What are the common use cases for debouncing and throttling in web development?

What are the common use cases for debouncing and throttling in web development?

Debouncing and throttling are techniques used to control the rate of function execution. Common use cases include handling user input events, like search suggestions, where debouncing can prevent excessive API calls, and scrolling events, where throttling can limit the number of times a function is executed as the user scrolls.

Can you explain how debouncing works in a search input?

Sure! Debouncing delays the execution of a function until a certain amount of time has passed since the last time it was invoked. For example, in a search input, it waits until the user stops typing for a specified duration before sending a request to fetch search results.

What about throttling? How is it different from debouncing?

Throttling, on the other hand, ensures that a function is executed at most once in a specified time interval. For instance, if you have a function that tracks scrolling, throttling would limit its execution to once every 200 milliseconds, regardless of how many times the scroll event is triggered.

Are there any performance benefits to using these techniques?

Yes, both techniques can significantly improve performance by reducing the number of function calls, which can lead to less strain on the server and a smoother user experience.