React Custom Hook: useGeolocation
Tags: webdev, javascript, programming, react
Published: 2023-08-18 21:00:00

In this article series, we embark on a journey through the realm of custom React hooks, discovering their immense potential for elevating your development projects. Our focus today is on the "useGeolocation" hook, one of the many carefully crafted hooks available in the collection of React custom hooks.

Github: https://github.com/sergeyleschev/react-custom-hooks
```javascript
import { useState, useEffect } from "react"

export default function useGeolocation(options) {
    const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true)
    const [error, setError] = useState()
    const [data, setData] = useState({})
    useEffect(() => {
        const successHandler = e => {
            setLoading(false)
            setError(null)
            setData(e.coords)
        }
        const errorHandler = e => {
            setError(e)
            setLoading(false)
        }
        navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition(
            successHandler,
            errorHandler,
            options
        )
        const id = navigator.geolocation.watchPosition(
            successHandler,
            errorHandler,
            options
        )
        return () => navigator.geolocation.clearWatch(id)
    }, [options])
    return { loading, error, data }
}
```
The **useGeolocation** hook utilizes React's useState and useEffect hooks to manage the state of loading, errors, and geolocation data. It takes an optional "options" parameter to customize the geolocation behavior, allowing you to fine-tune the accuracy and other settings based on your specific needs.

One of the key advantages of useGeolocation is its simplicity. By encapsulating the complex logic required for geolocation access and handling, this hook provides a clean and reusable solution. The hook automatically handles the loading state, updating it when geolocation data is being fetched, and sets the error state if any issues arise during the process.

The useGeolocation hook also incorporates the watchPosition method from the Geolocation API, which enables continuous monitoring of the user's position. This can be useful in scenarios where real-time updates of the user's location are required, such as in tracking applications or interactive maps.

To use this hook, simply import useGeolocation into your component and destructure the loading, error, and data variables. The data object contains the latitude and longitude values, allowing you to display the user's location on your UI effortlessly. The loading variable informs you of the current state of geolocation retrieval, and the error variable provides any error messages, if applicable.
```javascript
import useGeolocation from "./useGeolocation"

export default function GeolocationComponent() {
    const {
        loading,
        error,
        data: { latitude, longitude },
    } = useGeolocation()
    return (
        <>
            <div>Loading: {loading.toString()}</div>
            <div>Error: {error?.message}</div>
            <div>
                {latitude} x {longitude}
            </div>
        </>
    )
}
```
The GeolocationComponent showcased above demonstrates a basic implementation of _useGeolocation_. It renders the loading state, error message (if any), and the user's latitude and longitude values. With just a few lines of code, you can seamlessly integrate geolocation functionality into your React applications.

Full Version | React Custom Hooks: 
https://dev.to/sergeyleschev/supercharge-your-react-projects-with-custom-hooks-pl4