Many features (surprisingly many!) in software packages large and small have this basic shape:
- User enters some kind of search parameters.
- As the user works, the parameters are debounced.
- Query is sent to the server.
- Server responses have variable latency and jitter.
- Client code cancels requests if they become obsolete while still in flight.
- Client code shows the results only of the most recent request (not an older one, if they arrive out of old order)
This tiny demo application shows the least-code way I am aware of to do this, using only RxJS. It's easy to avoid such a library... if you are willing to give up on some of the requirements above, perhaps without realizing it.
The downside is that this code compiles to 20 kB (minified), which while a small number, seems like a lot for such a simple application.
I've switched to RxJS 8.0.0-alpha.3, still in development. This reduces the
bundle size slightly; it might improve further as RxJS version 8 work continues.
I'm curious if there is any smaller or simpler library than RxJS, suitable for small apps of this nature. I’ve looked around at the competing observable libraries from a few years ago (listed below) and they all appear to be no longer actively developed.