Pagination Component in React

Pagination is essential for efficiently handling large datasets, breaking them into smaller, manageable chunks. This enhances the user experience by allowing users to navigate through content one page at a time.

Below is the implementation of a reusable Pagination Component in React.

What:

A Pagination Component in React allows:

• Displaying page numbers.
• Navigating between pages with Previous and Next buttons.
• Dynamically rendering the current page of data.

Why:

Pagination is crucial for handling large datasets efficiently. It reduces rendering time and load on the browser by displaying only a subset of data at a time. This improves user experience and overall performance.

How:

The solution involves two components:

1. Pagination Component: Handles pagination logic, including generating page numbers, and managing the Previous, Next, and page selection.
2. App Component: Manages state and displays data based on the current page.

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Step-by-Step Implementation

1. Create the Pagination Component

The Pagination component generates page numbers and includes Previous and Next buttons for navigation. It accepts four props:

• totalItems: Total number of items.
• itemsPerPage: Number of items to display per page.
• currentPage: The currently active page.
• onPageChange: Callback function to handle page changes.

import React from 'react';

const Pagination = ({ totalItems, itemsPerPage, currentPage, onPageChange }) => {
  const totalPages = Math.ceil(totalItems / itemsPerPage); // Calculate total number of pages

  // Generate an array of page numbers
  const pageNumbers = Array.from({ length: totalPages }, (_, index) => index + 1);

  return (
    <nav>
      <ul style={{ display: 'flex', listStyle: 'none', padding: 0 }}>
        <li>
          <button
            onClick={() => onPageChange(currentPage - 1)} // Previous button
            disabled={currentPage === 1} // Disable if on the first page
          >
            Previous
          </button>
        </li>

        {pageNumbers.map((number) => (
          <li key={number} style={{ margin: '0 5px' }}>
            <button
              onClick={() => onPageChange(number)} // Page number button
              style={{
                padding: '5px 10px',
                backgroundColor: currentPage === number ? 'lightblue' : 'white', // Highlight current page
              }}
            >
              {number}
            </button>
          </li>
        ))}

        <li>
          <button
            onClick={() => onPageChange(currentPage + 1)} // Next button
            disabled={currentPage === totalPages} // Disable if on the last page
          >
            Next
          </button>
        </li>
      </ul>
    </nav>
  );
};

export default Pagination;

2. Integrate Pagination into the Main Component

The App component includes the Pagination component and manages state to display the correct items based on the current page.

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import Pagination from './Pagination';

const App = () => {
  const items = Array.from({ length: 50 }, (_, index) => `Item ${index + 1}`); // Mock data
  const itemsPerPage = 5; // Items per page

  const [currentPage, setCurrentPage] = useState(1); // Current page state

  // Calculate indices for slicing the data based on the current page
  const indexOfLastItem = currentPage * itemsPerPage;
  const indexOfFirstItem = indexOfLastItem - itemsPerPage;
  const currentItems = items.slice(indexOfFirstItem, indexOfLastItem);

  // Handle page change
  const handlePageChange = (pageNumber) => {
    if (pageNumber >= 1 && pageNumber <= Math.ceil(items.length / itemsPerPage)) {
      setCurrentPage(pageNumber); // Update the current page
    }
  };

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Pagination Example</h1>

      {/* Render Current Items */}
      <ul>
        {currentItems.map((item, index) => (
          <li key={index}>{item}</li>
        ))}
      </ul>

      {/* Render Pagination Component */}
      <Pagination
        totalItems={items.length} // Total number of items
        itemsPerPage={itemsPerPage} // Items per page
        currentPage={currentPage} // Current page
        onPageChange={handlePageChange} // Callback to handle page change
      />
    </div>
  );
};

export default App;

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Explanation of the Code

1. Pagination Component:

• Total Pages Calculation: The total number of pages is calculated by dividing the total number of items by the items per page, rounding up if necessary.
• Page Numbers: It generates a list of page numbers for navigation.
• Previous/Next Buttons: These buttons allow users to navigate to the previous or next page. They are disabled if the user is already on the first or last page.
• Dynamic Page Highlighting: The current page is visually highlighted for better UX.

2. App Component:

• State Management: The currentPage state tracks the active page. The setCurrentPage function updates this state whenever a page change occurs.
• Data Slicing: The currentItems are dynamically calculated by slicing the items array based on the current page and the number of items per page.
• Handle Page Change: The handlePageChange function is responsible for updating the currentPage when a page number is clicked or the Previous or Next buttons are pressed.

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Output

• The data is displayed in pages, with each page containing the specified number of items (itemsPerPage).
• The Pagination component dynamically renders the page numbers and handles navigation between them.
• Users can click on the Previous, Next, or specific page buttons to update the displayed data.

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When to Use:

This pagination logic is ideal for any scenario where you need to display large datasets efficiently, such as:

• Listings of products, articles, or users.
• Search results or API data that require efficient rendering across multiple pages.

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Summary:

• What: The Pagination Component handles displaying page numbers and navigating between them, improving user experience when dealing with large datasets.
• Why: Pagination reduces load times and enhances performance by displaying data in smaller, manageable chunks.
• How: The Pagination component generates page numbers and navigation buttons, while the App component manages the state and updates the data displayed based on the current page.
• When: This pattern is useful when working with large datasets that need to be split across multiple pages for efficient rendering.