UI Component Patterns

When to use this skill

• Building Component Libraries: Creating reusable UI components
• Implementing Design Systems: Applying consistent UI patterns
• Complex UI: Components requiring multiple variants (Button, Modal, Dropdown)
• Refactoring: Extracting duplicate code into components

Instructions

Step 1: Props API Design

Design Props that are easy to use and extensible.

Principles:

• Clear names
• Reasonable defaults
• Type definitions with TypeScript
• Optional Props use optional marker (?)

Example (Button):

interface ButtonProps {
  // Required
  children: React.ReactNode;

  // Optional (with defaults)
  variant?: 'primary' | 'secondary' | 'outline' | 'ghost';
  size?: 'sm' | 'md' | 'lg';
  disabled?: boolean;
  isLoading?: boolean;

  // Event handlers
  onClick?: (event: React.MouseEvent<HTMLButtonElement>) => void;

  // HTML attribute inheritance
  type?: 'button' | 'submit' | 'reset';
  className?: string;
}

function Button({
  children,
  variant = 'primary',
  size = 'md',
  disabled = false,
  isLoading = false,
  onClick,
  type = 'button',
  className = '',
  ...rest
}: ButtonProps) {
  const baseClasses = 'btn';
  const variantClasses = `btn-${variant}`;
  const sizeClasses = `btn-${size}`;
  const classes = `${baseClasses} ${variantClasses} ${sizeClasses} ${className}`;

  return (
    <button
      type={type}
      className={classes}
      disabled={disabled || isLoading}
      onClick={onClick}
      {...rest}
    >
      {isLoading ? <Spinner /> : children}
    </button>
  );
}

// Usage example
<Button variant="primary" size="lg" onClick={() => alert('Clicked!')}>
  Click Me
</Button>

Step 2: Composition Pattern

Combine small components to build complex UI.

Example (Card):

// Card component (Container)
interface CardProps {
  children: React.ReactNode;
  className?: string;
}

function Card({ children, className = '' }: CardProps) {
  return <div className={`card ${className}`}>{children}</div>;
}

// Card.Header
function CardHeader({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return <div className="card-header">{children}</div>;
}

// Card.Body
function CardBody({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return <div className="card-body">{children}</div>;
}

// Card.Footer
function CardFooter({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return <div className="card-footer">{children}</div>;
}

// Compound Component pattern
Card.Header = CardHeader;
Card.Body = CardBody;
Card.Footer = CardFooter;

export default Card;

// Usage
import Card from './Card';

function ProductCard() {
  return (
    <Card>
      <Card.Header>
        <h3>Product Name</h3>
      </Card.Header>
      <Card.Body>
        <img src="..." alt="Product" />
        <p>Product description here...</p>
      </Card.Body>
      <Card.Footer>
        <button>Add to Cart</button>
      </Card.Footer>
    </Card>
  );
}

Step 3: Render Props / Children as Function

A pattern for flexible customization.

Example (Dropdown):

interface DropdownProps<T> {
  items: T[];
  renderItem: (item: T, index: number) => React.ReactNode;
  onSelect: (item: T) => void;
  placeholder?: string;
}

function Dropdown<T>({ items, renderItem, onSelect, placeholder }: DropdownProps<T>) {
  const [isOpen, setIsOpen] = useState(false);
  const [selected, setSelected] = useState<T | null>(null);

  const handleSelect = (item: T) => {
    setSelected(item);
    onSelect(item);
    setIsOpen(false);
  };

  return (
    <div className="dropdown">
      <button onClick={() => setIsOpen(!isOpen)}>
        {selected ? renderItem(selected, -1) : placeholder || 'Select...'}
      </button>

      {isOpen && (
        <ul className="dropdown-menu">
          {items.map((item, index) => (
            <li key={index} onClick={() => handleSelect(item)}>
              {renderItem(item, index)}
            </li>
          ))}
        </ul>
      )}
    </div>
  );
}

// Usage
interface User {
  id: string;
  name: string;
  avatar: string;
}

function UserDropdown() {
  const users: User[] = [...];

  return (
    <Dropdown
      items={users}
      placeholder="Select a user"
      renderItem={(user) => (
        <div className="user-item">
          <img src={user.avatar} alt={user.name} />
          <span>{user.name}</span>
        </div>
      )}
      onSelect={(user) => console.log('Selected:', user)}
    />
  );
}

Step 4: Separating Logic with Custom Hooks

Separate UI from business logic.

