Load specific DIV with a react component without reloading the whole page - node.js

Question

I have a menu where every menu item is a button and I want to load a specific reactjs component into a specific div without reloading the whole page.
This is the current code, clearly is bad but I don't know where to start fixing it...
...
<Button onClick={this.loadTarget}>
{menuItem.name}
</Button>
...
loadTarget(event) {
document.getElementById("datapanel").innerHTML="abc<TranslationsList />";
}
When I click a menu Item I want to load my div with the value "abc<TranslationsList />". "abc" is displayed but the custom component "TranslationsList" is not and I guess this is normal as the TranslationsList tag is not a HTML tag. But how could I load my component?
I could use links instead of buttons but in this case the question is how could I update the div content with a specific link?

Answer 1

It's hard if you've programmed plain JS before, but you have to forget the "good old JS pattern" in React. I also had a hard time getting used to not using standard JS elements (target, innerHTML, etc.) to solve such a problem.
So the solution in React is to use the framework and your page reload problem will be solved immediately. useState for the state of the component and handlers for the click. My main code looks like this. You can find a working application at Codesandbox.
export default function App() {
const [showComponent, setShowComponent] = useState(false);
const handleButtonClick = (e) => {
setShowComponent(!showComponent);
};
return (
<div className="App">
<h1>
Load specific DIV with a react component without reloading the whole
page
</h1>
<a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/74654088/load-specific-div-with-a-react-component-without-reloading-the-whole-page">
Link to Stackoverflow
</a>
<div style={{ marginTop: "20px" }}>
<button onClick={handleButtonClick}>Magic</button>
</div>
{showComponent ? (
<div style={{ marginTop: "20px" }}>
This is the place of your component!
</div>
) : (
""
)}
</div>
);
}

Answer 2

In the first place I wpuld not use vanilla JS syntax on a react app if it is not necessary. i.e: document.getElementById("datapanel").innerHTML="abc<TranslationsList />".
If you are using React you should be managing the State in the component of the DIV, giving the order to make an element appear once the button is clicked.
A simple example can be this:
CodeSandbox
import { useState } from "react";
export default function App() {
const [divState, setDivState] = useState(null);
const divElement = () => <div>I am the element that should appear</div>;
const handleDiv = () => {
setDivState(divElement);
};
return (
<div className="App">
<h1>Hello CodeSandbox</h1>
<h2>Start editing to see some magic happen!</h2>
<button onClick={handleDiv}>Show DIV</button>
<div>{divState}</div>
</div>
);
}

Answer 3

I agree with the answers given above. Since you are already using React, you should take advantage of its features/functionalities. No need to reinvent the wheel.
However, if you are still interested in how to make your current implementation work. You may use renderToString(), which can be imported from ReactDOMServer. Please refer to the following code snippet as an example.
import { renderToString } from 'react-dom/server'
const TranslationsList = () => {
return <div>TranslationsList Content</div>
}
export default function App() {
const loadTarget = () => {
document.getElementById("datapanel").innerHTML=`abc${renderToString(<TranslationsList />)}`;
}
return (
<div>
<button onClick={loadTarget}>Insert Component</button>
<div id="datapanel">Data Panel Holder</div>
</div>
);
}