Blazor Component Best Practices

In Blazor, components are fundamental building blocks of a Blazor application, and they can be nested or composed to build complex UIs. When dealing with loading and refreshing components from other components, there are several best practices to follow to ensure a smooth user experience and maintainability.

1. Use Component Parameters and Data Binding

• Pass data between parent and child components via parameters ([Parameter] attribute) and handle changes efficiently.
• Use two-way data binding (@bind) to reflect changes in both the parent and child components.

Example:

<!-- Parent Component -->
<ChildComponent Value="parentValue" ValueChanged="@OnValueChanged"></ChildComponent>

@code {
    private string parentValue;

    private void OnValueChanged(string newValue)
    {
        parentValue = newValue;
        // Handle other logic when the value changes
    }
}

In the child component:

@code {
    [Parameter] public string Value { get; set; }
    [Parameter] public EventCallback<string> ValueChanged { get; set; }

    private void UpdateValue(string newValue)
    {
        ValueChanged.InvokeAsync(newValue);
    }
}

2. Component Re-rendering with StateHasChanged()

• Blazor automatically re-renders components when their parameters change or the underlying data changes. However, if you manually update data in a non-UI event (like in a service or background task), you may need to trigger a re-render with StateHasChanged().
• Call StateHasChanged() to force the UI to refresh when data updates are not automatically reflected.

Example:

@code {
    private async Task RefreshData()
    {
        // Fetch new data
        StateHasChanged();  // Triggers re-render
    }
}

3. Event Callbacks to Notify Parent Components

• Use EventCallback to notify a parent component when a child component’s state changes. This allows the parent component to react to updates and potentially refresh itself or other sibling components.

Example:

@code {
    [Parameter] public EventCallback OnChildStateChanged { get; set; }

    private void NotifyParent()
    {
        OnChildStateChanged.InvokeAsync();
    }
}

4. ShouldRender() for Optimized Rendering

• Override the ShouldRender() method in your components to optimize performance. This method determines whether Blazor should re-render the component. If you know the component does not need to be re-rendered, return false to avoid unnecessary UI updates.

Example:

protected override bool ShouldRender()
{
    // Only re-render if specific conditions are met
    return someCondition;
}

5. Use Dependency Injection for Shared Data

• Use Blazor’s built-in dependency injection (DI) to manage shared state or services. This is particularly useful for loading data that multiple components need to access or when triggering refreshes across components.

Example:

@inject MyDataService DataService

@code {
    private List<Data> dataList;

    protected override async Task OnInitializedAsync()
    {
        dataList = await DataService.GetDataAsync();
    }
}

6. InvokeAsync for State Updates from Non-UI Threads

• If you’re updating component state from a background thread (such as from an async method or service), use InvokeAsync() to ensure state changes are marshaled onto the UI thread before calling StateHasChanged().

Example:

@code {
    private async Task UpdateDataAsync()
    {
        await InvokeAsync(() =>
        {
            // Update state and re-render
            StateHasChanged();
        });
    }
}

7. Use CascadingParameter for Global State

• If multiple components need access to the same state, consider using cascading parameters. This allows state to be shared across components without explicitly passing it as a parameter to each.

Example:

<CascadingValue Value="sharedData">
    <ChildComponent></ChildComponent>
</CascadingValue>

@code {
    private string sharedData = "Shared Value";
}

In the child component:

@code {
    [CascadingParameter] public string SharedData { get; set; }
}

8. Trigger Refresh with OnParametersSetAsync

• If a component needs to refresh or reload its data when its parameters change, override the OnParametersSetAsync() method. This method is called when parameters are set or updated, so it’s a good place to trigger a reload.

Example:

protected override async Task OnParametersSetAsync()
{
    await LoadData();
}

9. Handle Asynchronous Data Loading

• When loading data asynchronously, use lifecycle methods like OnInitializedAsync() and OnParametersSetAsync() to fetch data. Consider displaying loading indicators while data is being retrieved to improve the user experience.

Example:

@if (dataList == null)
{
    <p>Loading...</p>
}
else
{
    <ul>
        @foreach (var data in dataList)
        {
            <li>@data.Name</li>
        }
    </ul>
}

@code {
    private List<Data> dataList;

    protected override async Task OnInitializedAsync()
    {
        dataList = await DataService.GetDataAsync();
    }
}

10. Use RenderFragment for Component Composition

• Use RenderFragment to compose and inject content into child components. This allows for greater flexibility and reusability of components by enabling them to accept arbitrary content.

Example:

<!-- Parent Component -->
<ChildComponent>
    <h3>Injected Content</h3>
</ChildComponent>

<!-- Child Component -->
@code {
    [Parameter] public RenderFragment ChildContent { get; set; }
}

<div>
    @ChildContent
</div>

Summary of Best Practices:

• Use parameters and event callbacks for data flow between components.
• Optimize rendering by using StateHasChanged() and ShouldRender().
• Utilize DI and cascading parameters for shared state management.
• Leverage Blazor lifecycle methods (OnInitializedAsync, OnParametersSetAsync).
• Handle background state changes with InvokeAsync() to update the UI thread.