Redux Toolkit: The Solution to Simplify Your Redux Code

If you're a web developer using Redux for state management, you might be familiar with how tedious and repetitive it can be to write and maintain Redux code. The boilerplate code can become a nightmare as your application grows in complexity. That's where Redux Toolkit comes to your rescue. Redux Toolkit is an opinionated, efficient, and easy-to-use way to write Redux code. It simplifies the process of writing Redux code and eliminates the need for writing boilerplate code.

Let's take an example of a to-do application. In this application, we have a list of to-do items, and the user can add, remove, or mark the items as complete. Here's how you would typically implement this functionality using plain Redux:

const ADD_TODO = 'ADD_TODO'
const REMOVE_TODO = 'REMOVE_TODO';
const TOGGLE_TODO = 'TOGGLE_TODO';

const initialState = {
? todos: [],
};

function todosReducer(state = initialState, action) {
? switch (action.type) {
? ? case ADD_TODO:
? ? ? return {
? ? ? ? ...state,
? ? ? ? todos: [...state.todos, action.payload],
? ? ? };
? ? case REMOVE_TODO:
? ? ? return {
? ? ? ? ...state,
? ? ? ? todos: state.todos.filter(todo => todo.id !== action.payload),
? ? ? };
? ? case TOGGLE_TODO:
? ? ? return {
? ? ? ? ...state,
? ? ? ? todos: state.todos.map(todo =>
? ? ? ? ? todo.id === action.payload ? { ...todo, completed: !todo.completed } : todo
? ? ? ? ),
? ? ? };
? ? default:
? ? ? return state;
? }
}

const addTodo = text => ({
? type: ADD_TODO,
? payload: {
? ? id: Date.now(),
? ? text,
? ? completed: false,
? },
});

const removeTodo = id => ({
? type: REMOVE_TODO,
? payload: id,
});

const toggleTodo = id => ({
? type: TOGGLE_TODO,
? payload: id,
});        

This code has a lot of boilerplate and is prone to errors. Now let's see how we can simplify this code using Redux Toolkit:

import { createSlice } from '@reduxjs/toolkit'

const todoSlice = createSlice({
? name: 'todos',
? initialState: [],
? reducers: {
? ? addTodo: (state, action) => {
? ? ? state.push({
? ? ? ? id: Date.now(),
? ? ? ? text: action.payload,
? ? ? ? completed: false,
? ? ? });
? ? },
? ? removeTodo: (state, action) => {
? ? ? return state.filter(todo => todo.id !== action.payload);
? ? },
? ? toggleTodo: (state, action) => {
? ? ? const todo = state.find(todo => todo.id === action.payload);
? ? ? todo.completed = !todo.completed;
? ? },
? },
});

export const { addTodo, removeTodo, toggleTodo } = todoSlice.actions;
export default todoSlice.reducer;        

This code is much simpler and easier to read. The createSlice function creates a slice of the Redux state, which includes the initial state, reducers, and actions. The reducer functions are simplified and the actions are created automatically. The state mutation is done in-place, and the function returns nothing. The generated actions can be dispatched directly, and the state is updated automatically.

In conclusion, Redux Toolkit is a must-have tool for any Redux developer. It simplifies your code and eliminates the need for writing boilerplate code. It saves you time and effort and makes your code more readable and maintainable. Give it a try and see the difference it can make in your code.