Project Summary

In this project we will be building a site for a University to keep track of student information and class enrollment. We will be using React Router to navigate between the various views. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the provided components.

• App will be the top level component for our application.
• Home will be the home page displayed when the application first loads. It will also display the available classes.
• About will be the about page displaying information about the University.
  • History will be a nested view with the about page and will display the history of the university.
  • Contact will be a nested view with the about page and will display the University's contact information.
• ClassList will display all the enrolled students for that specific class.
• Student will be the detail view for a particular student.

Live Example

Click Me!

Setup

• fork and clone this repository.
• cd into the project.
• Run npm install.
  • One of the packages that was installed is json-server.
  • This library will mimic a REST api and allow you to make HTTP requests for the student data.
    • This data is stored in ./db.json.
  • Another package that was installed for you is concurrently.
  • This library will allow us to run multiple scripts in a single terminal window.
• Run npm start to spin up the development server AND the json-server.

Step 1

Summary

In this step, we'll be installing additional dependencies required for configuring a react router. We'll also set this package up so we can start building routes.

Instructions

• Install React Router (npm install react-router-dom).
• Open ./src/App.js.
• Import HashRouter from react-router-dom.
• Wrap the outer most div component in a HashRouter component.

Detailed Instructions

Let's begin by installing the react-router-dom package. This will allow us to use routing in a react application. We can install it by running npm install react-router-dom in our terminal.

Now let's open ./src/App.js and import HashRouter from react-router-dom at the top of the component.

import React, { Component } from "react";
import { HashRouter } from "react-router-dom";

We'll need to wrap our react application with this HashRouter component in order for routing to work.

export default class App extends Component {
  render() {
    return (
      <HashRouter>
        <div>
          <nav className="nav">
            <div>WestSide University</div>
            <div className="link-wrap">
              <div className="links">Home</div>
              <div className="links">About</div>
            </div>
          </nav>
        </div>
      </HashRouter>
    );
  }
}

Now that our application is wrapped with HashRouter, we can render our router that we will create in the next step.

Solution

./src/App.js

import React, { Component } from "react";
import { HashRouter } from "react-router-dom";

export default class App extends Component {
  render() {
    return (
      <HashRouter>
        <div>
          <nav className="nav">
            <div>WestSide University</div>
            <div className="link-wrap">
              <div className="links">Home</div>
              <div className="links">About</div>
            </div>
          </nav>
        </div>
      </HashRouter>
    );
  }
}

Step 2

Summary

Next we'll create a router for the project.

Instructions

• Create a new file in ./src called routes.js and open it.
• Configure a router in this file:
  • Use the following components as routes:
    • ./src/components/Home/Home.js
    • ./src/components/About/About.js
  • Use the following combinations of paths and components for your routes:
    • Path: "/" - Component: Home - This path should be exact.
    • Path: "/about" - Component: About.
• Open ./src/App.js.
• Import routes from ./routes.js.
• Render the routes JSX underneath the nav element.

Detailed Instructions

Now that we have our HashRouter set up, let's create a JavaScript file that will hold all of our routes. In .src/, let's make a new file called routes.js. At the top of this file we'll need to import React from react and also import Switch and Route from react-router-dom.

import React from "react";
import { Switch, Route } from "react-router-dom";

We'll also want to import the components that we want the user to be able to route to. In this case, let's import the Home and About component.

import React from "react";
import { Switch, Route } from "react-router-dom";
import Home from "./components/Home/Home";
import About from "./components/About/About";

Now that we have all of our dependencies in routes.js, we can use an export default statement to export a router. We'll need an exact route at / to load the Home component and a route at /about to load the About component.

export default (
  <Switch>
    <Route component={Home} exact path="/" />
    <Route component={About} path="/about" />
  </Switch>
);

Then finally we need to actually render our router. Open App.js and import our routes file.

import React, { Component } from "react";
import { HashRouter } from "react-router-dom";
import routes from "./routes";

Add the routes to the render method, right below the nav element. Remember that using {} allows us to escape from JSX and reference a variable

