setState() callback function: potential confusion of call order
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Description
This paragraph from the React.Component reference page:
setState()does not always immediately update the component. It may batch or defer the update until later. This makes readingthis.stateright after callingsetState()a potential pitfall. Instead, usecomponentDidUpdateor asetStatecallback(setState(updater, callback)), either of which are guaranteed to fire after the update has been applied.
can create the impression that instead of doing:
this.setState({ value: 5 });
console.log(this.state.value); // => not necessarily 5
you can use the callback function to safely read the state back:
this.setState({ value: 5 }, () => console.log(this.state.value)); // => "guaranteed" 5
(especially if you draw a parallel between the callback function and the updater function)
and it may actually work in some cases where there's no setState batching, but as more calls get batched in the future, these constructs may generate unintended side-effects.
Instead, we could clarify that all callback functions for a batch of setState() calls get called after the entire batch has been processed.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start with the setState section of the React.Component reference page linked in the issue. Review the wording around callbacks and batching, then update it so callback timing and the state available after a batch are unambiguous; done means the examples cannot suggest that a callback observes only its individual update.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- javascript, react
- Domain
- documentation
- Issue type
- Documentation
- Difficulty
- 2/5
- Estimated time
- 1-3 hours
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Clearly specified
- Newbie friendliness
- 45/100