Is it safe to use React.forwardRef method directly inside render function of another ponent -

Example -

function Link() {
  // --- SOME EXTENSIVE LOGIC AND PROPS CREATING GOES HERE ---
  // --- OMITTED FOR SIMPLICITY ---

  // TO DO: Remove forward ref as soon Next.js bug will be fixed -
  // .js/issues/7915

  // Please note that Next.js Link ponent uses ref only to prefetch link
  // based on its availability in view via IntersectionObserver API -
  // .js/blob/canary/packages/next/client/link.tsx#L119
  const TempShallow = React.forwardRef(props =>
    cloneElement(child, {
      ...props,
      ...baseProps,
      onClick: handleClick
    })
  );

  return (
    <NextLink href={href} as={as} prefetch={prefetch} passHref {...otherProps}>
      <TempShallow />
    </NextLink>
  );
}

As you see it's a temporary workaround for a bug in Next.js v9 - .js/issues/7915.

Is it safe to use React.forwardRef method directly inside render function of another ponent -

Example -

function Link() {
  // --- SOME EXTENSIVE LOGIC AND PROPS CREATING GOES HERE ---
  // --- OMITTED FOR SIMPLICITY ---

  // TO DO: Remove forward ref as soon Next.js bug will be fixed -
  // https://github./zeit/next.js/issues/7915

  // Please note that Next.js Link ponent uses ref only to prefetch link
  // based on its availability in view via IntersectionObserver API -
  // https://github./zeit/next.js/blob/canary/packages/next/client/link.tsx#L119
  const TempShallow = React.forwardRef(props =>
    cloneElement(child, {
      ...props,
      ...baseProps,
      onClick: handleClick
    })
  );

  return (
    <NextLink href={href} as={as} prefetch={prefetch} passHref {...otherProps}>
      <TempShallow />
    </NextLink>
  );
}

As you see it's a temporary workaround for a bug in Next.js v9 - https://github./zeit/next.js/issues/7915.

• javascript
• reactjs
• next.js

• I've missed a thing about reconciliation for forwardRef, check update in my answer – skyboyer Commented Aug 3, 2019 at 10:54

2 Answers 2

Beware forwardRef affects reconciliation: element is always re-created on parent re-rendering.

Say

function App() {
  const [,setState] = useState(null);
  const Input = React.forwardRef((props, ref) => <input {...props} />)
  return (
    <div className="App">
      <h1>Input something into inputs and then click button causing re-rendering</h1>
      <Input placeholder="forwardRef" />
      <input placeholder="native" />
      <button onClick={setState}>change state to re-render</button>
    </div>
  );
}

You may see that after clicking button forwardRef-ed input is dropped and re-created so it's value bees empty.

Not sure if this could be important for <Link> but in general it means things you'd expect to run only once per life time(say fetching data in ponentDidMount or useEffect(...,[]) as alternative) will happen much more frequently.

So if choosing between this side effect and mocking warning I'd rather ignore Warning. Or create own <Link > that will not cause warnings.

[UPD] missed one thing: React checks forwardRef by reference in this case. So if you make forwardRef out of the render(so it's referentially the same) it will not be recreated:

const Input = React.forwardRef((props, ref) => <input {...props} />)

function App() {
  const [,setState] = useState(null);
  return (
    <div className="App">
      <h1>Input something into inputs and then click button causing re-rendering</h1>
      <Input placeholder="forwardRef" />
      <input placeholder="native" />
      <button onClick={setState}>change state to re-render</button>
    </div>
  );
}

But still I believe it's safer to ignore warning than to introduce such a workaround.

Code above has worse readability to me and is confusing("why ref is not processed at all? was it intentional? why this forwardRef is here and not in ponent's file?")

I concurr with skyboyer, I'll add that it might be possible to create the forwardRef ponent outside of the render function to avoid re-creating the ponent each render. To be checked.

const TempShallow = React.forwardRef(({ child, ...props }) => React.cloneElement(child, props))

function Link() {
  // --- SOME EXTENSIVE LOGIC AND PROPS CREATING GOES HERE ---
  // --- OMITTED FOR SIMPLICITY ---

  // TO DO: Remove forward ref as soon Next.js bug will be fixed -
  // https://github./zeit/next.js/issues/7915

  // Please note that Next.js Link ponent uses ref only to prefetch link
  // based on its availability in view via IntersectionObserver API -
  // https://github./zeit/next.js/blob/canary/packages/next/client/link.tsx#L119


  return (
    <NextLink href={href} as={as} prefetch={prefetch} passHref {...otherProps}>
      <TempShallow {...props} {...baseprops} child={child} onClick={onClick} />
    </NextLink>
  )
}