<HashRouter>
  <div>
    <nav className="nav">
      <div>WestSide University</div>
      <div className="link-wrap">
        <div className="links">Home</div>
        <div className="links">About</div>
      </div>
    </nav>
    {routes}
  </div>
</HashRouter>

Solution

./src/routes.js

import React from "react";
import { Switch, Route } from "react-router-dom";
import Home from "./components/Home/Home";
import About from "./components/About/About";

export default (
  <Switch>
    <Route component={Home} exact path="/" />
    <Route component={About} path="/about" />
  </Switch>
);

./src/App.js

import React, { Component } from "react";
import { HashRouter } from "react-router-dom";
import routes from "./routes";

export default class App extends Component {
  render() {
    return (
      <HashRouter>
        <div>
          <nav className="nav">
            <div>WestSide University</div>
            <div className="link-wrap">
              <div className="links">Home</div>
              <div className="links">About</div>
            </div>
          </nav>
          {routes}
        </div>
      </HashRouter>
    );
  }
}

Step 3

Summary

In this step, we will be adding links to render our home and about views.

Instructions

• Open src/App.js.
• Import Link from react-router-dom.
• Locate the div elements with className of links.
  • Replace the div elements to be Link components.
  • The Home link should be sent to /.
  • The About link should be sent to /about.

Detailed Instructions

Let's begin by opening src/App.js and importing Link from react-router-dom at the top of the file. The Link component will allow us to add clickable links into the DOM so the user can navigate the application. There are two div elements with the classname of links. Let's replace the div to be Link with the same classname. The Link component uses a to prop to determine which route to navigate to. For the home route, we'll want to use /, and for the about route, we'll want to use /about.

<Link to="/" className="links">Home</Link>
<Link to="/about" className="links">About</Link>

Solution

./src/App.js

import React, { Component } from "react";
import { HashRouter, Link } from "react-router-dom";
import routes from "./routes";

export default class App extends Component {
  render() {
    return (
      <HashRouter>
        <div>
          <nav className="nav">
            <div>WestSide University</div>
            <div className="link-wrap">
              <Link to="/" className="links">
                Home
            </Link>
              <Link to="/about" className="links">
                About
            </Link>
            </div>
          </nav>
          {routes}
        </div>
      </HashRouter>
    );
  }
}

Step 4

Summary

In this step, we will be adding a new route for our ClassList component. We will also be adding Link components in the Home component to link to the ClassList route for each of the listed classes ( Math, English, and Biology ). The ClassList component will need to render students for a specific class, in order to do this we'll be using route params.

Instructions

• Open src/routes.js.
• Import the ClassList component to use as a route.
• Create a ClassList route with the following properties:
  • Path: /classlist/:class - Component: ClassList.
• Open src/Home/Home.js.
• Import Link from react-router-dom.
• Wrap each button element with a Link component.
• Each link should direct to the path /classlist with the class parameter.
  • Math 1010 - /classlist/MATH1010
  • English 2010 - /classlist/ENG2010
  • Biology 2020 - /classlist/BIO2020

Detailed Instructions

Let's begin by opening src/routes.js and importing the ClassList at the top of the file with the other imported components. For this component, we are going to make use of routing parameters. This will allow us to use a single component that can know what dataset to load by looking at the parameter. For example: the math parameter will be MATH1010, when the component loads and reads MATH1010 we can select all the students from db.json with the class of MATH1010. If that doesn't make sense entirely don't worry, we'll go into more detail in later steps.

For now let's add a new route that uses a path of /classlist/:class and uses a component of ClassList. The :class indicates a route parameter called class in the url. We'll cover how to access the route parameter in a later step.

