Have you ever come across a website or app that loads and displays more content as you scroll?
This is what we call infinite scroll.
Infinite scroll is a popular technique that can make it easier to browse large amounts of content.
It can also make for a smoother user experience, especially on mobile devices.
The first is to use a library like react-infinite-scroll-component.
This librarys component triggers an event whenever the user scrolls to the bottom of the page.
it’s possible for you to then use this event as a cue to load more content.
Another way to implement infinite scroll in React is via its built-in functions.
One such function is componentDidMount, which React calls when it first mounts a component.
it’s possible for you to alsouse React hooksto add an infinite scrolling feature.
Using the react-infinite-scroll-component Library
There are a few ways to use the react-infinite-scroll-component.
This code starts by importing React and the InfiniteScroll component from the react-infinite-scroll-component library.
It then creates a stateful component and initializes it with an emptyitemsarray and ahasMoreflag set to True.
Set Parameters
In the componentDidMount lifecycle method, you must call thefetchDatamethod with apageparameter set to1.
The fetchData method makes an API call to fetch data.
This react-infinite-scroller example generates some dummy data and creates an array of 100 items.
This stops the InfiniteScroll component from making further API calls.
Finally, set the state using the new data.
The render method uses the InfiniteScroll component and passes in some props.
ThedataLengthprop is set to the length of the items array.
The following prop is set to the fetchData method.
The hasMore prop is set equal to the hasMore flag.
The loader prop causes the component to render its contents as a loading indicator.
Likewise, it will render theendMessageprop as a message when all the data has finished loading.
Using Built-In Functions
React also has some built-in methods that you might use to implement InfiniteScroll.
The first method iscomponentDidUpdate.
React calls this method after it updates a component.
you might use this method to see if the user has scrolled to the bottom of the page.
If yes, it loads more data.
The second method isscroll, which React calls when the user scrolls.
you’re able to use this method to keep track of the scroll position.
you might load more data if the user has scrolled to the bottom of the page.
Within the useEffect hook, it calls the fetchData method with the current page.
The fetchData method makes an API call to fetch data.
In this example, you’re just generating some dummy data to demonstrate the technique.
The for loop populates thenewItemsarray with 100 integers.
If the page parameter is 100, it sets the hasMore flag to False.
This stops the infinite scroll component from making further API calls.
Finally, set the state with the new data.
The onScroll method keeps track of the scroll position.
you’re able to load more data if the user scrolls to the page’s bottom.
The useEffect hook adds an event listener for the scroll event.
When the scroll event fires, it calls the onScroll method.
It improves the user interface, making for a smoother experience, especially on mobile devices.
With infinite scroll, users don’t have to click to see more content.
Using Infinite Scroll in your React.js app can reduce the number of page loads, which further improves performance.
you’ve got the option to also easily deploy your React app to Github pages for free.
