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by hemisphere 3524 days ago
React allows you to keep state in components, but that doesn't mean that you should. When you're using React + Redux, keeping ANY state in components is an antipattern. Keeping all state in the "root" (the redux store) allows you to observe the your app's complete state in one place, all previous states, and the exact sequence of events that triggered all past state transitions. This discipline enables features like time-travel debugging, where you can rewind or fast-forward through your app's states one event at a time.
2 comments

Trouble with this is, if you have a lot of drop-down menus that is a tremendous amount of additional code, actions have to be added, or added with abstractions, this new thing has to be managed in the global store etc. the end result being that your app is just slower because all this info has to pass through the dispatcher :/. Also can't see how rewinding simple isolated UI effects could help in debugging.

I've noticed that when programmers are introduced to a new technique there is a tendency to apply it everywhere. I had this experience when first learning recursion, it was all I used for a while, until I realized that was silly and now only use it where appropriate. This is true for OOP, functional programming, strictly adhering to even esoteric details of REST, etc.

I've found programming to be a lot like cooking. I really liked garlic, so when I first started cooking I would routinely add a couple extra cloves, until I discovered there very much was the possibility of too much garlic. This is true for each ingredient, you try stuff out and as your experience as a chef grows, you start to be able to suss out the right amount of each ingredient added at the right time.

Programmers are essentially virtual craftsmen, you have a set of tools and you try to build something effective with the tools you have. If you adhere to a principle so fiercely, the pieces of the puzzle often don't quite fit. You end up with a circle or square where something more acorn shaped would be most appropriate.

Anyhoo, don't take my word for it: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds" - Ralph Waldo Emerson or "Only a Sith deals in absolutes" - Obi-wan.

Two responses to my comment, opposite recommendations. I'm inclined to agree with you in general, but the contradicting opinions can't be good for newcomers.
A number of people in the community seem to have latched on to this "you MUST put EVERYTHING into Redux" idea, but it's definitely _not_ anything that's pushed by the Redux team. trex654 is correct here - it's entirely up to you to decide what state should live where.

The Redux FAQ addresses this at http://redux.js.org/docs/faq/OrganizingState.html#organizing... . Note that a number of the linked comments regarding whether or not to use Redux come straight from Dan Abramov himself.

Also, I have a number of articles on React state management practices as part of my React/Redux links list, at https://github.com/markerikson/react-redux-links/blob/master... , which may help clarify some of the ideas as well.