As for the whole "rendering cycle problem", I'm glad that you understand my point. Lemme give you a more tactical "real world" example that I ran into recently.
I had to build a React app with backend/API connections. And I was specifically requested to craft those API connections via GraphQL. To be frank, I'd read about GraphQL before, but I hadn't actually implemented GraphQL endpoints before. (Obviously, I'm all-too-familiar with REST.)
So, after doing some basic get-up-to-speed reading, I did what a lotta React devs do - I started playing with some of the major React/GraphQL libraries that I could leverage on NPM. I wasn't using some esoteric packages that have minuscule downloads. I was trying to use the "official", "approved" React/GraphQL libraries. The ones that are either written, or explicitly endorsed, by the core GraphQL team.
But I kept running into one core problem that bugged the hell outta me. All of the "official" libraries wanted me to embed/invoke the GraphQL components directly in the render() function.
Once I got everything properly loaded up and connected, I noticed that the damn components were constantly calling my backend API - sometimes, two or three times - for a single load of the application.
To be honest, I don't think the client woulda really given a shit. But it bugged me greatly. I HATE invoking unnecessary API calls. And when I'm doing an SPA, I take great pride in trying to minimize any unneeded renders and/or API calls.
Of course, one of the "hallmarks" of React development is the (near constant) struggle to halt unnecessary renders. So, at first, I attacked it as a "stop the unnecessary renders" problem. But no matter what I was doing, I just couldn't get it to where it would only call the backend API once. It always called the API at least twice.
Finally... I told myself that this was just stupid/wasted effort. I mean, in the end, a GraphQL query (or a REST query, or a SOAP query, or any kinda query) is just text that's gotta be formatted in a very-specific way. So I ended up just ripping out the React/GraphQL libraries and writing the queries manually - in a fetch() - that didn't "live" in the render() function.
Once I did it the "manual" way, it worked beautifully. It called my backend API no more than the exact number of times that were necessary to provide the needed functionality.
And yet... soooo many React libraries just assume that you're gonna invoke all their custom components in the render() function.
Thanks for sharing. I didn't use graphQL yet (beyond playing around in a sandbox) and didn't know the problem extends to it. I love the fact you didn't just accept it and went back to basics:)
I think one major thing a lot of framework users don't understand is that the people who make these frameworks are just normal developers that don't like to other people's frameworks (so they make their own) :)
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As for the whole "rendering cycle problem", I'm glad that you understand my point. Lemme give you a more tactical "real world" example that I ran into recently.
I had to build a React app with backend/API connections. And I was specifically requested to craft those API connections via GraphQL. To be frank, I'd read about GraphQL before, but I hadn't actually implemented GraphQL endpoints before. (Obviously, I'm all-too-familiar with REST.)
So, after doing some basic get-up-to-speed reading, I did what a lotta React devs do - I started playing with some of the major React/GraphQL libraries that I could leverage on NPM. I wasn't using some esoteric packages that have minuscule downloads. I was trying to use the "official", "approved" React/GraphQL libraries. The ones that are either written, or explicitly endorsed, by the core GraphQL team.
But I kept running into one core problem that bugged the hell outta me. All of the "official" libraries wanted me to embed/invoke the GraphQL components directly in the
render()function.Once I got everything properly loaded up and connected, I noticed that the damn components were constantly calling my backend API - sometimes, two or three times - for a single load of the application.
To be honest, I don't think the client woulda really given a shit. But it bugged me greatly. I HATE invoking unnecessary API calls. And when I'm doing an SPA, I take great pride in trying to minimize any unneeded renders and/or API calls.
Of course, one of the "hallmarks" of React development is the (near constant) struggle to halt unnecessary renders. So, at first, I attacked it as a "stop the unnecessary renders" problem. But no matter what I was doing, I just couldn't get it to where it would only call the backend API once. It always called the API at least twice.
Finally... I told myself that this was just stupid/wasted effort. I mean, in the end, a GraphQL query (or a REST query, or a SOAP query, or any kinda query) is just text that's gotta be formatted in a very-specific way. So I ended up just ripping out the React/GraphQL libraries and writing the queries manually - in a
fetch()- that didn't "live" in therender()function.Once I did it the "manual" way, it worked beautifully. It called my backend API no more than the exact number of times that were necessary to provide the needed functionality.
And yet... soooo many React libraries just assume that you're gonna invoke all their custom components in the
render()function.Sigh...
Thanks for sharing. I didn't use graphQL yet (beyond playing around in a sandbox) and didn't know the problem extends to it. I love the fact you didn't just accept it and went back to basics:)
I think one major thing a lot of framework users don't understand is that the people who make these frameworks are just normal developers that don't like to other people's frameworks (so they make their own) :)