---
title: "Chat #5 with ChatGPT"
date: "2023-05-19"
author: "Birgit Pauli-Haack"
url: "https://icodeforapurpose.com/chat-with-chatgpt/"
categories: ["Site News"]
---

Request:

Explain the following code to a programming student:

```
import { __ } from '@wordpress/i18n'; import './editor.scss'; 
import { useSelect } from '@wordpress/data'; 
import { store as coreDataStore } from '@wordpress/core-data'; 
import { Spinner } from '@wordpress/components'; 

function PagesList( { hasResolved,pages } ) {

  if ( !hasResolved ) { 
    return  
    } 

  if ( !pages?.length ) { 
    return No pages to display 
  } 

return ( 
   { pages?.map( page => ( 
       
        { page.title.rendered } 
      
     ) ) } 
    
   ); 
   } 

export default function Edit() { 

  const data = useSelect( 
    select => { 
      return { 
        pages: select( coreDataStore ).getEntityRecords( 'postType', 'page',     { 
      per_page: 20 } ), 
      hasResolved: select( coreDataStore )
      .hasFinishedResolution( 'getEntityRecords', ['postType', 'page', { per_page: 20 } ] ) } },
       [] );
```

**Answer: **

This code is written in JavaScript and uses the WordPress JavaScript API to retrieve and display a list of pages in the WordPress editor.

Let’s break down the code step by step:

The code imports several modules and components using the `import` statements. These modules are necessary for the code to work properly. For example, the `__` function is imported from the `@wordpress/i18n` module for internationalization purposes. The `useSelect` function is imported from the `@wordpress/data` module to interact with the WordPress data store. The `Spinner` component is imported from the `@wordpress/components` module for displaying a loading spinner.

The code defines a functional component called `PagesList`, which receives two props: `hasResolved` and `pages`. This component is responsible for rendering the list of pages.

Inside the `PagesList` component, there are conditional statements. If `hasResolved` is false, it displays a loading spinner using the `Spinner` component. If `pages` is an empty array or undefined, it displays a message saying “No pages to display”. Otherwise, it renders an unordered list (`
- ) for each page in the `pages` array. The page title is displayed using `page.title.rendered`.
- The `export default` statement exports another functional component called `Edit`. This component is the entry point of the module and is used in the WordPress editor.
- Inside the `Edit` component, the `useSelect` hook is used to fetch data from the WordPress data store. It receives a selector function that retrieves the desired data from the store. In this case, it fetches the page records using `coreDataStore.getEntityRecords` and passes the `'postType'`, `'page'`, and `{ per_page: 20 }` as arguments. It also checks if the resolution of the data retrieval has finished using `coreDataStore.hasFinishedResolution`.
- The `useSelect` hook returns an object `data` containing the `pages` array and the `hasResolved` boolean value.
- Finally, the `Edit` component renders the `PagesList` component, passing the `hasResolved` and `pages` values as props.
- { page.title.rendered }

  );
}" style="color:#e1e4e8;display:none" aria-label="Copy" class="code-block-pro-copy-button">

```
function PagesList( { hasResolved, pages } ) {
  if ( !hasResolved ) {
    return ;
  }

  if ( !pages?.length ) {
    return No pages to display;
  }

  return (
    
      { pages?.map( page => (
        
          { page.title.rendered }
        
      ) ) }
    
  );
}
```

Here we define a function called PagesList` that will display a list of pages. It takes two inputs, `hasResolved` and `pages`, which are values we will provide when we use this function.

Inside the function, there are some checks. If `hasResolved` is `false`, it means the data is still being loaded, so we show a loading spinner. If `pages` is an empty array or doesn’t exist, we display a message saying there are no pages to show. Otherwise, we create an unordered list (`
- ) for each page. The page title is displayed in the list item.

```
export default function Edit() {
  const data = useSelect(
    select => {
      return {
        pages: select( coreDataStore ).getEntityRecords( 'postType', 'page', { per_page: 20 } ),
        hasResolved: select( coreDataStore ).hasFinishedResolution( 'getEntityRecords', ['postType', 'page', { per_page: 20 } ] )
      }
    },
    []
  );

  return ;
}
```

Here we export another function called `Edit`. This function represents the main functionality of our code. When it is used, it fetches data and renders the `PagesList` component.

