Handling Events With React

In this article, we’ll look at how to create an outside focus and click handler with React. You’ll learn how to recreate an open-source React component (react-foco) from scratch in doing so.

In this React tutorial, we will get to know event handlers in React for HTML elements such as button and input elements. You will learn how to use a button with its onClick event and how to define and use different kinds of event handlers. Essentially we will go through three kinds of event handlers: event handlers, inline event handlers and callback event handlers.

There is no onHover event handler in React. Instead, we have the onMouseDown, onMouseLeave, and onMouseEnter events to perform onHover actions in React.

There are several ways to call multiple onClick events in React, each with its own pros and cons. Let’s explore each one and learn how they work in React!

The onChange event in React detects when the value of an input element changes. Let’s dive into some common examples of how to use onChange in React.

What are event handlers, and why are they important? Event handlers make a website’s user experience a two-way street. You’re not just presented with nicely styled content… you can actually click, type, scroll it!

In React, the onClick handler allows you to call a function and perform an action when an element is clicked. onClick is the cornerstone of any React app.

An outside click is a way to know if the user clicks everything BUT a specific component. You may have seen this behavior when opening a dropdown menu or a dropdown list and clicking outside of it to close it.

React is a great library. It simplifies our work. We don't write all mutations ourselves, we describe result in render functions. Sometimes we have to render huge lists or optimize our code. In those case, we usually use PureComponent and memo. But, if we don't use callbacks correctly we can lose all profit from PureComponent. So, how to deal with callbacks and event listeners in React?

We have this Switch component that accepts a prop, let’s call it something for now.

In my efforts to understand React's event system and how it relates to real browser events (so I can fire real browser events to call event handlers), I learned a few things you may find interesting :)

React comes with a full event API. It's great. No more addEventListener, no more memory leaks. But there's one bit that's hard 👉`this`

Based on a recent pull request in the React repo (https://github.com/facebook/react/pull/7616) it was suggested that we chat about how events in React work. Ben and Dan were eager to have this conversation with me :)