Internal Agent Interface

This section shows low-level agent interface. In most case createAgent() or createAdvAgent() is enough to solve all the tasks. However in case to update through area data from external non-react events that are not enough and may be achieved with this interface.

In particular, it allows:

• update the data intiated from independent event (not an component state change)

• agent may represent itself multiple agents

• agent may render some content at place wher it rendered

The second and third possibility may be achived by using more simple ways described basic chapters by wrapping generic agents into components of course. However this is another way which may be useful in some different cases.

The function throughAgent integrate into component props property with name of requred area. The property is an object wich contains the item() and items() functions. These functions accept one item or list of items in declarative manner. The item may be any react component, only its props is significant. The library exports Item and Dummy stub components for that.

import {throughAgent, Item} from 'react-through'

class MyAdvancedAgent extends React.Component {
    static propTypes = {
      areaAdvanced: PropTypes.object,
    }

    componentWillMount() {
      this.configureItems(this.props)
    }

    componentWillReceiveProps(nextProps) {
      // check this.props and nextProps differences here
      // differences = ...
      if( differences ) {
        this.configureItems(nextProps)
      }
    }

    configureItems = (props) => {
      props.areaAdvanced.item(
        <Item {...props} />
      )
      // or
      props.areaAdvanced.items(
        <div>
          <Item bearingProp='first' {...props.first} />
          <Item bearingProp='second' {...props.second} />
        </div>
      )
    }

    render() {
      return null
      // or
      return (
        <div> something here </div>
      )
    }
  }

export default throughAgent('areaAdvanced', 'bearingPropName')(MyAdvancedAgent)
// or
export default throughAgent('areaAdvanced', props => props.bearingProp)(MyAdvancedAgent)