How to properly make REST calls from ReactJS + Redux application?

Question

I\'m using ReactJS + Redux, along with Express and Webpack. There is an API built, and I want to be able to make REST calls -- GET, POST, PUT, DELETE -- from the client-side

Answer 1

The simpliest way, is to do it using redux-thunk package. This package is an redux middleware, so first of all, you should connect it to redux:

import { createStore, applyMiddleware } from 'redux';
import thunk from 'redux-thunk';
import rootReducer from './reducers/index';

const store = createStore(
  rootReducer,
  applyMiddleware(thunk)
);

This allows you to dispatch async actions along with regular sync actions. Let's create one of them:

// actions.js

export function fetchTodos() {
  // Instead of plain objects, we are returning function.
  return function(dispatch) {
    // Dispatching REQUEST action, which tells our app, that we are started requesting todos.
    dispatch({
      type: 'FETCH_TODOS_REQUEST'
    });
    return fetch('/api/todos')
      // Here, we are getting json body(in our case it will contain `todos` or `error` prop, depending on request was failed or not) from server response
      // And providing `response` and `body` variables to the next chain.
      .then(response => response.json().then(body => ({ response, body })))
      .then(({ response, body }) => {
        if (!response.ok) {
          // If request was failed, dispatching FAILURE action.
          dispatch({
            type: 'FETCH_TODOS_FAILURE',
            error: body.error
          });
        } else {
          // When everything is ok, dispatching SUCCESS action.
          dispatch({
            type: 'FETCH_TODOS_SUCCESS',
            todos: body.todos
          });
        }
      });
  }
}

I prefer to separate react components on presentational and container components. This approach was perfectly described in this article.

Next, we should create TodosContainer component, which would provide data to presentational Todos component. Here, we are using react-redux library:

// TodosContainer.js

import React, { Component } from 'react';
import { connect } from 'react-redux';
import { fetchTodos } from '../actions';

class TodosContainer extends Component {
  componentDidMount() {
    // When container was mounted, we need to start fetching todos.
    this.props.fetchTodos();
  }

  render() {
    // In some simple cases, it is not necessary to create separate `Todos` component. You can put todos markup directly here.
    return <Todos items={this.props.todos} />
  }
}

// This function is used to convert redux global state to desired props.
function mapStateToProps(state) {
  // `state` variable contains whole redux state.
  return {
    // I assume, you have `todos` state variable.
    // Todos will be available in container component as `this.props.todos`
    todos: state.todos
  };
}

// This function is used to provide callbacks to container component.
function mapDispatchToProps(dispatch) {
  return {
    // This function will be available in component as `this.props.fetchTodos`
    fetchTodos: function() {
      dispatch(fetchTodos());
    }
  };
}

// We are using `connect` function to wrap our component with special component, which will provide to container all needed data.
export default connect(mapStateToProps, mapDispatchToProps)(TodosContainer);

Also, you should create todosReducer, which will handle FETCH_TODOS_SUCCESS action, and other 2 actions if you want display loader / error message.

// reducers.js

import { combineReducers } from 'redux';

const INITIAL_STATE = {
  items: [],
  isFetching: false,
  error: undefined
};

function todosReducer(state = INITIAL_STATE, action) {
  switch (action.type) {
    case 'FETCH_TODOS_REQUEST':
      // This time, you may want to display loader in the UI.
      return Object.assign({}, state, {
        isFetching: true
      });
    case 'FETCH_TODOS_SUCCESS':
      // Adding derived todos to state
      return Object.assign({}, state, {
        isFetching: false,
        todos: action.todos
      });
    case 'FETCH_TODOS_FAILURE':
      // Providing error message to state, to be able display it in UI.
      return Object.assign({}, state, {
        isFetching: false,
        error: action.error
      });
    default:
      return state;
  }
}

export default combineReducers({
  todos: todosReducer
});

For other operations like CREATE, UPDATE, DELETE there is nothing special, they are implementing the same way.

Answer 2

This is the primary use case for libraries like redux-thunk, redux-saga, and redux-observable.

redux-thunk is the simplest, where you would do something like this:

import fetch from 'isomorphic-fetch'

export const REQUEST_POSTS = 'REQUEST_POSTS'
function requestPosts(subreddit) {
  return {
    type: REQUEST_POSTS,
    subreddit
  }
}

export const RECEIVE_POSTS = 'RECEIVE_POSTS'
function receivePosts(subreddit, json) {
  return {
    type: RECEIVE_POSTS,
    subreddit,
    posts: json.data.children.map(child => child.data),
    receivedAt: Date.now()
  }
}

// Meet our first thunk action creator!
// Though its insides are different, you would use it just like any other action creator:
// store.dispatch(fetchPosts('reactjs'))

export function fetchPosts(subreddit) {

  // Thunk middleware knows how to handle functions.
  // It passes the dispatch method as an argument to the function,
  // thus making it able to dispatch actions itself.

  return function (dispatch) {

    // First dispatch: the app state is updated to inform
    // that the API call is starting.

    dispatch(requestPosts(subreddit))

    // The function called by the thunk middleware can return a value,
    // that is passed on as the return value of the dispatch method.

    // In this case, we return a promise to wait for.
    // This is not required by thunk middleware, but it is convenient for us.

    return fetch(`http://www.reddit.com/r/${subreddit}.json`)
      .then(response => response.json())
      .then(json =>

        // We can dispatch many times!
        // Here, we update the app state with the results of the API call.

        dispatch(receivePosts(subreddit, json))
      )

      // In a real world app, you also want to
      // catch any error in the network call.
  }
}

The above example is taken directly from http://redux.js.org/docs/advanced/AsyncActions.html which is really the definitive source for answers on your question.

Answer 3

The short answer is:

1. redux is not an architecture
2. You can use any library. A lot of people these days use the fetch API directly.
3. To be able to integrate redux with asynchronous actions (which you need for AJAX), you need to use a library to help. The most popular two are redux-thunk and redux-saga, as others have said.

For a brain-dead simple library that you can drop in to your redux app, you could try redux-crud-store. Disclaimer: I wrote it. You could also read the source for redux-crud-store if you are interested in integrating the fetch API, or another API client, with redux-saga