How to Effectively Use Axios PUT Requests in React for JSON Data Modification

Learn how to modify specific parts of JSON data in your React app using `Axios PUT` requests! This guide covers both PUT and PATCH methods to ensure you achieve the desired functionality.
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Understanding and Using Axios PUT Requests in React

When developing applications in React, you often need to interact with APIs to fetch or modify data. One common operation is sending a PUT request to update existing data on the server. In this post, we’ll address a common issue when attempting to send a PUT request to modify the command field of a JSON object, keeping the rest of the data intact.

The Problem at Hand

Let’s say you have a JSON object that represents users, consisting of their hostname, password, command, and a unique id. Your goal is to send a PUT request to update only the command part of the user data. Here is an example of the initial JSON data you’re working with:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Your Initial Implementation

You’ve tried sending a PUT request using Axios in two ways:

Basic Usage:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Using Axios Config:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

However, in both cases, you noticed that the output JSON resulted in an update that did not retain the hostname and password.

Identifying the Issue

The fundamental issue here lies in how you are constructing the data object that’s sent alongside your PUT request:

Here’s what you might unintentionally be sending:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This is effectively similar to the object you were trying to modify, which resulted in overwriting existing information.

Proposed Solutions

1. Retrieve Current Data Before Sending Update

To maintain the original hostname and password, you need to first retrieve the current user's data from the server before sending the PUT request. You can achieve this by chaining Axios requests:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

2. Consider Using PATCH Instead of PUT

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This way, you can modify just the command field while leaving the other fields intact, provided your backend supports PATCH operations.

Conclusion

In summary, when working with Axios in React, it's important to understand the implications of the request methods you're using. If you're modifying part of a JSON object, consider fetching the current data or using the PATCH method for partial updates. This will help ensure the integrity of your data while achieving your intended functionality.

Happy coding!