Forward Advance Learning

Binding Redux to React

To connect React to Redux, we need some sort of wrapper. The current standard one is called React-Redux. It gives us a Component caller Provider which will take a store as a prop, and will then render its children.

const App = () => <p>Cats</p>
const {Provider} = ReactRedux;
<Provider store={store}>

The Provider component binds the React store to the app, so that the app can be re-rendered when it changes.

Now we can make use of our store in any component. Do you remember container components from the React section? A container (smart) component is a component that contains logic, and which then passes calculated values into a presentational (dumb) component via props.

We use a container component here, to pass values from the store into our React component.

Say we have a store that contains a hero:

const initialState = {
hero: {
name: "Haldane Goodguy",
type: "Swordsman",
maxHp: 36,
hp: 36,
armour: 33,

Then say we have a component that can render that hero:

var Hero = (props) =>
<div className="hero">
{JSON.stringify(props, null, 2)}

Well, now we create a container component that will map the store into a set of props that will be passed into the Heros component. This looks like this:

var HeroContainer = ReactRedux.connect(
(state) => ({hero: state.hero})

The props mapper is a function, because the store will change, so new props will need to be calculated each time we render.

Now we can make use of our container component right inside our app:

var App = (props) =>
<h1>Tomb of the Ancients</h1>

Here's a fuller example. We have a hero and a monster in our store. We have mapped the hero onto a Hero component, via a heroContainer. We can issue messages to the store to damage the hero or heal him.

Have a try.

See the Pen React Redux Demo by Nicholas Johnson (@superluminary) on CodePen.

Try to add a component for the monster. Have the monster attack the hero at random intervals. Add a button that lets the hero hit the monster.

Extended Exercise

Revisit any of the apps you created earlier (the TODO app, or the Hero app). Add a Flux store to hold data. Work in the Pen below, or wherever you feel most comfortable.

See the Pen React Redux Exercise by Nicholas Johnson (@superluminary) on CodePen.