An Overview Of FLUX Architecture

 

Flux Architecture is a pattern for managing unidirectional data flow in React applications. It was introduced by Facebook to handle complex state management efficiently. Flux emphasizes a clear separation of concerns and predictable state changes, making it easier to manage the application state as the app grows in complexity.

Key Concepts of Flux Architecture

1. Action:
   
   
• Actions are payloads of information that send data from your application to the store. They are triggered by user interactions or other events (like an API call).
  
  
• Actions are simple JavaScript objects with two properties: type (describing the action) and payload (containing relevant data).

Example:

{

  type: 'ADD_ITEM',

  payload: { id: 1, name: 'Item 1' }

}

2. Dispatcher:
   
   
• The dispatcher is a central hub that manages all actions and coordinates updates to the stores.
  
  
• It acts as a mechanism to dispatch the action to the appropriate store(s) by registering callbacks.

In essence, when an action is created, it goes through the dispatcher to the stores.

3. Store:
   
   
• Stores hold the state of the application. Each store is responsible for a particular domain of the app (e.g., a UserStore, ProductStore).
  
  
• When a store receives an action, it updates its state accordingly and then notifies the views (React components) of the change.
  
  
• Stores have no direct communication with each other; they only respond to the dispatcher.
  
  
4. View (React Component):
   
   
• Views are React components that listen to changes in the store and re-render when the state changes.
  
  
• They fetch the current state from the store, which drives the UI.
  
  
• User interactions in the view trigger actions, creating a loop.
  
  

Flux Unidirectional Data Flow

The key principle in Flux is unidirectional data flow, which ensures data moves in a single direction, simplifying state management:

1. Action: User interaction or a system event triggers an action.
   
   
2. Dispatcher: The dispatcher forwards the action to the store.
   
   
3. Store: The store processes the action, updates its state, and emits a change event.
   
   
4. View: The view re-renders in response to the state change and the cycle continues.
   
   

Flux Data Flow Overview

1. A user interacts with the View: This can be a button click or form submission.
   
   
2. An Action is created: The View creates an Action and sends it to the Dispatcher.
   
   
3. Dispatcher sends the Action to the Store: The Dispatcher passes the Action to all registered Stores.
   
   
4. Store updates and emits a change: The Store processes the action, updates its internal state, and emits a change event.
   
   

View re-renders based on updated state: The View listens to the Store's change event and fetches the updated state to reflect it in the UI.