React Router is a popular library for handling routing in React applications. With the introduction of React 16.6, a new feature called suspense was added, which enables you to easily add loading states to your components. In this blog post, we’ll explore how to implement suspense with React Router to create smooth transitions and loading states between route changes.

Table of Contents

• What is suspense in React?
• Setting up React Router
• Implementing suspense
• Creating a loading component
• Using suspense with React Router
• Summary

What is suspense in React?

Suspense is a feature in React that allows you to suspend rendering components, displaying a fallback UI (such as a loading spinner) until the data for the component is ready. It’s particularly useful when working with asynchronous code, such as fetching data or lazy-loading components.

Setting up React Router

To use React Router in your project, you need to install it first. Open your terminal and run the following command:

npm install react-router-dom

Once installed, you can import and use the necessary components in your application.

Implementing suspense

To use suspense with React Router, you need to wrap your routes with the Suspense component from React. This component takes an optional fallback prop, which is the component to render while waiting for the route’s component to load.

import React, { Suspense } from 'react';

const Loading = () => (
  <div>Loading...</div>
);

const Home = React.lazy(() => import('./Home'));
const About = React.lazy(() => import('./About'));

const App = () => {
  return (
    <div>
      <Suspense fallback={<Loading />}>
        <Switch>
          <Route exact path="/" component={Home} />
          <Route path="/about" component={About} />
        </Switch>
      </Suspense>
    </div>
  );
};

export default App;

In the above example, the Home and About components are lazily loaded using the React.lazy function. The fallback prop of the Suspense component specifies the loading component to be rendered while waiting for the import to complete.

Creating a loading component

To display a loading state while the component is being loaded, you can create a loading component. This component will be displayed until the route’s component is ready.

import React from 'react';

const Loading = () => (
  <div>Loading...</div>
);

export default Loading;

Using suspense with React Router

By wrapping your routes with the Suspense component and setting a fallback loading component, you can easily implement suspense with React Router. This provides a smooth transition and loading state between route changes.

Summary

In this blog post, we have learned how to implement suspense with React Router to add loading states to your components. We saw how to wrap the routes with the Suspense component and create a loading component. By combining these techniques, you can create a seamless loading experience for your users when navigating between different routes in your React application.

#react #react-router