how to define refs in react code example

Example 1: when to use react ref

WHEN TO USE REACT'S REF ATTRIBUTE?
But it is not always a good idea to use the ref attribute. The general rule of thumb is to avoid it. The official React documentation mentions three occasions where you can use it because you have no other choice.

Managing focus, text selection, or media playback.
Integrating with third-party DOM libraries.
Triggering imperative animations.

Example 2: use ref in component reactjs

function MyFunctionComponent() {  return <input />;
}

class Parent extends React.Component {
  constructor(props) {
    super(props);
    this.textInput = React.createRef();  }
  render() {
    // Ça ne fonctionnera pas !
    return (
      <MyFunctionComponent ref={this.textInput} />    );
  }
}

Example 3: use ref in component reactjs

class CustomTextInput extends React.Component {  // ...
}

Example 4: use ref in component reactjs

function CustomTextInput(props) {
  return (
    <div>
      <input ref={props.inputRef} />    </div>
  );
}

class Parent extends React.Component {
  render() {
    return (
      <CustomTextInput
        inputRef={el => this.inputElement = el}      />
    );
  }
}

Example 5: use ref in component reactjs

class CustomTextInput extends React.Component {
  constructor(props) {
    super(props);
    // Crée une référence pour stocker l’élément DOM textInput
    this.textInput = React.createRef();    this.focusTextInput = this.focusTextInput.bind(this);
  }

  focusTextInput() {
    // Donne explicitement le focus au champ texte en utilisant l’API DOM native.
    // Remarque : nous utilisons `current` pour cibler le nœud DOM
    this.textInput.current.focus();  }

  render() {
    // Dit à React qu’on veut associer la ref `textInput` créée
    // dans le constructeur avec le `<input>`.
    return (
      <div>
        <input
          type="text"
          ref={this.textInput} />        <input
          type="button"
          value="Donner le focus au champ texte"
          onClick={this.focusTextInput}
        />
      </div>
    );
  }
}