Example (Modal):

// hooks/useModal.ts
function useModal(initialOpen = false) {
  const [isOpen, setIsOpen] = useState(initialOpen);

  const open = useCallback(() => setIsOpen(true), []);
  const close = useCallback(() => setIsOpen(false), []);
  const toggle = useCallback(() => setIsOpen(prev => !prev), []);

  return { isOpen, open, close, toggle };
}

// components/Modal.tsx
interface ModalProps {
  isOpen: boolean;
  onClose: () => void;
  title: string;
  children: React.ReactNode;
}

function Modal({ isOpen, onClose, title, children }: ModalProps) {
  if (!isOpen) return null;

  return (
    <div className="modal-overlay" onClick={onClose}>
      <div className="modal-content" onClick={(e) => e.stopPropagation()}>
        <div className="modal-header">
          <h2>{title}</h2>
          <button onClick={onClose} aria-label="Close">×</button>
        </div>
        <div className="modal-body">{children}</div>
      </div>
    </div>
  );
}

// Usage
function App() {
  const { isOpen, open, close } = useModal();

  return (
    <>
      <button onClick={open}>Open Modal</button>
      <Modal isOpen={isOpen} onClose={close} title="My Modal">
        <p>Modal content here...</p>
      </Modal>
    </>
  );
}

Step 5: Performance Optimization

Prevent unnecessary re-renders.

React.memo:

// ❌ Bad: child re-renders every time parent re-renders
function ExpensiveComponent({ data }) {
  console.log('Rendering...');
  return <div>{/* Complex UI */}</div>;
}

// ✅ Good: re-renders only when props change
const ExpensiveComponent = React.memo(({ data }) => {
  console.log('Rendering...');
  return <div>{/* Complex UI */}</div>;
});

useMemo & useCallback:

function ProductList({ products, category }: { products: Product[]; category: string }) {
  // ✅ Memoize filtered results
  const filteredProducts = useMemo(() => {
    return products.filter(p => p.category === category);
  }, [products, category]);

  // ✅ Memoize callback
  const handleAddToCart = useCallback((productId: string) => {
    // Add to cart
    console.log('Adding:', productId);
  }, []);

  return (
    <div>
      {filteredProducts.map(product => (
        <ProductCard
          key={product.id}
          product={product}
          onAddToCart={handleAddToCart}
        />
      ))}
    </div>
  );
}

const ProductCard = React.memo(({ product, onAddToCart }) => {
  return (
    <div>
      <h3>{product.name}</h3>
      <button onClick={() => onAddToCart(product.id)}>Add to Cart</button>
    </div>
  );
});

Output format

Component File Structure

components/
├── Button/
│   ├── Button.tsx           # Main component
│   ├── Button.test.tsx      # Tests
│   ├── Button.stories.tsx   # Storybook
│   ├── Button.module.css    # Styles
│   └── index.ts             # Export
├── Card/
│   ├── Card.tsx
│   ├── CardHeader.tsx
│   ├── CardBody.tsx
│   ├── CardFooter.tsx
│   └── index.ts
└── Modal/
    ├── Modal.tsx
    ├── useModal.ts          # Custom hook
    └── index.ts

Component Template

import React from 'react';

export interface ComponentProps {
  // Props definition
  children: React.ReactNode;
  className?: string;
}

