Redux

I use four Redux slices to keep track of an authenticated user’s information. All of these slices are persistent to avoid constant fetching and setting, which could hinder performance.

authSlice

A simple slice that keeps track of whether the user has been authenticated or not. It consists of only one state, auth, that is initially set to False. It is set to True after the user has registered or has signed into Intentify. If the user logs out or has their account deleted, then auth is set back to False.

convoSlice

A slice to keep track of an authenticated user’s conversations. It has three states:

• convos: An array of Conversation objects. Set during after fetchConversations or deleteConversation have been fulfilled
• loading: A boolean indicating whether an async thunk has resolved (False if so, True otherwise)
• error: A string set whenever an async thunk encounters a rejection

The slice also has two AsyncThunks. I use these to manage a user’s conversation list:

• fetchConversations: Get the user’s conversation list from Intentify’s Conversation table. Requires the user’s ID and csrfToken and returns a list of Conversation objects. If the user’s ID or the csrfToken is invalid, the thunk returns an empty list
• deleteConversation: Delete a conversatioon from Intentify’s Conversation table. Requires a user ID, Conversation ID, and a csrfToken. The user ID must match the Conversation’s user ID (avoids users from deleting other users’ conversations). Returns the user’s conversation list without the specified conversation. Otherwise (if the conversation ID, user ID or csrfToken is invalid), the thunk returns an empty list.

userIDSlice

A slice that keeps track of an authenticated user’s ID. This slice only has one state, user_id, that is initially set to -1. Much like authSlice, it’s set after the user registers an account or has signed into Intentify. If the user logs out or has their account deleted, user_id is set back to -1.

This slice is primarily used in conjunction with convoSlice for convoSlice’s async thunks.

nameSlice

A slice that’s used to keep track of a user’s first and last name. Consequently, it consists of two states: firstName and lastName. They are initially set to an empty string and are only set after the user sets a new first or last name. If the user has set a first or last name before, then these states will be set to the user’s first and last names accordingly. After the user has signed out or has deleted their account, firstName and lastName are set back to an empty string.