An introduction to Redux
Tags: webdev, javascript, react, redux
Published: 2023-03-24 02:02:06

A concept I was introduced to in the last phase of Flatiron was the one of state. It is a powerful tool for creating highly interactive and dynamic websites. However, I quickly learned that states becomes increasingly difficult to manage the larger my projects became. One such tool we were introduced to to help with state management but did not have time for was Redux. In this article I dive deeper into Redux and how it can push React's frontend development power even further.

React, a popular JavaScript library for building user interfaces, has emerged as a powerful solution for creating modular and efficient applications. However, managing state in large-scale applications can still be challenging. Enter Redux, a predictable state container that helps streamline state management in React applications.


Redux is an open-source JavaScript library that aims to simplify state management in web applications. The main idea behind Redux is to centralize application state, making it more predictable and easier to manage. Redux enforces strict rules regarding state manipulation, allowing developers to achieve better control and maintainability in their applications.

Redux works based on three core principles:

Single source of truth: Redux stores the entire application state in a single JavaScript object, called the "store." This centralized approach simplifies debugging and makes state management more predictable.

State is read-only: In Redux, state cannot be modified directly. Instead, state changes are made through actions, which are plain JavaScript objects describing the change to be made.

Pure reducer functions: Reducers are pure functions that specify how the application state should change in response to an action. Reducers take the current state and an action as arguments and return a new state without modifying the original state.

How Redux Works:

Redux operates through a unidirectional data flow, enabling better control over the state changes. The process consists of the following steps:

Action creation: Actions are plain JavaScript objects that describe the state change. They must have a 'type' property, and optionally, a payload containing additional data.

Dispatching actions: When an action is created, it is dispatched using the store's 'dispatch' method. This method sends the action to the reducer.

Reducer processing: The reducer processes the action and calculates the new state based on the action's type and payload. It returns the new state without modifying the original state.

Updating the store: The store updates its state with the new state returned by the reducer. The store then notifies subscribers of the state change.

React components update: React components subscribed to the store receive the updated state and re-render to reflect the changes.

React is an exciting but also daunting application to me. Learning React at Flatiron was  showed me what was possible in frontend development at the small scale. Redux has the capability to significantly expand my horizons and present the challenge of scale. While Redux may take a backseat at the moment while I finish bootcamp, I'm excited to continue learning and growing my software development skills.