A Simple Redux Toolkit Tutorial

In the realm of React Native app development, managing application state, especially in
intricate projects, can become a labyrinthine maze. Redux Toolkit (RTK) emerges as a valiant
knight, offering a streamlined approach to state management within Redux. This tutorial equips
you with the knowledge and code examples to confidently leverage RTK for state control in your
complex React Native applications.

WhyRedux Toolkit? A Boon for Developers

Redux Toolkit streamlines Redux development by providing pre-built functions that simplify
common tasks. Let’s delve into the key benefits RTK offers

• ReducedBoilerplate: RTK functions like createSlice eliminate the need for writing repetitive boilerplate code for slices, reducers, and actions. This translates to a more concise and maintainable codebase.
• EnhancedType Safety: Type safety is crucial for catching errors early on. RTK, often used with TypeScript, ensures robust type checks throughout your Redux code, improving code quality and preventing runtime issues.
• Simplified Asynchronous Operations: Asynchronous operations like API calls are frequently encountered in React Native apps. RTK’s createAsyncThunk simplifies the creation of Redux thunks, making handling asynchronous actions within the Redux dispatch flow a breeze.

Fundamental Components of RTK

Before we embark on the coding journey, let’s establish a solid foundation in the core building
blocks of RTK:

• Slices: A conceptual unit in Redux that encapsulates a piece of application state, its reducers, and actions. RTK’s createSlice simplifies slice creation.
• Reducers: Pure functions that take the current state and an action object as arguments. Their responsibility is to return the updated state based on the action’s type and payload.
• Actions: Plain JavaScript objects that describe the intention of a state change. They typically contain a type property and an optional payload for data updates.
• Thunks: Action creators that return a function instead of just an action object. Thunks allow for asynchronous operations like API calls within the Redux dispatch flow.

Implementing RTK in a React Native App: A Step-by-Step Guide

Let’s create a basic React Native application to manage a shopping list using RTK. We’ll focus
on adding and removing items from the list. Here’s a breakdown of the steps

1. Project Setup
   • Create a new React Native project using npx react-native init shopping-list-app.
   • Install the required libraries: npm install @reduxjs/toolkit react-redux
2. Creating the Redux Store:
   • Create a store.js file to set up the Redux store using RTK’s configureStore

import{configureStore}from'@reduxjs/toolkit';
importshoppingListReducerfrom'./shoppingListSlice';//Import
theslicereducerwe'llcreate

 conststore=configureStore({
     reducer:{
          shoppingList:shoppingListReducer,//Registertheshopping
 listsliceinthestore
     },
 });

 exportdefaultstore;

3.DefiningtheShoppingListSlice:
CreateashoppingListSlice.jsfiletodefinetheshoppinglistslice:

import{createSlice}from'@reduxjs/toolkit';

constinitialState={
       items:[],//Initialstate:anemptyshoppinglist
};

constshoppingListSlice=createSlice({
     name:'shoppingList',
     initialState,
     reducers:{
           addItem(state,action){
                  state.items.push(action.payload);//Addthenewitemto
thelist
           },
           removeItem(state,action){
                constitemId=action.payload;
                state.items=state.items.filter((item)=>item.id!==
itemId);  //RemovetheitembyID
          },
     },
});

exportconst{addItem,removeItem}=shoppingListSlice.actions;
exportdefaultshoppingListSlice.reducer;

• WeutilizecreateSlicetodefinetheslice, includingtheinitialstate,reducers,andaction creators.
• Reducershandlestateupdatesforaddingandremovingitemsfromthelist.

4.CreatingtheShoppingListComponent:
CreateaShoppingList.jscomponent filetodisplayandmanagetheshoppinglist: