What are the differences between debouncing and throttling?

What are the differences between debouncing and throttling?

Debouncing and throttling are both techniques used to control the rate at which a function is executed. Debouncing ensures that a function is only called after a certain period of inactivity, while throttling limits the function to be called at most once in a specified time interval.

Can you give me an example of when to use each?

Sure! Use debouncing for scenarios like search input where you want to wait until the user stops typing before making a request. Throttling is useful for events like scrolling or resizing, where you want to limit the number of times a function is called during continuous events.

What are the performance implications of using each?

Debouncing can reduce the number of function calls significantly, improving performance in scenarios with rapid user input. Throttling can help maintain performance by ensuring that a function is not called too frequently, which is especially important in high-frequency events like scrolling.

Are there any libraries that can help with these techniques?

Yes, popular libraries like Lodash provide built-in functions for both debouncing and throttling, making it easy to implement these techniques in your projects.