In this article, we will be discussing the Routing in Redux. If you are a developer, you must have already heard about a React router. A routing library is generally a vital component of any complex, single-component application. The React Router Library is a well-known routing library in React. Redux-First Routing is a variation of the pushState router method that makes the Redux star method of the routing model.
Now a Redux-First Routing model needs to satisfy some requirements, which are:
The location should be held in the Redux Store.
We can change the area by dispatching the Redux actions.
The application reads location data from the store.
The store and the browser history are kept in sync in the backend.
The basic syntax of Redux-First Routing is
history ↕ Redux → router → view
As we have discussed, the browser history and the Redux Store are in sync, and we can build the applications which can be only ever read location data from the store.
How to accomplish Redux-First Routing?
We can create a conceptualized model by merging the elements from the client-side routing and Redux-Data Lifecycle models to accomplish this.
Wanna know more about them? I got you!
Revising Client-Side Routing Model
We will be discussing a few key aspects of the Client-side Routing Model. The first thing to know is what client-side routing is?
Client-Side Routing is a multi-step process that begins with Navigation and finishes with Rendering and routing itself.
Let’s learn a bit about these steps in detail:
Navigation: As we have seen, each step starts with a location change. Now, we have two types of Navigation, Internal and External. Internal Navigation occurs when the route is within the app. In contrast, external Navigation appears when the user wants to interact with the browser's navigation bar or any external site other than the application itself.
Response to the Navigation: When the path for Navigation is specified, the application response, bypassing the new location to the router. We can use techniques like window.location, or history.listen for achieving the same.
Routing: Now, the new location is specified and matched with the corresponding page content. The code used for the next step is called a router, which generally takes matching routes as input parameters and pages, which are called route configurations.
Rendering: The content is now rendered to the client. A front-end framework like React usually handles this step.
These were a few critical elements used in a Client-Side Routing Module.
Let’s discuss the Redux-Route model and then create our redux-first routing model.
Revising the Redux Data Lifecycle Model
A brief overview of the Redux Data Lifecycle Model is:
Action - Whenever a state change is observed in Redux, an effort is dispatched.
Middleware - The action then passes through the store's chain of middlewares, where the move may be intercepted and executed. The middlewares are generally used for handling the side effects in Redux Applications.
Reducer - When the action reaches the reducer, it calculates the store’s next state as a pure function of the previous state and by using the action which is received.
New state - The store saves a new state returned by the reducer and notifies the elements about the change.
Rendering - The store-connected view can be used for re-rendering by the new state.
Now, as we have revised the Client-Side Routing and the Redux Data Lifecycle Model, Let's start with the topic of the hour!!
Build a Redux-First Routing Model
The Client-Side and Redux Data Lifecycle, as we have observed, were unidirectional, which can be merged to create a new model that satisfies the criteria of the Redux-First Model.
The Redux-first model uses the router for subscribing to the store. Redux actions accomplish Navigation. The use of custom middleware handles the updating to the browser's history. A few details about this model are
Internal Navigation - Here, internal Navigation is achieved by using one of the five navigation actions that mirror the history of navigation methods.
Updating Browser History - The concept of middleware is used to intercept the navigation actions, which handles the side-effects of updating the browser history.
Response to Navigation - The execution flow continues along with a history listener who responds to Navigation using the second act.
Location Reducer - This action is dispatched by the listener, then it reaches the location reducer, which adds the location to the store.
Connected Routing - The store-connected router can reactively determine the new page content when it gets notified of the change in location of the store.
Rendering - The page can be re-rendered with the new content.
The vital point to note is that this is not the only way to accomplish or build the redux-first routing. We can use variations features for store enhancers and introduce some additional logic in the middleware.
Let’s get to the implementation of the Redux-first routing.
Basic Implementation of Redux-first Routing
Let's implement the core API in this model - the actions, middleware, listener, and reducer.
We use the history package as an internal dependency and build the solution incrementally.
Actions
To get started with five navigation actions, we use these methods:
Let's define the middleware; and The middleware should intercept the navigation actions and call the corresponding history navigation methods, then it should stop the action from reaching the reducer.
We will need a history listener to respond to the Navigation by dispatching a new action containing the location information. We can add the new action type and creator. The exciting thing is that we have to add elements like pathname, search and hash to include the payload.
In our application, we have managed to cover all the requirements of a Redux-First routing model,
which were,
The location should be held in the Redux Store.
We can change the location by dispatching the Redux actions.
The application reads location data from the store.
The store and the browser history are kept in sync in the backend.
For building your project, you can use the files discussed above to develop your redux-first routing model implementation.
If you wish to install the redux-first router, the developers have published this, and you can integrate it into your projects using the npm install command.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Redux-First Routing Model? Ans: Redux-First Routing is a variation of the pushState router method that makes the Redux star method of the routing model.
What are the requirements for a Redux-first routing model? Ans: Redux-First Routing model needs to satisfy some requirements, which are: The location should be held in the Redux Store. We can change the location by dispatching the Redux actions. The application reads location data from the store. The store and the browser history are kept in sync in the backend.
What are the core APIs required for the Redux-First Routing model? Ans: The core APIs required are - the actions, middleware, listener, and reducer.
Key Takeaways
Hey everyone, so let’s brief out the article.
The React Router Library is a well-known routing library in React. Redux-First Routing is a variation of the pushState router method that makes the Redux star method of the routing model.
We have discussed the two types of available Routing Models, the Client-Side Routing and the Redux Data Lifecycle Model. Furthermore, we saw how we could implement the core concept of these models and build our redux-first routing model.
At last, we have provided you with the code to create your redux-first routing model and the resources from where you can install the library of redux-first-router through npm.
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