Caching 102: Client-Side Caching and how you can implement in your React.js application

Welcome back to my "Caching Series". Last article, I did the introduction where I talked about Caching and how it significantly improves the performance and scalability of web applications. Also, I highlighted some types, and we will go more profound today, talking more about Client-side caching. Please fasten your seat belt as this might be a long read.

Client-side caching is an important technique for improving the performance and user experience of web applications. By caching data on the client-side, the application can reduce the number of requests made to the server and improve the speed of data retrieval. In this article, we will discuss how to implement client-side caching in a React.js application.

The first step in implementing client-side caching in a React.js application is to choose a caching library. There are several popular libraries available, including Redux Persist, which is a library specifically designed for caching data in a Redux store, and LocalForage, which provides a simple API for working with client-side storage.

Once you have chosen a caching library, you need to decide which data to cache. The most common data to cache include API responses, user preferences, and application state. It is important to note that you should only cache data that is not sensitive and can be safely stored on the client-side.

When implementing caching, it's important to consider the expiration of the cache. You can either set a specific expiration time for the cache or use a "time-to-live" (TTL) approach where the cache is automatically invalidated after a certain period of time. This will ensure that the cached data remains fresh and relevant.

Once you have decided which data to cache, and how long it should be cached for, you can then implement the caching logic. The basic approach is to intercept the data before it is passed to the Redux store or component props and check if the data is already in the cache. If it is, the cached data is returned, otherwise, the data is fetched from the server and then cached.

Here is an example of how you might implement client-side caching in a React.js application using the Redux Persist library:

import { persistStore, persistReducer } from 'redux-persist';
import storage from 'redux-persist/lib/storage';

const persistConfig = {
  key: 'root',
  storage,
  whitelist: ['apiData'],
};

const persistedReducer = persistReducer(persistConfig, rootReducer);

let persistor = persistStore(store);

In the above example, we are using the persistStore function from the Redux Persist library to create a persistor object. We are also specifying that we want to persist the 'apiData' slice of the state. Once the persistor object is created, we can then pass it to the Provider component in our React application, which will automatically handle the caching of the specified state slice.

It's also important to consider the user experience when implementing client-side caching. For example, you should provide a clear indication to the user when data is being loaded from the cache, and display a loading spinner or other visual cue when data is being retrieved from the server.

In conclusion, client-side caching is an important technique for improving the performance and user experience of web applications. By caching data on the client-side, the application can reduce the number of requests made to the server and improve the speed of data retrieval. In a React.js application, you can implement client-side caching using a library such as Redux Persist, and by carefully considering which data to cache, how long it should be cached for, and the user experience.