<Route component={ClassList} path="/classlist/:class" />

Now that we have our new route setup in ./src/routes.js, let's open up ./src/components/Home/Home.js and import Link from react-router-dom at the top of the file. The Home component renders three buttons for the classes, let's update those buttons to be wrapped in a Link component. For Math, we'll want to route /classlist/MATH1010. For English, we'll want to route to /classlist/ENG2010. And for Biology, we'll want to route to /classlist/BIO2020. If you're wondering why it's specifically MATH1010, ENG2010, and BIO2020; it's so that we can map over the db.json and make a class match. A student's class property will equal one of those three strings.

render() {
  return (
    <div className="box">
      <Link to='/classlist/MATH1010'><button className='btn'>Math 1010</button></Link>
      <Link to='/classlist/ENG2010'><button className='btn'>English 2010</button></Link>
      <Link to='/classlist/BIO2020'><button className='btn'>Biology 2020</button></Link>
    </div>
  );
}

Solution

./src/routes.js

import React from "react";
import { Switch, Route } from "react-router-dom";
import Home from "./components/Home/Home";
import About from "./components/About/About";
import ClassList from "./components/ClassList/ClassList";

export default (
  <Switch>
    <Route component={Home} exact path="/" />
    <Route component={About} path="/about" />
    <Route component={ClassList} path="/classlist/:class" />
  </Switch>
);

./src/components/Home/Home.js

import React, { Component } from "react";
import { Link } from "react-router-dom";

export default class Home extends Component {
  render() {
    return (
      <div className="box">
        <Link to="/classlist/MATH1010">
          <button className="btn">Math 1010</button>
        </Link>
        <Link to="/classlist/ENG2010">
          <button className="btn">English 2010</button>
        </Link>
        <Link to="/classlist/BIO2020">
          <button className="btn">Biology 2020</button>
        </Link>
      </div>
    );
  }
}

Watch how the URL changes when navigating between pages

Step 5

Summary

In this step, we will update the ClassList component to display the students enrolled for that specific class. To get this data, we will look at what the class route parameter equals an make a HTTP request to our json-server.

Instructions

• Open src/components/ClassList/ClassList.js.
• Create a constructor method that initializes state with a property called students.
  • students should default to an empty array.
• Create a componentDidMount method that makes a HTTP request to the json-server:
  • Install axios and import it into the component.
  • The json-server API url is http://localhost:3005/students?class=.
    • Class should equal MATH1010 OR ENG2010 OR BIO2020 depending on the route parameter.
    • Hint: react-router-dom passes down a match object on a component's props.
  • Use the returned data from the API request to update the students array on state.
• Go into the render method of the component.
• map over the students and return an h3 tag of the students first and last name.
  • Remember react requires a unique key prop on mapped elements.
  • The properties are called first_name and last_name.
• Undearneath the h2 tag, render the mapped over students.
• Update the h1 tag to display the page's class name.
  • Hint: react-router-dom passes down a match object on a component's props.

Detailed Instructions

Let's begin by opening ./src/components/ClassList/ClassList.js. In the constructor method, let's initialize state to have a property called students that equals an empty array. This is where we'll store our returned data from hitting the json-server.

constructor() {
  super();

  this.state = {
    students: []
  };
}

Now that we have somewhere to store our API results, let's focus on the code to actually make the API request. First, we'll need axios. Let's use npm install --save axios to add it to our project and also import it at the top of our component. After that, let's create a componentDidMount lifecycle method. This will allow us to get our students as soon as possible.

componentDidMount() {

}

Since we are fetching data, let's make a GET request to the API url: http://localhost:3005/students?class= where class equals the current class page. react-router-dom automatically passes down a couple handy props into the routeable components. One of them is called match. It is an object with a bunch of useful information. One of the properties on match is called params. This is where we can see the value of any route parameters. Our route parameter is called class. Therefore, we can access it by using this.props.match.params.class.

That means our GET request url should look like: http://localhost:3005/students?class=${ this.props.match.params.class }. We can then capture the results of this API request and use setState to update the value of students to be the result's data.

axios
  .get(`http://localhost:3005/students?class=${this.props.match.params.class}`)
  .then(results => {
    this.setState({
      students: results.data
    });
  });

Now that we have our students coming in from our json-server, let's use a map in the render method to render each student's first and last name in a h3 element. Remember the react requires mapped elements to have a unique key property. In this case, we'll just use the index of the map.

render() {
  const students = this.state.students.map((student, i) => (
    <h3 key={ i }>{ student.first_name } { student.last_name }</h3>
  ));

  return (
    <div className='box'>
      <h1></h1>
      <h2>ClassList:</h2>

    </div>
  )
}

We can then use { } to render the h3 elements under the h2 element.

render() {
  const students = this.state.students.map((student, i) => (
    <h3 key={ i }>{ student.first_name } { student.last_name }</h3>
  ));

  return (
    <div className='box'>
      <h1></h1>
      <h2>ClassList:</h2>
      { students }
    </div>
  )
}

Lastly, we just need to update the h1 element to display the current class. Just like how we accessed the route parameter for our axios request, we can do the same thing here using { } in our JSX.

