Debouncing vs AbortController: Maximizing API call Efficiency for Seamless User Experience

This article will help you Unlock the secrets to acing your frontend interviews with our expert guide on debouncing mastery and API call cancellation tactics. Learn how to optimize user experience and skyrocket your website's performance while impressing interviewers with your advanced knowledge. Dive into the world of front-end development and emerge as a true coding wizard.

DEBOUNCING

While debouncing is a great technique for controlling the frequency of function calls, aborting API calls specifically addresses the concern of canceling network requests, which can be crucial for optimizing performance and resource utilization in web applications. Depending on the specific requirements of an application, developers may choose to use one or both of these techniques to enhance user experience and improve system efficiency.

AbortController

In the context of an API call, "abort" typically refers to interrupting or canceling an ongoing request or operation. This functionality is useful in scenarios where a client (such as a web browser or a mobile app) initiates a request to a server but wants to stop or abandon the request before it completes.

Here are some common scenarios where the ability to abort API calls is useful:

User-initiated actions: For example, a user might start typing a search query in a search bar, but if they change their mind or type another query before the first request completes, the initial request can be aborted to avoid unnecessary processing and network traffic.

Long-running operations: If an API call triggers a long-running operation on the server side, the client might want the ability to cancel the operation if it's taking too long or is no longer necessary.

Network interruptions: In cases where network connectivity is unstable or intermittent, the ability to abort API calls can help manage the impact of network disruptions and prevent unnecessary retries or timeouts.

Resource management: Aborting API calls can also be important for managing system resources efficiently, particularly in scenarios where multiple concurrent requests are being made and some need to be prioritized or canceled.

In practical terms, APIs often provide mechanisms for aborting requests, such as through the use of asynchronous programming techniques or specific API methods designed for cancellation. For example, in JavaScript, the AbortController interface can be used to create an object that allows for canceling fetch requests initiated with the fetch() function.

Overall, the ability to abort API calls gives clients more control over their interactions with servers, improving performance, user experience, and resource utilization.

While both debouncing and aborting API calls can address similar concerns related to user-initiated actions, they serve slightly different purposes:

Debouncing: Helps to limit the rate at which a function is called, ensuring that it only executes after a certain quiet period. It's useful for scenarios where you want to avoid overwhelming the system with rapid successive calls, such as autocomplete search bars or handling scroll events.

Aborting API calls: Allows for canceling ongoing network requests, particularly useful when a user changes their mind or initiates another action before a previous request completes. It's beneficial for managing network resources and reducing unnecessary server load.

Using Both Debouncing and AbortContoller

While debouncing is a great technique for controlling the frequency of function calls, aborting API calls specifically addresses the concern of canceling network requests, which can be crucial for optimizing performance and resource utilization in web applications. Depending on the specific requirements of an application, developers may choose to use one or both of these techniques to enhance user experience and improve system efficiency.

import React, { useState, useEffect } from "react";
import ReactDOM from "react-dom";
import { useDebounce } from "use-debounce";
import axios from "axios";

const initalText = "United";

function Input() {
  const [text, setText] = useState(initalText);
  const [countries, setCountries] = useState([]);
  const [debouncedText] = useDebounce(text, 500);
  useEffect(() => {
    const source = axios.CancelToken.source();
    if (debouncedText) {
      getCountries(debouncedText, source.token)
        .then(setCountries)
        .catch((e) => {
          if (axios.isCancel(source)) {
            return;
          }
          setCountries([]);
        });
    } else {
      setCountries([]);
    }
    return () => {
      source.cancel(
        "Canceled because of component unmounted or debounce Text changed"
      );
    };
  }, [debouncedText]);

  return (
    <div>
      <input
        defaultValue={initalText}
        onChange={(e) => setText(e.target.value)}
      />
      <p>Actual value: {text}</p>
      <p>Debounced value: {debouncedText}</p>
      <p>Counties:</p>
      {countries && countries.length ? (
        <ul>
          {countries.map((country) => (
            <li>{country}</li>
          ))}
        </ul>
      ) : (
        <p>No Countries Found</p>
      )}
    </div>
  );
}

function getCountries(text, token) {
  return axios
    .get("https://restcountries.com/v3.1/name/" + text, {
      cancelToken: token
    })
    .then(({ data }) => data.map(({ name }) => name.common));
}

const rootElement = document.getElementById("root");
ReactDOM.render(<Input />, rootElement);

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