# React Side Effect [![Downloads](https://img.shields.io/npm/dm/react-side-effect.svg)](https://npmjs.com/react-side-effect) [![npm version](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/react-side-effect.svg?style=flat)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/react-side-effect)
Create components whose prop changes map to a global side effect.
## Installation
```
npm install --save react-side-effect
```
### As a script tag
#### Development
```html
<script src="https://unpkg.com/react/umd/react.development.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://unpkg.com/react-side-effect/lib/index.umd.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
```
#### Production
```html
<script src="https://unpkg.com/react/umd/react.production.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://unpkg.com/react-side-effect/lib/index.umd.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
```
## Use Cases
* Setting `document.body.style.margin` or background color depending on current screen;
* Firing Flux actions using declarative API depending on current screen;
* Some crazy stuff I haven't thought about.
## How's That Different from `componentDidUpdate`?
It gathers current props across *the whole tree* before passing them to side effect. For example, this allows you to create `<BodyStyle style>` component like this:
```jsx
// RootComponent.js
return (
<BodyStyle style={{ backgroundColor: 'red' }}>
{this.state.something ? <SomeComponent /> : <OtherComponent />}
</BodyStyle>
);
// SomeComponent.js
return (
<BodyStyle style={{ backgroundColor: this.state.color }}>
<div>Choose color: <input valueLink={this.linkState('color')} /></div>
</BodyStyle>
);
```
and let the effect handler merge `style` from different level of nesting with innermost winning:
```js
import { Component, Children } from 'react';
import PropTypes from 'prop-types';
import withSideEffect from 'react-side-effect';
class BodyStyle extends Component {
render() {
return Children.only(this.props.children);
}
}
BodyStyle.propTypes = {
style: PropTypes.object.isRequired
};
function reducePropsToState(propsList) {
var style = {};
propsList.forEach(function (props) {
Object.assign(style, props.style);
});
return style;
}
function handleStateChangeOnClient(style) {
Object.assign(document.body.style, style);
}
export default withSideEffect(
reducePropsToState,
handleStateChangeOnClient
)(BodyStyle);
```
On the server, you’ll be able to call `BodyStyle.peek()` to get the current state, and `BodyStyle.rewind()` to reset for each next request. The `handleStateChangeOnClient` will only be called on the client.
## API
#### `withSideEffect: (reducePropsToState, handleStateChangeOnClient, [mapStateOnServer]) -> ReactComponent -> ReactComponent`
A [higher-order component](https://medium.com/@dan_abramov/mixins-are-dead-long-live-higher-order-components-94a0d2f9e750) that, when mounting, unmounting or receiving new props, calls `reducePropsToState` with `props` of **each mounted instance**. It is up to you to return some state aggregated from these props.
On the client, every time the returned component is (un)mounted or its props change, `reducePropsToState` will be called, and the recalculated state will be passed to `handleStateChangeOnClient` where you may use it to trigger a side effect.
On the server, `handleStateChangeOnClient` will not be called. You will still be able to call the static `rewind()` method on the returned component class to retrieve the current state after a `renderToString()` call. If you forget to call `rewind()` right after `renderToString()`, the internal instance stack will keep growing, resulting in a memory leak and incorrect information. You must call `rewind()` after every `renderToString()` call on the server.
For testing, you may use a static `peek()` method available on the returned component. It lets you get the current state without resetting the mounted instance stack. Don’t use it for anything other than testing.
## Usage
Here's how to implement [React Document Title](https://github.com/gaearon/react-document-title) (both client and server side) using React Side Effect:
```js
import React, { Children, Component } from 'react';
import PropTypes from 'prop-types';
import withSideEffect from 'react-side-effect';
class DocumentTitle extends Component {
render() {
if (this.props.children) {
return Children.only(this.props.children);
} else {
return null;
}
}
}
DocumentTitle.propTypes = {
title: PropTypes.string.isRequired
};
function reducePropsToState(propsList) {
var innermostProps = propsList[propsList.length - 1];
if (innermostProps) {
return innermostProps.title;
}
}
function handleStateChangeOnClient(title) {
document.title = title || '';
}
export default withSideEffect(
reducePropsToState,
handleStateChangeOnClient
)(DocumentTitle);
```