Managing React State with Zustand

Introduction

React state management is a mechanism to manage application state. It provides a simple, efficient way to pass data between components. React provides a built-in hook called useState for state management, but while using useState might look like an easy solution, it gets extremely complicated and challenging when you have to drill through your component’s hierarchy. The most common way is using Redux, which is not very flexible. That's where alternative tools like Zustand come in handy.

This article will explore how to manage React state with Zustand and build a simple counter application to demonstrate its usage.

What is Zustand?

Zustand is a simple, lightweight state management library that helps maintain your application's states and transitions. It allows you to define and use global and local states with minimal boilerplate code.

Zustand uses a store to hold the application state, and this store can be accessed by any component that needs to read or update the state.

The goal of Zustand is to make it simple for you to create transitions between states, without worrying about state synchronization or dealing with complex conditions.

Features of Zustand

1. Simple and intuitive API: Zustand was built with simplicity in mind. It provides a simple and intuitive API that allows you to move state around your application, keeping it as clean as possible.

2. Lightweight: Zustand is a great choice for performance-sensitive applications. It's only 1.8 KB when gzipped, making it ideal for use in low-memory environments.

3. Performance optimizations: Zustand uses some performance optimizations like memoization, only updates components that depend on the changed state, and minimizes unnecessary re-renders.

4. DevTools: Zustand provides a devtool option that allows developers to inspect and monitor their applications during development, see how those changes affect other parts of their app, and debug problems in real-time.

Getting started with Zustand

To get started with Zustand, you first need to install it in your React project using npm or yarn. You can do this by running the following command in your terminal:

OR

Once Zustand is installed, the next step is to create a store. This store is created using the create function provided by Zustand. The create function takes an object that defines the initial state of the store, as well as any actions that can be used to update the state. Creating a store is simple and requires only the code below:

In this instance, we created a store using the create function from Zustand. The store contains a state named "count" and two functions to increase or decrease its value. The functions use the set function, which is passed as an argument to the create function, to update the count value.

Once the store has been created, it can be accessed by any component that needs to read or update the state. Here's an example of how to use the useCounter hook to access the store:

In this example, we use the useCounter hook to access the count, increment, and decrement properties of the store. We then use them to display the count and handle the click events on the buttons.

Zustand and Redux

Zustand and Redux are both popular state management libraries for React applications, While they may share some similarities, there are also several differences between the two.

1. Size and Complexity: Zustand is a much smaller library than Redux, weighing in at just around 1KB gzipped. This makes it easier to learn and use. While Redux is a larger library with complex API and features.

2. API: Zustand is based on a simple structure, where state is managed within a single store that is created using the create function, which takes in a state object and returns a store object that contains the state and some functions. Redux, on the other hand, is based on a more complex architecture that includes actions, reducers, and a store.

3. Simplicity: Zustand API makes it easier to use and reduces the amount of boilerplate code required to manage state. While Redux API is more complex and requires more setup.

4. Features: Zustand provide middleware, selectors, and devtool that make it easier to manage your state and debug your application.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Zustand is a powerful state management library for React. With its ease of use and flexibility, It is becoming a popular choice among developers. Zustand is a great option for anyone looking for a straightforward and effective solution for state management in their React projects.