/**
 * Component description
 *
 * @example
 * ```tsx
 * <Component>Hello</Component>
 * ```
 */
export const Component = React.forwardRef<HTMLDivElement, ComponentProps>(
  ({ children, className = '', ...rest }, ref) => {
    return (
      <div ref={ref} className={`component ${className}`} {...rest}>
        {children}
      </div>
    );
  }
);

Component.displayName = 'Component';

export default Component;

Constraints

Required Rules (MUST)

1. Single Responsibility Principle: One component has one role only

   • Button handles buttons only, Form handles forms only

2. Props Type Definition: TypeScript interface required

   • Enables auto-completion
   • Type safety

3. Accessibility: aria-*, role, tabindex, etc.

Prohibited Rules (MUST NOT)

1. Excessive props drilling: Prohibited when 5+ levels deep

   • Use Context or Composition

2. No Business Logic: Prohibit API calls and complex calculations in UI components

   • Separate into custom hooks

3. Inline objects/functions: Performance degradation

   // ❌ Bad example
   <Component style={{ color: 'red' }} onClick={() => handleClick()} />
   
   // ✅ Good example
   const style = { color: 'red' };
   const handleClick = useCallback(() => {...}, []);
   <Component style={style} onClick={handleClick} />

Examples

Example 1: Accordion (Compound Component)

import React, { createContext, useContext, useState } from 'react';

// Share state with Context
const AccordionContext = createContext<{
  activeIndex: number | null;
  setActiveIndex: (index: number | null) => void;
} | null>(null);

function Accordion({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  const [activeIndex, setActiveIndex] = useState<number | null>(null);

  return (
    <AccordionContext.Provider value={{ activeIndex, setActiveIndex }}>
      <div className="accordion">{children}</div>
    </AccordionContext.Provider>
  );
}

function AccordionItem({ index, title, children }: {
  index: number;
  title: string;
  children: React.ReactNode;
}) {
  const context = useContext(AccordionContext);
  if (!context) throw new Error('AccordionItem must be used within Accordion');

  const { activeIndex, setActiveIndex } = context;
  const isActive = activeIndex === index;

  return (
    <div className="accordion-item">
      <button
        className="accordion-header"
        onClick={() => setActiveIndex(isActive ? null : index)}
        aria-expanded={isActive}
      >
        {title}
      </button>
      {isActive && <div className="accordion-body">{children}</div>}
    </div>
  );
}

Accordion.Item = AccordionItem;
export default Accordion;

// Usage
<Accordion>
  <Accordion.Item index={0} title="Section 1">
    Content for section 1
  </Accordion.Item>
  <Accordion.Item index={1} title="Section 2">
    Content for section 2
  </Accordion.Item>
</Accordion>

Example 2: Polymorphic Component (as prop)

type PolymorphicComponentProps<C extends React.ElementType> = {
  as?: C;
  children: React.ReactNode;
} & React.ComponentPropsWithoutRef<C>;

function Text<C extends React.ElementType = 'span'>({
  as,
  children,
  ...rest
}: PolymorphicComponentProps<C>) {
  const Component = as || 'span';
  return <Component {...rest}>{children}</Component>;
}

// Usage
<Text>Default span</Text>
<Text as="h1">Heading 1</Text>
<Text as="p" style={{ color: 'blue' }}>Paragraph</Text>
<Text as={Link} href="/about">Link</Text>

Best practices

1. Composition over Props: Leverage children instead of many props
2. Controlled vs Uncontrolled: Choose based on situation
3. Default Props: Provide reasonable defaults
4. Storybook: Component documentation and development

References

• React Patterns
• Compound Components
• Radix UI - Accessible components
• Chakra UI - Component library
• shadcn/ui - Copy-paste components

Metadata

Version

• Current Version: 1.0.0
• Last Updated: 2025-01-01
• Compatible Platforms: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini

Related Skills

• web-accessibility: Accessible components
• state-management: Component state management

Tags

#UI-components #React #design-patterns #composition #TypeScript #frontend