# Using Effects
The Compose HTML library introduces a few dom-specific effects on top of [existing effects from Compose](https://developer.android.com/jetpack/compose/side-effects).
### ref in AttrsBuilder
Under the hood, `ref` uses [DisposableEffect](https://developer.android.com/jetpack/compose/side-effects#disposableeffect)
`ref` can be used to retrieve a reference to a html element.
The lambda that `ref` takes in is not Composable. It will be called only once when an element added into a composition.
Likewise, the lambda passed in `onDispose` will be called only once when an element leaves the composition.
``` kotlin
Div(attrs = {
ref { htmlDivElement ->
// htmlDivElement is a reference to the HTMLDivElement
onDispose {
// add clean up code here
}
}
}) {
// Content()
}
```
Only one `ref` can be used per element. Calling it more than once will dismiss earlier calls.
For example, `ref` can be used to add and remove some event listeners not provided out of the box.
### DisposableRefEffect (deprecated)
**Deprecated:**
Consider using `DisposableEffect`. Its scope provides `scopeElement` - a reference to the underlying HTML element:
``` kotlin
DisposableEffect(key) {
scopeElement.innerText = key
onDispose { scopeElement.innerText = "" }
}
```
---
Under the hood, `DisposableRefEffect` uses [DisposableEffect](https://developer.android.com/jetpack/compose/side-effects#disposableeffect)
`DisposableRefEffect` is similar to `ref`, since it also provides a reference to an element. At the same time it has few differences.
- `DisposableRefEffect` can be added only within a content lambda of an element, while `ref` can be used only in `attrs` scope.
- Unlike `ref`, `DisposableRefEffect` can be used as many times as needed and every effect will be unique.
- DisposableRefEffect can be used with a `key` and without it. When it's used with a `key: Any`, the effect will be disposed and reset when `key` value changes. When it's used without a key, then it behaves like `ref` - the effect gets called only once when an element enters the composition, and it's disposed only when the element leaves the composition.
``` kotlin
Div {
// without a key
DisposableRefEffect { htmlDivElement ->
// htmlDivElement is a reference to the HTMLDivElement
onDispose {
// add clean up code here
}
}
}
var state by remember { mutableStateOf(1) }
Div {
// with a key.
// The effect will be called for every new state's value
DisposableRefEffect(state) { htmlDivElement ->
// htmlDivElement is a reference to the HTMLDivElement
onDispose {
// add clean up code here
}
}
}
```
### DomSideEffect (deprecated)
**Deprecated:**
Consider using [SideEffect](https://developer.android.com/jetpack/compose/side-effects#sideeffect-publish).
If a reference to an underlying HTML element is needed, consider using `DisposableEffect` and `scopeElement` within its scope.
---
Under the hood, `DomSideEffect` uses [SideEffect](https://developer.android.com/jetpack/compose/side-effects#sideeffect-publish)
`DomSideEffect` as well as `DisposableRefEffect` can be used with a key and without it.
Unlike `DisposableRefEffect`, `DomSideEffect` without a key is invoked on every successful recomposition.
With a `key`, it will be invoked only when the `key` value changes.
Same as [SideEffect](https://developer.android.com/jetpack/compose/side-effects#sideeffect-publish), `DomSideEffect` can be helpful when there is a need to update objects not managed by Compose.
In case of web, it often involves updating HTML nodes, therefore `DomSideEffect` provides a reference to an element in the lambda.
### Code Sample using effects
The code below showcases how it's possible to use non-composable components in Compose by applying `DomSideEffect` and `DisposableRefEffect`.
```kotlin
import androidx.compose.runtime.mutableStateOf
import androidx.compose.runtime.getValue
import androidx.compose.runtime.setValue
import androidx.compose.runtime.Composable
import kotlinx.browser.document
import org.jetbrains.compose.web.css.*
import org.jetbrains.compose.web.dom.*
import org.jetbrains.compose.web.renderComposable
import org.w3c.dom.HTMLElement
import org.w3c.dom.HTMLParagraphElement
// Here we pretend that `RedBoldTextNotComposableRenderer`
// wraps a UI logic provided by 3rd party library that doesn't use Compose
object RedBoldTextNotComposableRenderer {
fun unmountFrom(root: HTMLElement) {
root.removeChild(root.firstChild!!)
}
fun mountIn(root: HTMLElement) {
val pElement = document.createElement("p") as HTMLParagraphElement
pElement.setAttribute("style", "color: red; font-weight: bold;")
root.appendChild(pElement)
}
fun renderIn(root: HTMLElement, text: String) {
(root.firstChild as HTMLParagraphElement).innerText = text
}
}
// Here we define a Composable wrapper for the above code. Here we use DomSideEffect and DisposableRefEffect.
@Composable // @param `show: Boolean` was left here intentionally for the sake of the example
fun ComposableWrapperForRedBoldTextFrom3rdPartyLib(state: Int, show: Boolean) {
Div(attrs = {
style {
backgroundColor(Color.lightgray)
width(100.px)
minHeight(40.px)
padding(30.px)
}
}) {
if (!show) {
Text("No content rendered by the 3rd party library")
}
Div {
if (show) {
// Update the content rendered by "non-compose library" according to the `state`
DomSideEffect(state) { div ->
RedBoldTextNotComposableRenderer.renderIn(div, "Value = $state")
}
}
DisposableRefEffect(show) { div ->
if (show) {
// Let "non-compose library" control the part of the page.
// The content of this div is independent of Compose.
// It will be managed by RedBoldTextNotComposableRenderer
RedBoldTextNotComposableRenderer.mountIn(div)
}
onDispose {
if (show) {
// Clean up the html created/managed by "non-compose library"
RedBoldTextNotComposableRenderer.unmountFrom(div)
}
}
}
}
}
}
fun main() {
var state by mutableStateOf(0)
var showUncontrolledElements by mutableStateOf(false)
renderComposable(rootElementId = "root") {
ComposableWrapperForRedBoldTextFrom3rdPartyLib(state = state, show = showUncontrolledElements)
Div {
Label(forId = "checkbox") {
Text("Show/hide text rendered by 3rd party library")
}
CheckboxInput(checked = showUncontrolledElements) {
id("checkbox")
onInput {
showUncontrolledElements = it.value
}
}
}
Button(attrs = {
onClick { state += 1 }
}) {
Text("Incr. count ($state)")
}
}
}
```