React lifecycle methods

In place of these methods, the new static method getDerivedStateFromProps was introduced.

getDerivedStateFromProps is invoked every time a component is rendered. It takes in two arguments: the next props object (which may be the same as the previous object) and the previous state object of the component in question. When implementing this method, we need to return the changes to our component state or null (or {}) if no changes need to be made.

Need to keep in mind that the new method is static, and therefore does not have access to the this context that the old lifecycle methods provided.

And you can either return an object to update the state of the component:

static getDerivedStateFromProps(props, state) {
    return {
        points: 200 // update state with this
    }
}

Remember, this method is called (or invoked) before the component is rendered to the DOM on initial mount.

Below’s a quick example:

Consider a simple component that renders the number of points scored by a football team.

As you may have expected, the number of points is stored in the component state object:

class App extends Component {
  state = {
    points: 10
  };

  render() {
    return (
      <div className="App">
        <header className="App-header">
          <img src={logo} className="App-logo" alt="logo" />
          <p>You've scored {this.state.points} points.</p>
        </header>
      </div>
    );
  }
}

The result of this is the following: You’ve scored 10 points

Now, if you put in the static getDerivedStateFromProps method as shown below.

class App extends Component {
  state = {
    points: 10
  };

  // *******
  //  NB: Not the recommended way to use this method. Just an example. Unconditionally overriding state here is generally considered a bad idea
  // ********
  static getDerivedStateFromProps(props, state) {
    return {
      points: 1000
    };
  }

  render() {
    return (
      <div className="App">
        <header className="App-header">
          <img src={logo} className="App-logo" alt="logo" />
          <p>You've scored {this.state.points} points.</p>
        </header>
      </div>
    );
  }
}

Right now, we have the static getDerivedStateFromProps component life-cycle method in there. If you remember from the previous explanation, this method is called before the component is mounted to the DOM. By returning an object, we update the state of the component before it is even rendered.

And here’s what we get: You’ve scored 1000 points

With the 1000 coming from updating state within the static getDerivedStateFromProps method.

Well, this example is contrived, and not really the way you’d use the static getDerivedStateFromProps method. I just wanted to make sure you understood the basics first.

With this lifecycle method, just because you can update state doesn’t mean you should go ahead and do this. There are specific use cases for the static getDerivedStateFromProps method, or you’ll be solving a problem with the wrong tool.

So when should you use the static getDerivedStateFromProps lifecycle method?

Essentially, this method allows a component to update its internal state in response to a change in props. Also, component state in this manner is referred to as Derived State.

As a rule of thumb, derived state should be used sparingly as you can introduce subtle bugs into your application if you aren’t sure of what you’re doing.

An actual real-world example comparing it with the previous method

Here’s a pattern we were using in many components throughout our codebase:

componentWillReceiveProps(nextProps) {
  if (nextProps.selectedTab !== this.state.selectedTab) {
    this.setState(() => { return {selectedTab: nextProps.selectedTab} })
  }
}

This lifecycle method fired when we were about to receive new props in our component, passing in the new value as the first argument. We needed to check whether the new props indicated a change in the state of our tab bar, which we stored in state. This is one of the simplest patterns to address with getDerivedStateFromProps:

static getDerivedStateFromProps(nextProps, prevState) {
  return nextProps.selectedTab === prevState.selectedTab
    ? {}
    : {selectedTab: nextProps.selectedTab}
}

This code works in exactly the same way, but, since it’s static, we no longer use the context provided by this. Instead, we return any state changes. In this case, I’ve returned an empty object ({}) to indicate no state change when the tabs are identical; otherwise, I return an object with the new selectedTab value.