Integrating suspense with third-party libraries in React

16 Oct 2023

React Suspense is a powerful feature introduced in React 16.6 that allows components to wait for the data to load before rendering. It simplifies the process of handling asynchronous operations in React applications. However, when it comes to integrating Suspense with third-party libraries, there are a few considerations to keep in mind. In this blog post, we will explore how to integrate Suspense with third-party libraries in React effectively.

Understanding React Suspense
Integrating Suspense with Third-Party Libraries
Conclusion

Understanding React Suspense

React Suspense enables developers to write components that can suspend rendering while waiting for data to resolve before continuing. It allows us to create smoother user experiences by avoiding empty or partially-rendered components. React Suspense is primarily designed to work with React’s built-in features like React.lazy and React.Suspense.

Integrating Suspense with Third-Party Libraries

1. Library Support

Before integrating Suspense with a third-party library, it is essential to check if the library has built-in support for React Suspense. Libraries like React Router and Apollo Client already offer Suspense integration, making it easy to use with minimal modifications.

To check if a library supports Suspense, refer to its documentation or community forums. If the library doesn’t have built-in support, you can explore custom integration options.

2. Custom Integrations

If a third-party library doesn’t have built-in support for Suspense, you can still integrate it using custom solutions. One approach is to create a wrapper component around the library component and implement Suspense within it.

Here’s a basic example of how you can integrate a third-party library, such as a charting library, with React Suspense:

import React, { Suspense } from 'react';

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

function Chart() {
  return (
    <Suspense fallback={<div>Loading...</div>}>
      <ChartWrapper />
    </Suspense>
  );
}

export default Chart;

In this example, the ChartWrapper component is lazily loaded using React.lazy and rendered within a Suspense component. The fallback prop defines the UI to display while the chart’s data is loading.

3. Error Handling

Error handling is an important aspect of integrating Suspense with third-party libraries. When an error occurs while fetching data, Suspense provides an error boundary to gracefully handle the error.

To handle errors, you can wrap the Suspense boundary around the components that might throw errors, including the third-party library components. You can then utilize the ErrorBoundary component provided by React to handle and display error messages to the user.

Here’s an example of error handling with Suspense:

import React, { Suspense } from 'react';
import ErrorBoundary from './ErrorBoundary';

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

function Chart() {
  return (
    <ErrorBoundary fallback={<div>Something went wrong...</div>}>
      <Suspense fallback={<div>Loading...</div>}>
        <ChartWrapper />
      </Suspense>
    </ErrorBoundary>
  );
}

export default Chart;

In this example, the ErrorBoundary component wraps the Suspense component, providing an error fallback UI. If an error occurs within the ChartWrapper component, it will be caught by the ErrorBoundary and the fallback UI will be displayed.

Conclusion

Integrating Suspense with third-party libraries in React can be accomplished through proper library support or custom integrations. It’s important to check if the library already has built-in Suspense support before resorting to custom solutions. Additionally, proper error handling is crucial to ensure a smooth user experience even when unexpected errors occur. By following these best practices, you can harness the power of React Suspense and seamlessly integrate it with third-party libraries in your React applications.

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