Getting Started with useState: Simplify State Management in React Native

When I started building some apps in React if someone came and asked me what is a useState in react I would tell them with an example that it's a hook that helps us to update the background color by clicking a button or similar to that or say the example as the counter app.

What is a hook?

A hook is a unique type of function in React Native that enables functional components to update the state of react component or use other useful features in your functional components. Hooks were added to React in version 16.8 to streamline state management and offer a more user-friendly API for interacting with components.

React Native comes with a number of built-in hooks, such as useState, useEffect, useContext, useReducer, and useCallback, among others. Functional components may carry out activities including maintaining state, dealing with side effects, and ingesting context data thanks to each hook's specialized function.

By encapsulating logic that was previously dispersed among several lifecycle methods or higher-order components via hooks, developers are able to design more modular and reusable code.

What is useState?

In React, useState is a hook that allows functional components to manage state. The state is a way to store data in a component that can be updated and used to re-render the component when necessary. we can initialize like below

  const [count, setCount] = useState(0);

This line of code sets the default value of 0 for the state variable count. Also, it creates the setCount function, which may be used to modify the count variable.

React Native has a built-in method called useState hook that enables you to control state in functional components. UseState provides an array with two values when you call it: the count value for the current state, as is the case here, and a method to update that number (in this case, setCount).

To modify the count value as necessary, use setCount. React Native will re-render your component with the updated count when you use setCount. This makes it simple to design responsive and dynamic user interfaces.

let me give you an example of how we use useState in a react native app

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { View, Text, Button } from 'react-native';

const Counter = () => {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0);

  const incrementCount = () => {
    setCount(count + 1);
  };

  return (
    <View>
      <Text>{count}</Text>
      <Button title="Increment" onPress={incrementCount} />
    </View>
  );
};

export default Counter;

In this example, we build a counter component that shows a number and a button. We construct a state variable named count and initialise it to 0 using useState. Also, we add a method called incrementCount that calls setCount with the new value of count + 1 to update count.

The incrementCount method is invoked when the user clicks the button, updating the count state variable and causing the component to be shown again. The Text component then shows the revised count value.

We can handle state in functional components by utilising useState, which makes them more adaptable and simple to develop and maintain.

In conclusion, React Native's useState hook is a crucial tool for controlling state in functional components. Without the need of complex state management libraries or class components, it lets you design dynamic and responsive user interfaces.

You can make your code simpler, your app run better, and you can make reusable components that are simpler to manage by utilising useState. UseState is a robust and adaptable tool that may aid in the development of better apps, regardless of your level of React Native knowledge.

Therefore don't be afraid to give useState a go if you're wanting to handle state in your React Native components. Building fantastic apps is simple to get started with thanks to its user-friendly API.