Context API
Imagine you have a theme (light or dark) that many components in your app need to know about. Passing the theme down through props at every level becomes tedious this is called "prop drilling". React's Context API solves this elegantly by allowing you to share data across the component tree without passing props manually.
What is Context API?
The Context API is a React feature that provides a way to share values (like themes, user authentication, language preferences) between components without having to explicitly pass a prop through every level of the tree.
Think of Context as a global variable for a specific branch of your component tree. Any component inside the Provider can access the context data directly.
When to Use Context
- When you have data that many components at different nesting levels need (e.g., theme, user info, language).
- To avoid prop drilling passing props through components that don't need them.
- For global state management in small to medium apps (for larger apps, consider Redux or Zustand).
Context API vs Prop Drilling
| Prop Drilling | Context API |
|---|---|
| Pass data through every intermediate component | Data available directly to any component that needs it |
| Harder to maintain as app grows | Cleaner code, easier to manage global state |
Basic Steps to Use Context
- Create a context using `React.createContext()`.
- Wrap the component tree with a `
` and pass a `value`. - Consume the context in any child component using `useContext(Context)` or `
`.
Two Minute Drill
- Context API provides a way to share data across the component tree without prop drilling.
- Use it for global data like theme, user authentication, language preferences.
- It consists of three main parts: `createContext`, `Provider`, and `Consumer` (or `useContext` hook).
- Context is ideal for small to medium apps; for complex state, consider dedicated state management libraries.
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