<h1>{this.props.match.params.class}</h1>

Solution

./src/components/ClassList/ClassList

import React, { Component } from "react";
import axios from "axios";

export default class ClassList extends Component {
  constructor() {
    super();

    this.state = {
      students: []
    };
  }

  componentDidMount() {
    axios
      .get(
        `http://localhost:3005/students?class=${this.props.match.params.class}`
      )
      .then(results => {
        this.setState({
          students: results.data
        });
      });
  }

  render() {
    const students = this.state.students.map((student, i) => (
      <h3 key={i}>
        {student.first_name} {student.last_name}
      </h3>
    ));

    return (
      <div className="box">
        <h1>{this.props.match.params.class}</h1>
        <h2>ClassList:</h2>
        {students}
      </div>
    );
  }
}

Step 6

Summary

In this step, we will start setting up the a student detail view in the ./src/components/Student/Student.js component. The Student component will need to render any given student, in order to this we'll be using route parameters for a student's ID.

Instructions

• Open ./src/routes.js.
• Import the Student component to use as a route.
• Create a Student route with the following properties:
  • Path: /student/:id - Component: Student.
• Open ./src/components/ClassList/ClassList.js.
• Import Link from react-router-dom.
• Wrap the h3 tag with a Link component.
• Assign the to prop for the Link component to /student/:id, where id should equal the student's ID.
  • Remember to move the unique key prop to the outer most element of the map.

Detailed Instructions

Let's begin by opening ./src/routes.js and import the Student component at the top of the file with the other components. We'll need to make a new route for this Student component that uses an id route parameter. Similarly to how we did it with the ClassList component, we can use axios to fetch a specific student on load by making a match to the id property. For example, if id equaled 1 we could fetch a student where the id equaled 1. The path for this route should be /student/:id.

<Route component={Student} path="/student/:id" />

Now that we have our Student route setup, let's open the ClassList component and import the Link component from react-router-dom. We'll need to update our map in the render method to wrap the h3 element in a Link component. In this map, we have access to all the student's properties. Therefore, if we need the id, we can access it by student.id. Let's set the to prop of the Link component to be /student/${ student.id }. We'll also need to move the key prop onto the Link component since it'll now be the most parent item.

const students = this.state.students.map((student, i) => (
  <Link to={`/student/${student.id}`} key={i}>
    <h3>
      {student.first_name} {student.last_name}
    </h3>
  </Link>
));

Solution

./src/routes.js

import React from "react";
import { Switch, Route } from "react-router-dom";
import Home from "./components/Home/Home";
import About from "./components/About/About";
import ClassList from "./components/ClassList/ClassList";
import Student from "./components/Student/Student";

export default (
  <Switch>
    <Route component={Home} exact path="/" />
    <Route component={About} path="/about" />
    <Route component={ClassList} path="/classlist/:class" />
    <Route component={Student} path="/student/:id" />
  </Switch>
);

./src/components/ClassList/ClassList.js

import React, { Component } from "react";
import { Link } from "react-router-dom";
import axios from "axios";

export default class ClassList extends Component {
  constructor() {
    super();

    this.state = {
      students: []
    };
  }

  componentDidMount() {
    axios
      .get(
        `http://localhost:3005/students?class=${this.props.match.params.class}`
      )
      .then(results => {
        this.setState({
          students: results.data
        });
      });
  }

  render() {
    const students = this.state.students.map((student, i) => (
      <Link to={`/student/${student.id}`} key={i}>
        <h3>
          {student.first_name} {student.last_name}
        </h3>
      </Link>
    ));

    return (
      <div className="box">
        <h1>{this.props.match.params.class}</h1>
        <h2>ClassList:</h2>
        {students}
      </div>
    );
  }
}

Watch how the URL changes when navigating between pages

Step 7

Summary

In this step, we'll update the Student component to display a specific student's information. To get this data, we'll look at the id route parameter and use it in combination with an axios HTTP request to our json-server.

