React Router Tutorial

Install the create-react-app CLI

npm install -g create-react-app

Create the app with create-react-app CLI

# create with create-react-app PROJECT_NAME
create-react-app router-example
# change into the router-example directory
cd router-example

Install React Router dependancy

npm i react-router --save # install dev

Refactor App

We need to refactor how the application serves components

Create a Root.js file in /src

import React, { Component } from 'react'
import { Link } from 'react-router'
import { Home } from '../../Containers'

export default class Root extends Component {
  render() {
    return (
      <div>
        {this.props.children}
      </div>
    )
  }
}

this.props.children is dynamic and will serve the correct component that matches our route config step

Create routes in ReactDOM.render

/* /src/index.js */
<Router history={browserHistory}>
  <Route path="/" component={Root}>
  </Route>
</Router>

add index component

/* /src/index.js */
<Router history={browserHistory}>
  <Route path="/" component={Root}>
    <IndexRoute component={Home} />
  </Route>
</Router>

add params example

/* /src/index.js */
<Router history={browserHistory}>
  <Route path="/" component={Root}>
    <IndexRoute component={Home} />
    <Route path="/post/:id" component={ParamsExample} />
  </Route>
</Router>

Add query example

/* /src/index.js */
<Router history={browserHistory}>
  <Route path="/" component={Root}>
    <IndexRoute component={Home} />
    <Route path="/post/:id" component={ParamsExample} />
    <Route path="/query" component={QueryExample} />
  </Route>
</Router>

add programmatic routing example

/* /src/index.js */
<Router history={browserHistory}>
  <Route path="/" component={Root}>
    <IndexRoute component={Home} />
    <Route path="/post/:id" component={ParamsExample} />
    <Route path="/query" component={QueryExample} />
    <Route path="programmatic" component={ProgrammaticExample} />
  </Route>
</Router>

add 404

/* /src/index.js */
<Router history={browserHistory}>
  <Route path="/" component={Root}>
    <IndexRoute component={Home} />
    <Route path="/post/:id" component={ParamsExample} />
    <Route path="/query" component={QueryExample} />
    <Route path="*" component={FourOFour}/>
  </Route>
</Router>

Add <Link> Component

Programatic Routing

use history.go