use-models

advanced form model hooks for your functional react components. build huge, complex forms with validation using minimal boilerplate code.

Install

npm install --save use-models

Features

• form helpers input, checkbox, and radio which wire up your form elements to state with path syntax, eg book.author.firstname. nesting supported for objects(and possibly arrays)
• form validation supporting built in validators, custom validators, async validators, and ability to extend built in validators for usage across project.
• simple state object representing your forms state, and an errors object which displays when a field has an error. state properties are mirrored on the errors object.
• ability to hydrate state using the hydrate function, useful for syncing from api or from localstorage, or whatever you need.
• ability to watch fields for changes with watch helper method, which receives oldValue and newValue as arguments.
• submit and error functions that create handlers for your form's onSubmit and onError events. submit receives a copy of state and errors receives a list of form errors.
• no dependencies (other than react ofc)
• highly configurable/composable.
• plugin friendly, offering plenty of ways to "hook" into the library for custom functionality.

Tutorial

this tutorial will teach you the concepts of how to use the features to build your application

1. setting up your state with useModels and wiring up an input to the state with input helper.

import React from 'react';
import useModels from 'use-models';

export default function Example() {

    // here you can see that useModels is called with an object defining our state(and optionally validation, which will be shown in a later step)
    const { 
        input, // input ( path, type='text' )
        checkbox, // checkbox( path, trueValue=true, falseValue=false )
        radio // radio( path, value )
    } = useModels({
        email_address: '',
        password:'',
        remember_me: false,
        newsletter_signup: 'no'
    });

    // this is example shows a login form
    return (
        <div className="example">
            <form>
            <div className="form-group">
                <label>Email</label>
                <input {...input('email_address','email')} />
            </div>
            <div className="form-group">
                <label>Password</label>
                <input {...input('password','password')} />
            </div>
            <div className="form-group-check">
                <input {...checkbox('remember')} /> <label>Remember me</label>
            </div>
            <div className="form-group with-nested">
                <label>Sign up for newsletter?</label>
                <div className="form-group-check">
                    <input {...radio('newsletter','yes')} /> <label>Yes, Sign me up!</label>
                </div>
                <div className="form-group-check">
                    <input {...radio('newsletter','no')} /> <label>No thanks</label>
                </div>
            </div>
            <button type="submit">Login</button>
            </form>
        </div>
    );

}

2. adding validation

importing the model helper:

import React from 'react';
import useModels,{model} from 'use-models';//we can add the model helper for ease in defining our models. this is optional, as options can be defined as a plain object as well

using model helper:

const { 
    input, // input ( path, type='text' )
    checkbox, // checkbox( path, trueValue=true, falseValue=false )
    radio // radio( path, value )
} = useModels({
    email_address: model('','email') // here we are declaring a field with default value of "" and a named validator called "email" which validates an email address.
});

using a plain object:

const { 
    input, // input ( path, type='text' )
    checkbox, // checkbox( path, trueValue=true, falseValue=false )
    radio // radio( path, value )
} = useModels({
    email_address: { value: '', validate:['email'] } // equivalent to model('','email');
});

custom validator functions:

const { 
    input, // input ( path, type='text' )
    checkbox, // checkbox( path, trueValue=true, falseValue=false )
    radio // radio( path, value )
} = useModels({
    username: model('',value=>{
        // we are passing a custom validator
        // you should return a string or Error( Custom error classes and Error Like objects are ok too) for failing validation, else return a falsy value or nothing at all
        // you can also return a promise for async validation, which will be shown in next example
        if(value.length<5){
            return 'Username must be atleast 5 characters in length. Choose a longer name';// you can return a string error message
        }
        if(value.length>30){
            return new Error('Username cannot be longer than 30 characters in length. Choose a shorter name.');//showing returning an Error object
        }

    })
}); 

async validator example:

export default function Example() {
    const { 
        input, // input ( path, type='text' )
        checkbox, // checkbox( path, trueValue=true, falseValue=false )
        radio // radio( path, value )
    } = useModels({
        username: model('',async value=>{
            return await new Promise((resolve,reject)=>{
                setTimeout(()=>{
                    reject(new Error('that username is taken. try a different name'))
                },200);
            });
        })// simulating a network call to check if the username is available.
    });

    ...

