# React Component Architecture (Concept) This document defines the clean concept for React component architecture in `apps/website`. ## Core Principle **Separation of concerns by responsibility, not just by file location.** ## The Four Layers ### 1. App Layer (`app/`) **Purpose**: Entry points and data orchestration **What lives here**: - `page.tsx` - Server Components that fetch data - `layout.tsx` - Root layouts - `route.tsx` - API routes - `*PageClient.tsx` - Client entry points that wire server data to client templates **Rules**: - `page.tsx` does ONLY data fetching and passes raw data to client components - `*PageClient.tsx` manages client state and event handlers - No UI rendering logic (except loading/error states) **Example**: ```typescript // app/teams/page.tsx export default async function TeamsPage() { const query = new TeamsPageQuery(); const result = await query.execute(); if (result.isErr()) { return ; } return ; } // app/teams/TeamsPageClient.tsx 'use client'; export function TeamsPageClient({ teams }: TeamsViewData) { const [searchQuery, setSearchQuery] = useState(''); const router = useRouter(); const handleTeamClick = (teamId: string) => { router.push(`/teams/${teamId}`); }; return ( ); } ``` ### 2. Template Layer (`templates/`) **Purpose**: Composition and layout of components **What lives here**: - Stateless component compositions - Page-level layouts - Component orchestration **Rules**: - Templates ARE stateless (no `useState`, `useEffect`) - Templates CAN use `'use client'` for event handling and composition - Templates receive ViewData (primitives) and event handlers - Templates compose components and UI elements - No business logic - No data fetching **Example**: ```typescript // templates/TeamsTemplate.tsx 'use client'; export function TeamsTemplate({ teams, searchQuery, onSearchChange, onTeamClick }: TeamsTemplateProps) { return (
); } ``` ### 3. Component Layer (`components/`) **Purpose**: Reusable app-specific components **What lives here**: - Components that understand app concepts (teams, races, leagues) - Components that may contain state and business logic - Components that orchestrate UI elements for app purposes **Rules**: - Can be stateful - Can contain app-specific business logic - Can use Next.js hooks (but not Next.js components like `Link`) - Should be reusable within the app context - **Strictly Forbidden**: Generic UI primitives (`Box`, `Surface`) and generic wrappers (`Layout`, `Container`) - **Strictly Forbidden**: The `className` prop (styling must be handled by UI components) **Example**: ```typescript // components/teams/TeamLeaderboardPreview.tsx 'use client'; export function TeamLeaderboardPreview({ teams, onTeamClick }: Props) { // App-specific logic: medal colors, ranking, etc. const getMedalColor = (position: number) => { /* ... */ }; return ( Top Teams {teams.map((team, index) => ( onTeamClick(team.id)} medalColor={getMedalColor(index)} /> ))} ); } ``` ### 4. UI Layer (`ui/`) **Purpose**: Generic, reusable UI primitives **What lives here**: - Pure UI elements with no app knowledge - Generic building blocks - Framework-agnostic components **Rules**: - Stateless (no `useState`, `useEffect`) - No app-specific logic - No Next.js imports - Only receive props and render - Maximum reusability - **Strict Layering**: Generic primitives (`Box`, `Surface`, `Stack`, `Grid`) are internal to this layer. **Example**: ```typescript // ui/Button.tsx export function Button({ children, variant, onClick }: ButtonProps) { return ( ); } // ui/Card.tsx export function Card({ children, className }: CardProps) { return
{children}
; } ``` ## UI Layering & Primitives To prevent "div wrapper" abuse and maintain architectural integrity, we enforce a strict boundary between **Primitives** and **Semantic UI**. ### 1. Primitives (Forbidden in Components) - **Primitives**: `Box`, `Surface`, `Stack`, `Grid` (in `ui/primitives/`) - **Internal only**: These should NEVER be imported by `components/`. They are for building semantic UI elements. - **Full flexibility**: They allow arbitrary styling (bg, border, shadow, etc.) to build semantic components. ### 2. Semantic UI & Layout (Allowed in Components) - **Building blocks**: `Card`, `Panel`, `Button`, `Table`. - **Layout Components**: `Layout`, `Container` (in `ui/`). - **Restricted flexibility**: Semantic components are restricted to their defined props. They do NOT allow arbitrary styling props (bg, border, etc.). - **Public API**: These are the only UI elements that should be imported by `components/` or `pages/`. **Rule of thumb**: If you need a styled container or layout in a component, use `Panel`, `Card`, `Layout`, or `Container`. If you need a new type of semantic layout, create it in `ui/` using primitives. Direct use of primitives (`Box`, `Surface`, `Stack`, `Grid`) or raw HTML tags in `components/` is forbidden. ## The Display Object Layer **Purpose**: Reusable formatting and presentation logic **What lives here**: - `lib/display-objects/` - Deterministic formatting functions - Code-to-label mappings - Value transformations for display **Rules**: - Class-based - Immutable - Deterministic - No side effects - No `Intl.*` or `toLocale*` **Usage**: ```typescript // lib/display-objects/RatingDisplay.ts export class RatingDisplay { static format(rating: number): string { return rating.toFixed(0); } static getColor(rating: number): string { if (rating >= 90) return 'text-green'; if (rating >= 70) return 'text-yellow'; return 'text-red'; } } // In ViewModel Builder const viewModel = { rating: RatingDisplay.format(dto.rating), ratingColor: RatingDisplay.getColor(dto.rating) }; ``` ## Dependency Flow ``` app/ (page.tsx) ↓ fetches data app/ (*PageClient.tsx) ↓ manages state, creates handlers templates/ (composition) ↓ uses components components/ (app-specific) ↓ uses UI elements ui/ (generic primitives) ``` ## Decision Rules ### When to use *PageClient.tsx? - When you need client-side state management - When you need event handlers that use router/other hooks - When server component needs to be split from client template ### When to use Template vs Component? - **Template**: Page-level composition, orchestrates multiple components - **Component**: Reusable app-specific element with logic ### When to use Component vs UI? - **Component**: Understands app concepts (teams, races, leagues) - **UI**: Generic building blocks (button, card, input) ### When to use Display Objects? - When formatting is reusable across multiple ViewModels - When mapping codes to labels - When presentation logic needs to be deterministic ## Key Benefits 1. **Clear boundaries**: Each layer has a single responsibility 2. **Testability**: Pure functions at UI/Display layer 3. **Reusability**: UI elements can be used anywhere 4. **Maintainability**: Changes in one layer don't ripple 5. **Type safety**: Clear contracts between layers