Using suspense with web sockets in React

16 Oct 2023

In React, suspense allows you to handle loading states in a declarative way, making it easier to manage asynchronous data fetching. While suspense is commonly used with server requests using libraries like fetch or axios, it can also be used with web sockets to handle real-time updates in your React components.

Setting up a WebSocket connection

To use web sockets in React, you can use libraries like socket.io or the built-in WebSocket API.

Here’s an example of setting up a basic WebSocket connection in a React component:

import React, { useEffect, useState } from 'react';

function MyComponent() {
  const [messages, setMessages] = useState([]);

  useEffect(() => {
    const socket = new WebSocket('wss://example.com/ws');

    socket.onmessage = (event) => {
      setMessages((prevMessages) => [...prevMessages, event.data]);
    };

    return () => {
      socket.close();
    };
  }, []);

  return (
    <div>
      {messages.map((message, index) => (
        <div key={index}>{message}</div>
      ))}
    </div>
  );
}

In this example, we create a connection to a WebSocket server using the WebSocket constructor. We then handle incoming messages using the onmessage event listener, updating the messages state whenever a new message is received. Finally, we close the socket connection when the component is unmounted using the cleanup function in the useEffect hook.

Using suspense with web sockets

To use suspense with web sockets, we can leverage the Suspense and SuspenseList components provided by React. With suspense, we can handle the loading state while waiting for new data to arrive from the web socket.

Here’s an example of using suspense with web sockets in a React component:

import React, { useEffect, useState, Suspense, SuspenseList } from 'react';

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

function MyComponent() {
  const [messages, setMessages] = useState([]);

  useEffect(() => {
    const socket = new WebSocket('wss://example.com/ws');

    socket.onmessage = (event) => {
      setMessages((prevMessages) => [...prevMessages, event.data]);
    };

    return () => {
      socket.close();
    };
  }, []);

  return (
    <div>
      <SuspenseList revealOrder="together">
        {messages.map((message, index) => (
          <Suspense key={index} fallback={<div>Loading...</div>}>
            <Message message={message} />
          </Suspense>
        ))}
      </SuspenseList>
    </div>
  );
}

In this example, we import a Message component using React.lazy, which allows us to lazy load the component. We then wrap each Suspense component around the Message component, providing a fallback UI to show while the message is being loaded.

The SuspenseList component with revealOrder="together" ensures that all message components are loaded and rendered together, providing a smoother user experience.

Conclusion

Using suspense with web sockets in React can help you handle real-time updates in a more declarative and organized manner. By combining the power of suspense and web sockets, you can create dynamic and interactive user interfaces that respond to real-time data changes. Give it a try in your next React project!

Setting up a WebSocket connection

Using suspense with web sockets

Conclusion

References