-
Let’s imagine a scenario where we want to share our
localStorage
code with other components so other components could synchronize state withlocalStorage
. -
Considering how code reuse works in JavaScript in general, we can simply make a function, put our relevant code in that function, and then call it from the original location. That process works exactly the same with React hooks code, so let’s do that:
-
Original code:
const [name, setName] = React.useState(
() => window.localStorage.getItem('name') || ''
);
React.useEffect(() => {
window.localStorage.setItem('name', name);
}, [name]);
- Refactor code to a reusable custom hooks:
//
function useLocalStorageState(key, defaultValue = '') {
const [state, setState] = React.useState(
() => window.localStorage.getItem(key) || defaultValue
);
React.useEffect(() => {
window.localStorage.setItem(key, state);
}, [key, state]);
return [state, setState];
}
<body>
<div id="root"></div>
<script src="https://unpkg.com/[email protected]/umd/react.development.js"></script>
<script src="https://unpkg.com/[email protected]/umd/react-dom.development.js"></script>
<script src="https://unpkg.com/@babel/[email protected]/babel.js"></script>
<script type="text/babel">
// the community standard is to use `useWhateverName` following React Hooks name standards
// providing key for localStorage and defaultValue
function useLocalStorageState(key, defaultValue = '') {
const [state, setState] = React.useState(
() => window.localStorage.getItem(key) || defaultValue
);
React.useEffect(() => {
window.localStorage.setItem(key, state);
// Make sure to add key to our array
}, [key, state]);
// Getting access to state and setState
// a custom Hook doesn’t need to have a specific signature.
// We can decide what it takes as arguments
return [state, setState];
}
function Greeting() {
// calling our useLocalStorageState
const [name, setName] = useLocalStorageState('name');
const handleChange = event => setName(event.target.value);
return (
<div>
<form>
<label htmlFor="name">Name: </label>
<input value={name} onChange={handleChange} id="name" />
</form>
{name ? <strong>Hello {name}</strong> : 'Please type your name'}
</div>
);
}
ReactDOM.render(<Greeting />, document.getElementById('root'));
</script>
</body>
- When we want to share logic between two JavaScript functions, we extract it to a third function. Both components and Hooks are functions, so this works for them too!
- Building your own Hooks lets you extract component logic into reusable functions.