Scroll Beyond Limits: Mastering Infinite Scroll for Dynamic React.js Apps with API Data

Introduction:

Infinite scrolling has become a popular user experience pattern, especially for apps that display a large amount of data fetched from APIs. This technique allows users to seamlessly load and view more content as they scroll down the page, eliminating the need for manual pagination and enhancing user engagement. In this blog, we’ll walk you through the process of adding infinite scroll to a React.js app that displays data fetched from an API. By the end of this tutorial, you’ll have a dynamic and user-friendly application that can handle large data sets effortlessly.

Prerequisites:

1. Basic understanding of React.js
2. Familiarity with asynchronous programming and API calls
3. Node.js and npm (Node Package Manager) installed on your machine
4. An API key from newsapi.org as we will be creating a news app.

Steps to Add Infinite Scroll to Your React.js App:

Step 1: Setting Up Your React App

1. Create a new React app using Create React App or your preferred method.

npx create-react-app infinite-scroll-app
cd infinite-scroll-app

Step 2: Fetch Data from API

1. Create a component to handle API data fetching. You can use libraries like axios or the built-in fetch API.

import React, { useEffect, useState } from "react";
import axios from 'axios';
import InfiniteScroll from "react-infinite-scroll-component";

function News() {
    //newsText will be used to store the news articles
    const [newsText, setNewsText] = useState([]);
    const [page,setPage]=useState(1);

    const options = {
        method: 'GET',
        url: `https://newsapi.org/v2/top-headlines?country=in&apiKey=your_API_Key&page=${page}&pageSize=12`,
    };
    function fetchNews(){
        axios.request(options).then(response => {
            if (response.status === 200) {
                setNewsText(response.data.articles);
                setTotalResults(response.data.totalResults);
            }
        });
    }
    useEffect(() => {
        fetchNews();
    });
    
    const fetchMoreData =  ()=>{
        const options = {
            method: 'GET',
            url: `https://newsapi.org/v2/top-headlines?country=in&apiKey=your_API_Key&page=${page+1}&pageSize=12`,
        };
         setPage(page+1);
        axios.request(options).then(response => {
            if (response.status === 200) {
                setTotalResults(response.data.totalResults)
                setNewsText(newsText.concat(response.data.articles))
            }
        });
            
    }
    return (
        <>
            <InfiniteScroll
                    dataLength={newsText.length}
                    next={fetchMoreData}
                    hasMore={newsText.length!==totalResults}
                    //you can create a spinner component which will be
                    //displayed when the Items are being loaded
                    loader={newsText.length>totalResults?"":<Spinner />}
                >

            //add JSX to display your fetched data

                </InfiniteScroll>
        </>
    )
}

Conclusion:

Infinite scrolling is a powerful technique that enhances the user experience by allowing seamless loading of data as users scroll through your React.js app. By following the steps outlined in this blog, you’ve learned how to integrate infinite scroll functionality into your app that fetches and displays data from an API. Remember to fine-tune the implementation based on your specific use case and data fetching logic. With this knowledge, you can create engaging and efficient user interfaces that handle large data sets effortlessly. Happy coding!

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