will raise the onChange function, updating a value of the state array of the parent. (Note that this example is minimized to show the effect. The array would have multiple values, where for each a Child component is shown) However this example results in an endless re-rendering of the Child with the following console warning being raised throughout:
Warning: Maximum update depth exceeded. This can happen when a component calls setState inside useEffect, but useEffect either doesn't have a dependency array, or one of the dependencies changes on every render.
Debugging shows, that the re-rendering occurs due to onChange being changed. However, I do not understand this. Why is onChange being changed? Neither internalState nor state is changed anywhere.
There are two workarounds I found:
Remove onChange from the dependencies of the effect in the Child. This "solves" the re-rendering and would be absolutely acceptable for my use case. However, it is bad practice as far as I know, since onChange is used inside the effect. Also, ESLint is indicating this as a warning.
Using a "raw" number in the state, instead of an array. This will also get rid of the re-rendering. However this is only acceptable in this minimal example, as there is only one number used. For a dynamic count of numbers, this workaround is not viable.
useCallback is also not helping and just "bubbling up" the re-recreation of the onChange function.
So my question is: Do React state (comprising arrays) updates are being handled differently and is omitting a dependency valid here? What is the correct way to do this?
Why is onChange being changed?
On every render, you create a new anonymous function (v) => setState([v]).
Since React makes a shallow comparison with the previous props before rendering, it always results in a render, since in Javascript:
const y = () => {}
const x = () => {}
x !== y // always true
// In your case
const onChangeFromPreviousRender = (v) => setState([v])
const onChangeInCurrentRender = (v) => setState([v])
onChangeFromPreviousRender !== onChangeInCurrentRender
What is the correct way to do this?
There are two ways to correct it, since setState is guaranteed to be stable, you can just pass the setter and use your logic in the component itself:
// state[0] is primitive
// setState stable
<Child value={state[0]} onChange={setState} />
useEffect(() => {
// set as array
onChange([internalValue]);
}, [onChange, internalValue]);
Or, Memoizing the function will guarantee the same identity.
const onChange = useCallback(v => setState([v]), []);
Notice that we memoize the function only because of its nontrivial use case (beware of premature optimization).

React renders without actually changing the state when setInterval is used

I'm going to introduce my question in two steps with slightly different code blocks in both.
Step 1:
Below we have a React application which renders itself every two seconds and therefore causes the browser to print render to the console. If the user presses any key, the renders will stop which in turn stops the console prints. Please ignore the line commented out for now.
import { useState, useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
function App() {
const [number, setUpdate] = useState(0);
const [isPaused, setIsPaused] = useState(false);
const intervalRef = useRef(undefined);
useEffect(() => {
intervalRef.current = setInterval(() => setUpdate(prevNumber => ++prevNumber), 2000);
window.addEventListener('keydown', handleKeyDown);
}, []);
const handleKeyDown = () => {
clearInterval(intervalRef.current);
console.log('console log here');
// setIsPaused(isPaused);
};
console.log('render');
return null;
};
export default App;
Here is a screenshot of the application:
What has happened above, is that I've let the component render five times and then I've pressed a key to stop the component from rendering.
Step 2:
In step 2 we have exactly the same application with the exception of not commenting out the state set in handleKeyDown.
const handleKeyDown = () => {
clearInterval(intervalRef.current);
console.log('console log here');
// This is no longer commented out. Why does it cause a new render?
setIsPaused(isPaused);
};
Here is a screenshot of the application with the code change made in step 2:
Again, I've let the component to render five times after I've pressed a key. But now there is an extra render even though the state should not be changing (because the state is not actually mutating because we set the same value as was already in the state) by setIsPaused(isPaused).
I'm having difficulty to understand what might the reason to cause the extra render at step 2. Maybe it's something obvious?
setIsPaused(isPaused) never causes a new render if I comment out the other state change which is run by setInterval which makes me even more baffled.
This is a known quirk, see #17474. It’s a side effect introduced by the new concurrent mode. The component function did re-run, but DOM will remain untampered.
I also found people post this interesting example. You can try exp with the code. The component function contains something like <div>{Math.random()}</div> although random number did changed in that extra re-run of the function, it wouldn’t reflect onto DOM if state isn’t changed.
Conclusion. You can consider this side effect harmless most of time.
U̶p̶d̶a̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶n̶e̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶m̶e̶a̶n̶s̶ ̶D̶O̶M̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶r̶e̶r̶e̶n̶d̶e̶r̶,̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶r̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶̶s̶e̶t̶I̶s̶P̶a̶u̶s̶e̶d̶(̶i̶s̶P̶a̶u̶s̶e̶d̶)̶̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶r̶e̶r̶e̶n̶d̶e̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶D̶O̶M̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶s̶e̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶g̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶u̶p̶d̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶v̶a̶l̶u̶e̶.̶ ̶(̶I̶ ̶a̶m̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶s̶i̶d̶e̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶f̶i̶e̶l̶d̶ ̶̶i̶s̶P̶a̶u̶s̶e̶d̶̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶e̶l̶s̶e̶)̶
Update: I did know this behavior existed until reading the accepted answer.

