What are some consequences of invalid props?

Question

In the context of this exercise, what are some consequences of invalid props?

Answer

Props can be invalid if they are missing or if they are provided with the incorrect data types. In both of these cases, there can be several consequences depending on how the React application is using the props.

When the values are missing for the props, there can be a few consequences. One is that the missing prop value can cause errors if it was needed in a calculation. If the value is missing, this can mess up the calculation and potentially crash the application. Another scenario can be that some form requires an input value, such as a password or username, and when the value is missing it can cause an issue during submission and validation of the form.

When the value data types are incorrect, there can be several issues as well. For instance, if you have a calculator application that expected numerical values, but inputted a boolean or a string, then it would result in an error if it was trying to perform the calculations between different data types.

There can be many other consequences that are dependent on how the application is set up and requires props, so it is important to make sure that any props are validated, which is where propTypes comes in handy.

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