Unlock the Power of React Hooks: 3 Underrated Heroes

Breaking Down Unidirectional Data Flow

In React, data flows from parent to child components via props. But what if you need to access data from a child component in the parent component? That’s where the useImperativeHandle Hook comes in.

This Hook allows you to expose a value, state, or function inside a child component to the parent component through ref. With useImperativeHandle, you can maintain private scoping while still achieving bidirectional data flow.

Syntax and Use Cases

The useImperativeHandle Hook takes three parameters:

• ref: the ref passed down from the parent component
• createHandle: the value to be exposed to the parent component
• dependencies: an array of values that cause the Hook to rerun when changed

Use cases for useImperativeHandle include:

• • Implementing imperative logic, such as programmatically focusing the first input field of a form:

function TextInput() {
  const inputRef = React.createRef();

  useImperativeHandle(inputRef, () => ({
    focus: () => {
      inputRef.current.focus();
    },
  }));

  return <input ref={inputRef} type="text" />;
}

• Opening a modal component when a button is clicked

Synchronous Side Effects with useLayoutEffect

The useLayoutEffect Hook is similar to the useEffect Hook, but with a key difference: it runs synchronously before the browser paints DOM updates. This makes it ideal for situations where you need to update the DOM before showing users the changes.

Syntax and Use Cases

The useLayoutEffect Hook takes two parameters:

• callback: the function that contains the side effect logic
• dependencies: an array of dependencies that cause the callback function to run again when changed

Use cases for useLayoutEffect include:

• • Updating the scroll position of a page:

function ScrollToTop() {
  useLayoutEffect(() => {
    window.scrollTo(0, 0);
  }, []);

  return null;
}

• Adding animations at a specific scroll position
• Making seamless transitions between pages

Debugging Made Easy with useDebugValue

The useDebugValue Hook is designed to improve the developer experience by making it easier to log information in React DevTools. It’s especially useful when building custom React Hooks.

Syntax and Use Cases

The useDebugValue Hook takes two parameters:

• value: the debug value
• formatting function: an optional function that formats the value before it’s displayed in DevTools

Use cases for useDebugValue include:

• • Tracking state changes in complex custom Hooks:

function useCustomHook(state) {
  useDebugValue(state, (state) => `Current state: ${state}`);

  //...
}

• Parsing JSON data
• Formatting dates

By mastering useImperativeHandle, useLayoutEffect, and useDebugValue, you’ll be able to build faster, more efficient, and more maintainable React applications.