Overcoming a State Management Challenge in React Native

Hey there! Today, I want to share a challenge I recently faced while working on a React Native project. The issue revolved around managing state across multiple components efficiently. Initially, I was using React's useState, but as the app grew, it became difficult to keep the state synchronized and avoid prop drilling.

The Challenge

In one of my projects, I had several nested components that needed to access and update a shared state. Passing props down through multiple levels was becoming cumbersome and error-prone. Here’s a simplified version of what my code looked like:

const ParentComponent = () => {
  const [state, setState] = useState(initialState);
  return (
    <ChildComponent
      state={state}
      setState={setState}
    />
  );
};
const ChildComponent = ({ state, setState }) => {
  return (
    <GrandchildComponent
      state={state}
      setState={setState}
    />
  );
};
const GrandchildComponent = ({ state, setState }) => {
  return (
    <div>{state.someValue}</div>
  );
};

The Solution

To solve this, I decided to use the Context API combined with the useReducer hook. This approach allowed me to manage state more effectively and avoid prop drilling. Here’s the refactored version of the code:

1. Create Context and Reducer:

   import React, { createContext, useReducer, useContext } from 'react';
   
   const initialState = { someValue: 'Hello World' };
   
   const StateContext = createContext();
   
   const stateReducer = (state, action) => {
     switch (action.type) {
       case 'UPDATE_VALUE':
         return { ...state, someValue: action.payload };
       default:
         return state;
     }
   };
   
   export const StateProvider = ({ children }) => {
     const [state, dispatch] = useReducer(stateReducer, initialState);
   
     return (
       <StateContext.Provider value={{ state, dispatch }}>
         {children}
       </StateContext.Provider>
     );
   };
   
   export const useStateContext = () => useContext(StateContext);
   
   

2. Use Context in Components:

   const ParentComponent = () => (
     <StateProvider>
       <ChildComponent />
     </StateProvider>
   );
   
   const ChildComponent = () => (
     <GrandchildComponent />
   );
   
   const GrandchildComponent = () => {
     const { state, dispatch } = useStateContext();
   
     const updateValue = () => {
       dispatch({ type: 'UPDATE_VALUE', payload: 'New Value' });
     };
   
     return (
       <div>
         <p>{state.someValue}</p>
         <button onClick={updateValue}>Update Value</button>
       </div>
     );
   };
   
   

Conclusion

By using the Context API and useReducer, I was able to simplify state management and eliminate the need for prop drilling. This made my code cleaner and more maintainable. If you're facing similar challenges with state management in React or React Native, give this approach a try!

Happy coding!