Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Simple Tracking App with React

In today’s interconnected world, tracking applications play a pivotal role in logistics, travel, food delivery, and many other sectors. Creating your own tracking app is easier than ever thanks to modern frameworks like React. This article offers a step-by-step tutorial to develop a basic tracking app using React.

1. Setting Up Your Development Environment:

• Node.js & npm: Before we begin, ensure that you have Node.js and npm installed. If not, download and install them.
• Create React App: This tool will set up a new React project for us. To install it globally, run: npm install -g create-react-app
• Initialize your app: create-react-app tracking-app

2. Designing the App’s State:

We will be tracking items using unique IDs. Consider the following structure:

state = {
    items: [
        { id: '001', status: 'In Transit' },
        { id: '002', status: 'Delivered' },
        // ... add more items
    ]
}

3. Creating the UI:

a. Listing Items:

Display all tracked items in a list:

function ItemList({ items }) {
    return (
        <ul>
            {items.map(item => (
                <li key={item.id}>
                    {item.id}: {item.status}
                </li>
            ))}
        </ul>
    );
}

b. Tracking Form:

Add a form to search for an item’s status:

function TrackingForm({ onTrack }) {
    const [id, setId] = React.useState('');

    const handleSubmit = (e) => {
        e.preventDefault();
        onTrack(id);
    }

    return (
        <form onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
            <input value={id} onChange={(e) => setId(e.target.value)} placeholder="Enter item ID" />
            <button type="submit">Track</button>
        </form>
    );
}

4. Integrating with an API:

For the sake of simplicity, we’re going to simulate an API call using a promise:

function fetchItemStatus(id) {
    return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
        setTimeout(() => {
            const item = state.items.find(item => item.id === id);
            if (item) resolve(item.status);
            else reject(new Error("Item not found"));
        }, 1000);
    });
}

5. Implementing the Tracking Logic:

In your main App component:

function App() {
    const [items, setItems] = React.useState([...]); // your initial items here
    const [status, setStatus] = React.useState('');

    const handleTrack = (id) => {
        fetchItemStatus(id)
            .then(status => setStatus(status))
            .catch(error => setStatus(error.message));
    }

    return (
        <div>
            <TrackingForm onTrack={handleTrack} />
            <p>Status: {status}</p>
            <ItemList items={items} />
        </div>
    );
}

6. Styling:

You can use CSS Modules, Styled Components, or any method you prefer. As a simple example:

ul {
    list-style-type: none;
}

button {
    padding: 8px 15px;
    margin-left: 10px;
}

7. Deploying:

To deploy your app, you can use platforms like Vercel, Netlify, or even traditional cloud platforms like AWS and Azure.

Conclusion:

This tutorial showcases the basics of building a tracking app using React. Remember, this is a rudimentary implementation. In a real-world scenario, you’ll integrate with an actual backend, handle more edge cases, and add features like real-time updates. Happy coding!