access child component state in parent component in react-native

Question

I have a Searchbar component within react-native that is imported within a parent component,

The SearchBar child component has the following element:

         <Search
            ref={component => this._search = component}
            onChangeText={this.searchUpdated} 
            blurOnSubmit
            useClearButton={false}
            backgroundColor='#15A5E3'
          />
         searchUpdated(term) {
          return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
          this.setState({ searchTerm: term });
          resolve();
         });
        }

Is is possible to access the state of this child component within the parent in which it is imported? Thanks in advance fo the help

Answer 1

You can set the 'ref' prop of any react component, and then inside the Parent component you can access any methods from the child like this:

this.refs.child.childMethod()

An example:

Child Component

class ChildComponent extends Component {

   getState() {
    return this.state
   }

   render() {
    return <Text>I'm a child</Text>
   }
}

Parent Component:

class ParentComponent extends Component {

   manipulateChildState() {
    let child = this.refs.childRef.getState()
    // do something here
   }

   render() {
    return <Child ref='childRef' />
   }
}

Just remember to use the same String on this.refs.REFERENCE and on the prop ref='REFERENCE'