Make Forward compatible React API connectors

React Aptor

Minimal API Connector for react.

Why

Most packages are developed separately in JavaScript for increasing generality being library/framework agnostic.

Connecting vanilla third parties to react is not a routine task especially those that need to change the DOM.
On the other hand, these packages might be developed by different teams, hence development progress can be one step behind of the original or even be terminated at any time. Also, wrong abstraction or bad design patterns may interrupt the progress of these react-something packages.

Other Concerns:

• Finding DOM nodes by ReactDOM.findDOMNode
• Extensively usage of memorization to improve performance or prevent extra re-renders
• Other duplication layer for all API definition in react that increase the project size
• Rely on a global scope (e.g. window) for internal settings (making it impossible to have more than one instance)
• backward compatible updates of the base package need another update for react-* package

react-aptor

We strive to solve all mentioned problems at once and for all.

Features

How to use

Connect your react app to any third party in three-step

1. Define the instantiate function
2. Define the get API function
3. Connect API to react by useAptor

1. Define the instantiate function.

import Something from 'some-third-party';

export default function instantiate(node, params) {
  return new Something(node, params);
}

This function will return an instance of the third-party package. You have access to node (DOM-node*) and params.

The node is passed by react-aptor as a reference to DOM that is occasionally used as a wrapper for embedding UI.
The DOM-node* will become more clear in the third step.

The params are optional parameters that are passed by react-aptor and define by you. see the third step.
The params will be passed by you and will be more clear in third step.

name this file construct.js as convention ✨.

2. Define the get API function.

export default function getAPI(instance, params) {
  // return corresponding API Object
  return () => ({
    api_key: () => {
      /* api definition using instance and params */
      console.log(instance);
    },
  });
}

The react-aptor will pass the latest instance of your third-party which has been defined in the first step by instantiate function along with params to getAPI function.

The instance is returned instance of your third-party.
Technically it is exactly going to be instantiate(node, params)

The params are optional parameters that are passed by react-aptor and define by you. see the third step.
The params will be passed by you and will be more clear in third step.

name this file api.js as convention ✨.

3. Connect API to react by useAptor

import useAptor from 'react-aptor';
import getAPI from './api';
import instantiate from './construct';

const Connector = (props, ref) => {
  const aptorRef = useAptor(ref, {
    getAPI,
    instantiate,
    /* params: anything */
  });

  return <div ref={aptorRef} />;
};

export default React.forwardRef(Connector);

name this file connector.jsx as convention ✨
If you are using react 17 or newer version, you can also name it connector.js

useAptor in one look

const aptorRef = useAptor(ref, configuration, deps);

ref
For the connection phase, you need to define a forwardRef component. The useAptor hook needs forwarded-ref as the first argument, this is necessary to bind all your defined api to this ref.

configuration
As the configuration argument you need to pass defined instantiate (defined in the first step ☝️), getAPI (defined in the second step ☝️) and your custom params argument. The useAptor hook will return you a ref (aptorRef) which you can bind to your DOM node.

The params doesn't have any limitation, it can be any arbitrary type e.g. undefined, number, string or an object containing all of them. The params will be then passed to your instantiate and getAPI function, as you saw in the first and second steps.
Params is the best place to connect props to your low-level api it means ”No Need” for extra function generation ?

deps
Is the same as Dependencies array default value is [] but you can override it as the third and lat argument of useAptor. It maybe needed in situation which you want to force re-instantiate by some prop change. It will use shallow comparison (as react do) for deps array and will call your instantiate & getApI in a row.

API usage

const Main = () => {
  const ref = createRef();

  const apiKeyHandler = () => {
    if (ref.current) {
      ref.current.api_key();
    }
  };

  return (
    <div>
      <Connector ref={ref} />
      <Button onClick={apiKeyHandler}>api call</Button>
    </div>
  );
};

Pass createRef to the Connector component (made in the third step), and then you can access all of the APIs inside ref.current

? Using of optional chaining

function call can be much more readable with optional chaining & related babel plugin

const apiKeyHandler = () => ref.current?.api_key();

? Better naming

In case you need ref.current more than one time, it is a good idea to rename it at the first place

const apiKeyHandler = () => {
  const { current: api } = ref; // store ref.current in `api`
  if (api) {
    api.api_key();
  }
};

? Can I remove if check in handlers

Cause the default value for ref can be undefined (in createRef) and null (in useRef) Typescript will complain about possibility for not-existence of apis. see more.
In normal world react will bind your API to given ref after the Connector mount

If you're using ref in useEffect or somewhere which is guaranteed to have the ref bounded to values, you can return proxy object in your getAPI function to bind all api functions simultaneously.

export default function getAPI(thirdParty, params) {
  if (!thirdParty)
    return () =>
      new Proxy(
        {},
        {
          get: (_, prop) => {
            // Possible to mock differently for different props
            return noop;
          },
        }
      );

  return () => ({
    api_key() {
      // third-party is defined here for sure :)
      console.log(thirdParty);
    },
  });
}

? Micro api instructions

You can access all of you apis via this keyword

export default function getAPI(sound, params) {
  return () => ({
    _state() {
      return sound.getState();
    },

    play() {
      if (this._state() === 'LOADED') sound.play();
    },
  });
}

It's better to start name of this internal functions with _

? The this problem in API object

In a case you see this keyword usage in third-party API
you must specifying this something other than returned API object.
The following examples is for howler integration using react-aptor:

{
  // ❌ It doesn't work
  state: howler.state,

  // ? this is Okay
  state: howler.state.bind(howler),
  // ? this is also Okay
  state: () => howler.state(),
  // ? this is also Okay, too
  state() {
    return howler.state();
  }
}

? How to get API-Object type

You can use something like the follwing:

export type APITypes = ReturnType<ReturnType<typeof getAPI>>;

? How to make a custom react integeration packge using react-aptor

1. Name you packge raptor-something :)
2. Use minimum possible configuration for your api
3. Interact to props change in your component using useEffect and proper deps array
4. Bind another ref to you Connector using fork-ref idea, for other possible usage

See all in action in raptor-howler-example

core

ref required

The react useRef or createRef ref instance which has been passed throw react.forwardRef method.
your api will be stored in this ref.

configuration required

• instantiate required

  function(node, params): Instance

  A function that receives probable bounded-node and params. It then returns an instance of your third-party.

• destroy

  function(previousInstance, params): void

  A function that receives previous created instance and params. It is useful when you want to perform the cleanup before new instance creation. e.g. remove event listeners, free up allocated memories, destroy internally & etc

• getAPI required

  function(Instance, params): ApiObject

  A function which receives instance of you third-party and params. It then returns a key-value pair object for api handlers.

• params any

  Params can have any arbitrary type and can be used with props or pre-defined options.

deps []

React dependencies array for re-instantiating your third-party-packages. It will call instantiate with latest node, params when ever shallow comparison for with the previous deps array finds inequality.