What is Redux thunk in React?

In React, Redux Thunk is a middleware that allows asynchronous actions to be dispatched in Redux. It provides a way to handle complex asynchronous logic, such as making API calls, in a more organized and manageable manner within a Redux application.

By default, Redux actions are synchronous and can only dispatch plain JavaScript objects, known as action objects. However, there are situations where we need to perform asynchronous operations, like fetching data from an API, before dispatching the actual action. This is where Redux Thunk comes into play.

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Redux Thunk extends the capabilities of Redux by introducing a special type of action called a thunk. A thunk is a function that can be dispatched as an action instead of a plain object. When Redux encounters a thunk, it invokes the thunk function with two arguments: the dispatch function and the getState function.

The dispatch function allows the thunk to dispatch multiple actions, including asynchronous ones, while the getState function provides access to the current state of the Redux store. This combination of dispatch and getState enables thunks to handle asynchronous operations and interact with the Redux store as needed.

To use Redux Thunk in a React application, it needs to be integrated into the Redux store configuration. This is typically done by applying the redux-thunk middleware when creating the Redux store using the createStore function from Redux. Once integrated, developers can create thunks by defining functions that return another function. Inside the inner function, asynchronous operations can be performed, and actions can be dispatched using the provided dispatch function.

By using Redux Thunk, developers can manage asynchronous operations and side effects in a more controlled and structured manner. Thunks provide a way to encapsulate complex asynchronous logic while still adhering to the predictable state management principles of Redux. This helps to keep the application's state and actions in sync and simplifies the management of asynchronous data flows within a React-Redux application.