Instructions

• Open src/components/Student/Student.js.
• Create a constructor method that initializes state with a property called studentInfo.
  • studentInfo should default to an empty object.
• Create a componentDidMount method that makes an HTTP request to the json-server:
  • Import axios into the component.
  • The json-server API url is http://localhost:3005/students/ID_GOES_HERE.
    • ID_GOES_HERE should equal the student's id.
    • Hint: react-router-dom passes down a match object on a component's props.
  • Use the returned data from the API request to update the studentInfo object on state.
• Go into the render method of the component.
• Underneath the h1 tag, display studentInfo properties off of state:
  • first_name and last_name within an h1 tag.
  • The text Grade: followed by the grade property within an h3 tag.
  • The text Email: followed by the email property within an h3 tag.

Detailed Instructions

Let's begin by opening src/components/Student/Student.js and import axios at the top of the file with the other imports. We'll need a place to store our data from hitting the API, let's update the constructor method to have a property called studentInfo that defaults to an empty object.

constructor() {
  super();

  this.state = {
    studentInfo: {}
  };
}

Now that we have somewhere to store the data, let's create a componentDidMount method. Inside this method let's use axios to make a GET request to http://localhost:3005/students/ID_GOES_HERE. Similarly to ClassList, we can access the id for the given student on the match object that react-router-dom passes into our routeable components. Therefore, our API url would look like: http://localhost:3005/students/${this.props.match.params.id}. Let's capture the results of this GET request and use the data to update the value of studentInfo on state.

componentDidMount() {
  return axios.get(`http://localhost:3005/students/${this.props.match.params.id}`).then( results => {
    this.setState({
      studentInfo: results.data
    });
  });
}

Now that we have the student data coming in, we can go into the render method and display the pieces of the student's information. Let's put the student's first_name and last_name within a h1 tag and let's put the grade and email in their own h3 tags.

render() {
  return (
    <div className='box'>
      <h1>Student:</h1>
      <h1>{this.state.studentInfo.first_name} {this.state.studentInfo.last_name}</h1>
      <h3>Grade: {this.state.studentInfo.grade}</h3>
      <h3>Email: {this.state.studentInfo.email}</h3>
    </div>
  )
}

Solution

./src/components/Student/Student.js

import React, { Component } from "react";
import axios from "axios";

export default class Student extends Component {
  constructor() {
    super();

    this.state = {
      studentInfo: {}
    };
  }

  componentDidMount() {
    return axios
      .get(`http://localhost:3005/students/${this.props.match.params.id}`)
      .then(results => {
        this.setState({
          studentInfo: results.data
        });
      });
  }

  render() {
    return (
      <div className="box">
        <h1>Student:</h1>
        <h1>
          {this.state.studentInfo.first_name} {this.state.studentInfo.last_name}
        </h1>
        <h3>Grade: {this.state.studentInfo.grade}</h3>
        <h3>Email: {this.state.studentInfo.email}</h3>
      </div>
    );
  }
}

Step 8

Summary

In this step, we'll add a sub nav bar that will link to the soon to be nested About, History, and Contact components.

Instructions

• Open src/components/About/About.js.
• Import Link from react-router-dom.
• Inside the div with the className subnav, add 3 h3 tags with the text:
  • About
  • History
  • Contact
• Wrap each h3 tag with a Link component that links the following paths:
  • About - /about
  • History - /about/history
  • Contact - /about/contact
• Give each of these Link components the className subnav_links.

Solution

./src/components/About/About.js

import React, { Component } from "react";
import { Link } from "react-router-dom";

export default class About extends Component {
  render() {
    return (
      <div>
        <div className="subnav">
          <Link to="/about" className="subnav_links">
            <h3>About</h3>
          </Link>
          <Link to="/about/history" className="subnav_links">
            <h3>History</h3>
          </Link>
          <Link to="/about/contact" className="subnav_links">
            <h3>Contact</h3>
          </Link>
        </div>
        <div className="box" />
      </div>
    );
  }
}

Step 9

Summary

In this step, we'll create a sub router that routes to the About, History, and Contact components. This step will avoid using detailed instructions to provided a little bit of challenge. Use what you've learned from the previous steps to accomplish this one. If you get stuck, you can look at the solution code.