}

extending validators for shared re-use across your project:

import useModels,{model,extendValidators} from 'use-models';

extendValidators('myCustomValidator',value=>{
    // your validation logic here
});

function Example() {
    const { 
        input, // input ( path, type='text' )
        checkbox, // checkbox( path, trueValue=true, falseValue=false )
        radio // radio( path, value )
    } = useModels({
        username: model('','myCustomValidator')// tell useModels() to use `myCustomValidator` for this field
    });

    ...

}

you can use as many validator functions as you want. the additional arguments to model() will accumulate:

model('','email','myCustomValidator',value=>{}) // equivalent to { value:'', validate:['email','myCustomValidator', value=>{} ] }

3. handling form submit and form submit error

export default function Example() {
    const { submit, error } = useModels({
        foo:''
    });

    const onSubmit = submit(state=>{
        //the form has been submitted and there are no errors. the full state object is available here(though it is also returned from `useModels()` as well)
    });

    const onError = error((errors,state)=>{
        //the form was submitted, but there is an error. 
        // NOTE: the arguments to this function may change, but currently the error and state objects are what is received.
    });

    return <form onSubmit={onSubmit} onError={onError}> ... </form>  
}

4. displaying form errors by reading error object

The state object is mirrored 1:1 to the errors object. all values in the errors object will be false, unless the field has an error. for example, if you have a field called username, you can check if there is an error in the field by reading errors.username, as shown below:

export default function Example() {
    const { input, submit, error, state, errors } = useModels({
        username: model('','not_empty')
    });

    const onSubmit = submit(()=>{});
    const onError = error(()=>{});

    return (
        <form onSubmit={onSubmit} onError={onError}>
            <label>Choose Username</label>
            <input {...input('username')} />
            { errors.username && <p className="input-error">{errors.username}</p> }
            <button type="submit">Submit</button>
        </form>
    )
}

5. executing code when the value of a field changes using the watch() api

export default function Example() {
    const { input, watch } = useModels({
        username: model('','not_empty')
    });

    // you can watch a field for changes, very simply
    // the returned function can be used to deregister the watcher
    const unwatch = watch('username',(newValue,oldValue)=>{
        console.log('username changed from %s to %s',oldValue,newValue);
    });

    return (
        <form onSubmit={onSubmit} onError={onError}>
            <label>Choose Username</label>
            <input {...input('username')} />
            { errors.username && <p className="input-error">{errors.username}</p> }
            <button type="submit">Submit</button>
        </form>
    )
}

6. reading the state object

sometimes you want to read the form state and use it to render some component in your ui with the form state. you can do that with the state variable.

export default function Example() {
    const { input, state } = useModels({
        age: ''
    });

    return (
        <form>
            <div>
                <label>Please enter your age:</label>
                <input {...input('age')} />
            </div>  
            <div>
                <p><strong>You entered: </strong> {state.age} </p>
                { state.age != '' && state.age < 18 ? <p>You are not old enough to see this content</p>:<p>You are old enough to see this content</p> }
            </div>
        </form>
    );
}

7. populating the state with data using hydrate()

you will probably face a situation where you need to load some data, whether from the network or from localstorage or even a cookie. you can do so very easily using hydrate() below example shows hydrating state on componentMount, which is probably the most common use case. NOTE: in addition to hydrating the state, you can also hydrate the errors object if desired, by passing a second argument. NOTE: partial updating is supported, but only for top level keys. no diffing is done at a nested level. this behavior may change in the future.

import React,{useEffect} from 'react'
import useModels from 'use-models'

export default function Example() {

    const { hydrate, state } = useModels({
        firstname:'',
        lastname:'',
        email:''
    });

    useEffect(()=>{
        hydrate({
            firstname:'Garrett',
            lastname:'Morris',
            email:'[email protected]'
        });
    },[hydrate]);// note: if you don't pass hydrate in as a dependency to useEffect(), the linter complains. 

    console.log(state);// on second render you will see state populated with the values passed to hydrate.