Inside `Edit`, we use a special function called `useSelect`. This function allows us to retrieve data from the WordPress data store. We pass a function as an argument to `useSelect` that tells it what data we want to fetch. In this case, we want to get the records of the pages.

The returned `data` object contains the fetched `pages` and a boolean value `hasResolved`, which indicates whether the data fetching has finished.

Finally, we render the `PagesList` component and pass the `hasResolved` and `pages` values we obtained from the `useSelect` hook as props.

To summarize, this code fetches a list of pages and displays them in the WordPress editor. While the data is being fetched, it shows a loading spinner. If there are no pages or an error occurs during the fetching process, it displays an appropriate message.

*Note: This code uses getEntityRecords from the datastore. Below you’ll find the same functionality implemented with the function useEntityRecords() which makes the handling of data easier. *

We continue our Chat with ChatGPT

JavaScript

	);
  
  }
  
  export default function Edit() {

    const data = useEntityRecords( 'postType', 'page', { per_page: 20} );
	
    return (
        
          
        
	)
  }
  " style="color:#adbac7;display:none" aria-label="Copy" class="code-block-pro-copy-button">
```

import { __ } from '@wordpress/i18n';
import { useBlockProps } from '@wordpress/block-editor';
import './editor.scss';
import { useEntityRecords } from '@wordpress/core-data'
import { Spinner } from '@wordpress/components';

function PagesList( { hasResolved,pages } ) {

	if ( !hasResolved ) {
		return 
	  }

	if ( !pages?.length ) {
	  return No pages to display
	}
  
	return (
	  
		  { pages?.map( page => (
				
					{ page.title.rendered }
				
			) ) }
	  
	);
  
  }
  
  export default function Edit() {

    const data = useEntityRecords( 'postType', 'page', { per_page: 20} );
	
    return (
        
          
        
	)
  }
  
```

Chat CPT answer:

Certainly! Let’s break down the code step by step, explaining each part in simpler terms for a JavaScript novice.

```
import { __ } from '@wordpress/i18n';
import { useBlockProps } from '@wordpress/block-editor';
import './editor.scss';
import { useEntityRecords } from '@wordpress/core-data'
import { Spinner } from '@wordpress/components';
```

These lines import some modules and components that are needed for our code to work correctly. Think of them as pre-made tools that we can use to build our application.

```
function PagesList( { hasResolved, pages } ) {
  if ( !hasResolved ) {
    return ;
  }

  if ( !pages?.length ) {
    return No pages to display;
  }

  return (
    
      { pages?.map( page => (
        
          { page.title.rendered }
        
      ) ) }
    
  );
}
```

Here we define a function called PagesList` that will display a list of pages. It takes two inputs, `hasResolved` and `pages`, which are values we will provide when we use this function.

Inside the function, there are some checks. If `hasResolved` is `false`, it means the data is still being loaded, so we show a loading spinner. If `pages` is an empty array or doesn’t exist, we display a message saying there are no pages to show. Otherwise, we create an unordered list (``) and inside it, we create a list item (``) for each page. The page title is displayed in the list item.

```
export default function Edit() {
  const data = useEntityRecords( 'postType', 'page', { per_page: 20 } );

  return (
    
      
    
  );
}
```

Here we export another function called `Edit`. This function represents the main functionality of our code. When it is used, it fetches data and renders the `PagesList` component.

Inside `Edit`, we use the `useEntityRecords` hook to fetch data from the WordPress data store. We pass `'postType'`, `'page'`, and `{ per_page: 20 }` as arguments to the `useEntityRecords` hook, which tells it to retrieve the records of the pages.

The returned `data` object contains the fetched `records` and a `loading` property that indicates whether the data fetching is in progress.

Finally, we render the `PagesList` component and pass the `loading` and `records` values we obtained from the `useEntityRecords` hook as props. We also use the `useBlockProps` hook to apply certain block properties to a wrapping `` element.

To summarize, this code fetches a list of pages and displays them. While the data is being fetched, it shows a loading spinner. If there are no pages or an error occurs during the fetching process, it displays an appropriate message. The `useBlockProps` hook helps apply certain block properties to the surrounding `` element.

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