Instructions

• Open src/components/About/About.js.
• Import Switch and Route from react-router-dom.
• Import the History and Contact components.
• Inside the div with the className box, add a Switch component.
• Add 3 routes inside the Switch component:
  • The first two should route the History and Contact components.
    • Hint: the paths for these components are the same values used in the to prop on the Link components.
  • The third route should render JSX ( instead of a component ) at the exact path of /about.
  • To render JSX instead of a component you can use a render prop that equals a function that returns JSX.
    • About JSX

      <div>
        <h1 className="title">About WestSide University:</h1>
        <p>
          Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed euismod
          eu lorem et ultricies. In porta lorem at dui semper porttitor. Nullam
          quis cursus dui. Cras tincidunt vehicula tellus eu facilisis. Donec
          nisi turpis, iaculis et arcu a, aliquet ultrices nisl. Nam in pharetra
          odio, ac blandit metus. Suspendisse potenti. Praesent elementum diam
          non orci cursus rutrum. Pellentesque condimentum ultrices dignissim.
          Sed a tempor ligula, vel luctus sapien. Mauris vehicula rutrum massa.
          Duis condimentum, ex quis ullamcorper rhoncus, erat libero tempor
          arcu, condimentum facilisis tellus lectus ut nunc. Pellentesque vitae
          faucibus diam. Vestibulum eu erat ex. Ut justo neque, varius aliquet
          erat vel, scelerisque convallis lacus. Mauris semper lorem mauris, sed
          dignissim eros consectetur nec.
        </p>
      </div>

Solution

./src/components/About/About.js

import React, { Component } from "react";
import { Switch, Route, Link } from "react-router-dom";
import History from "../History/History";
import Contact from "../Contact/Contact";

export default class About extends Component {
  render() {
    return (
      <div>
        <div className="subnav">
          <Link to="/about" className="subnav_links">
            <h3>About</h3>
          </Link>
          <Link to="/about/history" className="subnav_links">
            <h3>History</h3>
          </Link>
          <Link to="/about/contact" className="subnav_links">
            <h3>Contact</h3>
          </Link>
        </div>

        <div className="box">
          <Switch>
            <Route path="/about/history" component={History} />
            <Route path="/about/contact" component={Contact} />
            <Route
              path="/about"
              render={() => (
                <div>
                  <h1>About the University</h1>
                  <p>
                    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed
                    euismod eu lorem et ultricies. In porta lorem at dui semper
                    porttitor. Nullam quis cursus dui. Cras tincidunt vehicula
                    tellus eu facilisis. Donec nisi turpis, iaculis et arcu a,
                    aliquet ultrices nisl. Nam in pharetra odio, ac blandit
                    metus. Suspendisse potenti. Praesent elementum diam non orci
                    cursus rutrum. Pellentesque condimentum ultrices dignissim.
                    Sed a tempor ligula, vel luctus sapien. Mauris vehicula
                    rutrum massa. Duis condimentum, ex quis ullamcorper rhoncus,
                    erat libero tempor arcu, condimentum facilisis tellus lectus
                    ut nunc. Pellentesque vitae faucibus diam. Vestibulum eu
                    erat ex. Ut justo neque, varius aliquet erat vel,
                    scelerisque convallis lacus. Mauris semper lorem mauris, sed
                    dignissim eros consectetur nec.
                  </p>
                </div>
              )}
            />
          </Switch>
        </div>
      </div>
    );
  }
}

Black Diamond

Try adding a back button on the Student detail view that will route back to the ClassList view. You can also add a back button to the ClassList view that will route back to the Home view.

Resources

React Router

• React Training - React Router

Contributions

If you see a problem or a typo, please fork, make the necessary changes, and create a pull request so we can review your changes and merge them into the master repo and branch.

Copyright

© DevMountain LLC, 2017. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from DevMountain, LLC is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to DevMountain with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.