    return (
        ...
    );
}

8. using get() and set() for custom input methods or for other state features, like a loading indicator

import React from 'react'
import useModels from 'use-models'

function registerUser( name ) {
    ...
}

export default function Example() {

    const { state, input, get, set, submit } = useModels({
        loading: false,
        name:'',
        user_type:'user',
        submit_error:null
    });

    const onSubmit = submit(()=>{
        set('loading',true);
        registerUser(state.name).then(()=>{
            set('loading',false);
            set('submit_error',null);
        })
        .catch(err=>{
            console.log('err',err);
            set('loading',false);
            set('submit_error',err.message);
        })
    })

    return (
        state.loading ? <div>'Loading...'</div> : (
            <form onSubmit={onSubmit}>
                { state.submit_error && <p className="alert">Form Error: {state.submit_error} </p> }
                <h1>Register Account</h1>
                <div className="form-group">
                    <label>Your Name</label>
                    <input {...input('name')} />
                </div>
                <div className="user-type-select">
                    <div className={"user-type-option"+(state.user_type==='user'?' selected':'')} onClick={e=>set('user_type','user')}>
                        Normal User
                    </div>
                    <div className={"user-type-option"+(state.user_type==='admin'?' selected':'')} onClick={e=>set('user_type','admin')}>
                        Admin User
                    </div>
                </div>
                <button type="submit">Create User</button>
            </form>

        )
    )

9. advanced topics: directly manipulating state and errors programatically

this feature is experimental, and you are responsible for managing the diffing of your state and error objects. failure to do so will definitely crash your ui

const { getState, setState, getErrors, setErrors } = useModels({});

// you do this at your own risk!
const state = {...getState()};
state.foo=1;
setState(state);

const errors = {...getErrors()};
setErrors(errors);

API

main export:

useModels( Object options={} )

initializes the state of the component, returning helper functions for use in your component. NOTE: must be called from within a functional component.

arguments

• options - declare your default state with options for each field. example syntax { name:'' } or { name: { value:'', validators:[] }}. you can also use the model helper like so { name: model(defaultValue,...validationFunctions)} as a shorthand for declaring the value and validators for the field.

returns

• An object with helper functions { input, checkbox, radio, submit, error, getState, getErrors, setState, setErrors, errors, state, watch, hydrate }

other exports:

model( String name, Array<Function|String> ...validate ) - a helper for use in defining options for fields on useModels. returns an object with shape { value, validate:[] }

extendValidators( String name, Function validator ) - adds a named validator to the built in validators, for purpose of reusing throughout your project.

helpers (returned from useModels()):

• hydrate( Object state[, Object errors] ) - allows you to hydrate your state with the data of your choice. you can optionally hydrate the errors as well.
• state - this is the state object. you can use it to read/display data from the state for whatever reason you wish. (see examples)
• errors - this is the errors object. you can use it to read data from the errors and display the error messages. (see examples)
• watch( String name, Function callback( Any newValue, Any oldValue ) ) - allows you to assign a watcher to a state field and be notified when its value changes.
  • name - the path of the model to watch. nesting is supported
  • callback - the callback function to execute when the model changes. it will receive newValue and oldValue as arguments.
• input( String name, String type='text' ) - for use with input, select, textarea and other components. returns props for use on inputs.
  • name - the path of the model. nesting is supported. examples of valid paths: firstname or book.author.firstname or post.comments.0.text.
  • type - the type attribute for the input. defaults to text
• checkbox( String name,Any truevalue=true,Any falsevalue=false ) - to be used for checkbox components, whether native or custom. returns props for use on inputs.
  • name - see description under input
  • truevalue - the value for the field if checkbox is checked. defaults to true
  • falsevalue - the value for the field if checkbox is unchecked. defaults to false
• radio( String name, Any value=null ) - for use with radio components, whether native or custom. value is the value to assign to the state if the radio is checked. returns props for use on inputs.
  • name - see description under input
  • value - the value of the field if the checkbox is checked.
• get( String name ) - can be used to read the value of a given model.
• set( String name, Any value, Boolean validate=true, Boolean watchers=true ) - can be used to directly manipulate a given model.
  • name - the path of the model to update. nesting is supported.
  • value - the value to set for the model.
  • validate - whether or not to run validators on the new value. defaults to true.
  • watchers - whether or not to run watchers on the new value. defaults to true.
• submit( Function callback( state ) ) - given a callback, this method returns an onSubmit handler for your form. the passed callback will be called with the state object.
  • callback - a function to be called when the form is submitted.
• error( Function callback( errors, state) ) - given a callback, this returns an onError handler for your form. if any native validation or custom validation errors occurs, you will receive that info here.
  • callback - a function to be called when an error occurs during form submit.
• getState - retrieves the state object programatically.
• setState( Object newState ) - allows you to programatically manipulate the state object.
• getErrors - retrieves the errors object programatically.
• setErrors - allows you to programatically manipulate the errors object.

License

MIT © r3wt