React JS | using setTimeout prints a number on Page

I am simply trying to change the heading and content states using React Hooks but I get a number shown on the page, a little google search showed up a bunch of stuff related to how setInterval and Timeout generate a key or value but I have no idea why they're showing up on the page.I can hide it using an empty div but I am curious if I am doing anything wrong, also if I use a class instead of a function the value rapidly increases and my CPU maxes out.
function MyComponent (){
const [heading, setHeading] = useState('React(Loading)')
const [content, setContent] = useState('Loading...')
return(
<main>
<h1>{heading}</h1>
<p>{content}</p>
{
setTimeout(() =>{
setHeading('React(Loaded)')
setContent('Loaded')
}, 2000)} // should change the values, which it does with addition of a number
</main>
);
}
The resulting page is that renders is here
Also on a side note I tried using a onload function to do the same thing but nothing happens.
setTimeout returns a number, which is used to identify the timeout when you use clearTimeout. That is why you see the number below the content.
To hide the number, you should move the setTimeout to be outside of the return function. Also, you should use as little JS as possible in the return statement and just use JSX over there, to make the component more clear and readable.
But just moving the setTimeout to be before the return statement is not enough. The function will run on every render, and there are many things that can trigger a re-render - a state change, or a parent re-rendering. So on every re-render, you will set a new timeout. The timeout itself updates a state which triggers a render which triggers the setTimeout - so you are creating an infinite loop.
So you want to call setTimeout only once - you can use useEffect, which will re-run only when the dependency array changes, but if you will leave it empty, it will run only once, because nothing will change and a re-run will never be triggered.
function MyComponent (){
const [heading, setHeading] = useState('React(Loading)')
const [content, setContent] = useState('Loading...')
useEffect((
setTimeout(() =>{
setHeading('React(Loaded)')
setContent('Loaded')
}, 2000)
), []);
return(
<main>
<h1>{heading}</h1>
<p>{content}</p>
</main>
);
}
So, by using the above answer we get the following error
Warning: Can't perform a React state update on an unmounted component. This is a no-op, but it indicates a memory leak in your application. To fix, cancel all subscriptions and asynchronous tasks in a useEffect cleanup function
The reason for this is again the fact that setTimeout returns a number, the final answer is to use the code as a separate function as below:
useEffect( timeOutFunction, [])
function timeOutFunction() {
setTimeout(() => {
setHeading('React(Loaded)')
setContent('Loaded'), 2000)
}

Can't perform a React State update on unMounted child component?

Am getting this warning:
Can't perform a React state update on unmounted component. This is a no-op...
It results from a child component and I can't figure out how to make it go away.
Please note that I have read many other posts about why this happens, and understand the basic issue. However, most solutions suggest cancelling subscriptions in a componentWillUnmount style function (I'm using react hooks)
I don't know if this points to some larger fundamental misunderstanding I have of React,but here is essentially what i have:
import React, { useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
import Picker from 'emoji-picker-react';
const MyTextarea = (props) => {
const onClick = (event, emojiObject) => {
//do stuff...
}
const isMountedRef = useRef(true);
useEffect(() => {
isMountedRef.current = true;
});
useEffect(() => {
return () => {
console.log('will unmount');
isMountedRef.current = false;
}
});
return (
<div>
<textarea></textarea>
{ isMountedRef.current ? (
<Picker onEmojiClick={onClick}/>
):null
}
</div>
);
};
export default MyTextarea;
(tl;dr) Please note:
MyTextarea component has a parent component which is only rendered on a certain route.
Theres also a Menu component that once clicked, changes the route and depending on the situation will either show MyTextarea's parent component or show another component.
This warning happens once I click the Menu to switch off MyTextarea's parent component.
More Context
Other answers on StackOverflow suggest making changes to prevent state updates when a component isn't mounted. In my situation, I cannot do that because I didn't design the Picker component (rendered by MyTextarea). The Warning originates from this <Picker onEmojiClick={onClick}> line but I wouldn't want to modify this off-the-shelf component.
That's explains my attempt to either render the component or not based on the isMountedRef. However this doesn't work either. What happens is the component is either rendered if i set useRef(true), or it's never rendered at all if i set useRef(null) as many have suggested.
I'm not exactly sure what your problem actually is (is it that you can't get rid of the warning or that the <Picker> is either always rendering or never is), but I'll try to address all the problems I see.
Firstly, you shouldn't need to conditionally render the <Picker> depending on whether MyTextArea is mounted or not. Since components only render after mounting, the <Picker> will never render if the component it's in hasn't mounted.
That being said, if you still want to keep track of when the component is mounted, I'd suggest not using hooks, and using componentDidMount and componentWillUnmount with setState() instead. Not only will this make it easier to understand your component's lifecycle, but there are also some problems with the way you're using hooks.
Right now, your useRef(true) will set isMountedRef.current to true when the component is initialized, so it will be true even before its mounted. useRef() is not the same as componentDidMount().
Using 'useEffect()' to switch isMountedRef.current to true when the component is mounted won't work either. While it will fire when the component is mounted, useEffect() is for side effects, not state updates, so it doesn't trigger a re-render, which is why the component never renders when you set useRef(null).
Also, your useEffect() hook will fire every time your component updates, not just when it mounts, and your clean up function (the function being returned) will also fire on every update, not just when it unmounts. So on every update, isMountedRef.current will switch from true to false and back to true. However, none of this matters because the component won't re-render anyways (as explained above).
If you really do need to use useEffect() then you should combine it into one function and use it to update state so that it triggers a re-render:
const [isMounted, setIsMounted] = useState(false); // Create state variables
useEffect(() => {
setIsMounted(true); // The effect and clean up are in one function
return () => {
console.log('will unmount');
setIsMounted(false);
}
}, [] // This prevents firing on every update, w/o it you'll get an infinite loop
);
Lastly, from the code you shared, your component couldn't be causing the warning because there are no state updates anywhere in your code. You should check the picker's repo for issues.
Edit: Seems the warning is caused by your Picker package and there's already an issue for it https://github.com/ealush/emoji-picker-react/issues/142

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