Technology has always been a bridge, but today, it feels more like a mirror. With the rapid rise of AI , we are seeing things enter our lives and leave them at a pace we can barely track. To understand where this is going, we first have to understand how technology actually impacts the core of who we are. The Survivalist vs. The Ego Our minds are biologically wired for one thing: survival . We are designed to handle the worst-case scenario, an ancient instinct gifted to us by nature. We consider ourselves conscious decision-makers, but a critical question remains: Who is really making the call?
Introduction:
In this blog post, we will explore how to build a Lightning Web Component (LWC) that displays the weather information of a particular location. We will leverage the power of LWC and external APIs to create a dynamic weather display that provides real-time weather data. By the end of this tutorial, you will have a solid understanding of how to integrate APIs and build interactive components using LWC.
Prerequisites:
To follow along with this tutorial, you should have a basic understanding of Lightning Web Components and JavaScript. It's also helpful to have a developer account on Salesforce to leverage its platform and services.
Setting up the Project:
1. Create a new Lightning Web Component by using the Salesforce CLI command:
sfdx force:lightning:component:create -n WeatherComponent -d force-app/main/default/lwc
2. Navigate to the newly created WeatherComponent directory:
cd force-app/main/default/lwc/WeatherComponent
3. Open the component in your preferred code editor.
Implementing the Weather Component:
1. Open the WeatherComponent file and replace the default code with the following markup:
<template>
<lightning-card title="Weather Information">
<div class="slds-m-around_medium">
<lightning-input label="Location" onchange={handleLocationChange}></lightning-input>
<lightning-button label="Get Weather" onclick={getWeatherData}></lightning-button>
</div>
<template if:true={weatherData}>
<div class="slds-m-around_medium">
<p>Location: {weatherData.location}</p>
<p>Temperature: {weatherData.temperature}°C</p>
<p>Condition: {weatherData.condition}</p>
</div>
</template>
</lightning-card>
</template>
2. Open the WeatherComponent.js file and replace the default code with the following JavaScript code:
import { LightningElement, track } from 'lwc';
export default class WeatherComponent extends LightningElement {
@track weatherData;
location;
handleLocationChange(event) {
this.location = event.target.value;
}
async getWeatherData() {
const response = await fetch(`https://api.weatherapi.com/v1/current.json?key=YOUR_API_KEY&q=${this.location}`);
const data = await response.json();
this.weatherData = {
location: data.location.name,
temperature: data.current.temp_c,
condition: data.current.condition.text,
};
}
}
Note: Replace YOUR_API_KEY in the API URL with your actual API key. You can obtain a free API key by signing up at weatherapi.com or use any other weather API of your choice.
Explanation:
- We define a Lightning Web Component with a card layout, including an input field to enter the location and a button to retrieve the weather data.
- On button click, the getWeatherData() method is called, which performs an asynchronous API call to fetch weather information based on the location entered by the user.
- The response is then parsed into the weatherData object, which is used to display the location, temperature, and condition of the weather in the component template.
Conclusion:
In this blog post, we explored how to build a dynamic weather display component using Lightning Web Components (LWC). By leveraging external APIs, we were able to fetch real-time weather data and present it in an interactive manner. LWC's flexibility and ease of use make it an excellent choice for creating engaging user interfaces within the Salesforce platform. Feel free to extend this component by adding more features such as additional weather details or styling enhancements.
Happy coding!