How to Fix Frontend Not Updating with useState in React Applications

Learn how to resolve issues with the frontend not updating when using `useState` in your React applications, focusing on sorting blog data dynamically.
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Troubleshooting Frontend Update Issues with useState in React

When building React applications, developers often encounter issues where the UI does not update as expected. One common scenario involves a blog application where users want to sort and display guides based on certain criteria, such as the number of likes. If you’re facing similar issues—where the frontend doesn’t reflect the changes made to your state—it’s crucial to understand how state management and effects work in React. In this post, we’ll delve into a specific problem related to the React's useState hook and provide a comprehensive solution to keep your UI in sync with your data.

The Problem: Blogs Not Updating in Real-Time

In our scenario, you have a blog application that sorts blogs based on their likes. This sorting works initially upon login and page refresh but fails to update the UI dynamically when likes are added—or when any changes occur. You want the blog list to reflect these changes instantly without a full refresh. The design for the Blog component and the main App component often leads to state update issues due to improper callbacks and state management.

Understanding the Core Issue

The primary reason for the frontend not updating is that the necessary state updates are not being triggered. Here’s what happens under the hood:

When a like is added to a blog, you need to update the state in the parent component (App) so that the re-rendering takes place.

If the setBlogs and setSortedArray functions are not called after a like click, React has no reason to re-render your components, leading to a stale UI.

The Solution: Implementing a Callback Function

To address this issue, we propose implementing a callback function that will handle updates after a like occurs. Below is a step-by-step guide to modify your components accordingly.

Step 1: Update the Blog Component

In your Blog component, add a new prop called afterLikeClicked which will be used to notify the parent component (App) when a blog has been liked. Let's see the modified code:

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

Step 2: Connect the Callback in the App Component

Now, modify the App component to include this callback function which will handle the updates and sorting of blogs. Here’s how to implement that:

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

Conclusion

By introducing a callback mechanism for updating the blogs after a like is clicked in the Blog component, we establish a clear communication channel between the child and parent components. This approach ensures that every time a like is added, the App component accurately receives the updated blog data, triggering the necessary re-renders to keep the UI in sync.

If you're facing similar issues in your React app, consider utilizing this callback technique for effective state management and seamless UI updates without the need for page refreshes. Happy coding!