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⚠️ This article was written in 2020. Some content may be outdated.

React Concurrent Mode 2020: From Experiment to Production

We recently started adopting React Concurrent Mode on our team and picked up quite a bit of experience along the way. I'm sharing it here as a reference, hoping it helps anyone doing similar work.

Core Concepts ​

Here's one way we can improve on this:

javascript
import { useRef, useEffect, useState } from 'react'

function useIntersectionObserver(options = {}) {
  const [isVisible, setIsVisible] = useState(false)
  const ref = useRef(null)

  useEffect(() => {
    const observer = new IntersectionObserver(([entry]) => {
      setIsVisible(entry.isIntersecting)
    }, { threshold: 0.1, ...options })
    const el = ref.current
    if (el) observer.observe(el)
    return () => { if (el) observer.unobserve(el) }
  }, [])

  return [ref, isVisible]
}

This approach has been running stably in production for over half a year and has proven itself in practice.

In-Depth Analysis ​

Let's start with the basic implementation:

javascript
import { useRef, useEffect, useState } from 'react'

function useIntersectionObserver(options = {}) {
  const [isVisible, setIsVisible] = useState(false)
  const ref = useRef(null)

  useEffect(() => {
    const observer = new IntersectionObserver(([entry]) => {
      setIsVisible(entry.isIntersecting)
    }, { threshold: 0.1, ...options })
    const el = ref.current
    if (el) observer.observe(el)
    return () => { if (el) observer.unobserve(el) }
  }, [])

  return [ref, isVisible]
}

This snippet shows the basic usage. In real projects you still need to think about error handling and edge cases.

Implementation Experience ​

Building on this, we can optimize further:

javascript
import { useRef, useEffect, useState } from 'react'

function useIntersectionObserver(options = {}) {
  const [isVisible, setIsVisible] = useState(false)
  const ref = useRef(null)

  useEffect(() => {
    const observer = new IntersectionObserver(([entry]) => {
      setIsVisible(entry.isIntersecting)
    }, { threshold: 0.1, ...options })
    const el = ref.current
    if (el) observer.observe(el)
    return () => { if (el) observer.unobserve(el) }
  }, [])

  return [ref, isVisible]
}

This pattern is very useful in large projects and noticeably lowers maintenance cost.

Tuning Strategies ​

In real projects, usage gets a bit more complex:

javascript
import { useRef, useEffect, useState } from 'react'

function useIntersectionObserver(options = {}) {
  const [isVisible, setIsVisible] = useState(false)
  const ref = useRef(null)

  useEffect(() => {
    const observer = new IntersectionObserver(([entry]) => {
      setIsVisible(entry.isIntersecting)
    }, { threshold: 0.1, ...options })
    const el = ref.current
    if (el) observer.observe(el)
    return () => { if (el) observer.unobserve(el) }
  }, [])

  return [ref, isVisible]
}

This way, both the testability and extensibility of the code improve.

Important Notes ​

Here is a complete example:

javascript
import { useRef, useEffect, useState } from 'react'

function useIntersectionObserver(options = {}) {
  const [isVisible, setIsVisible] = useState(false)
  const ref = useRef(null)

  useEffect(() => {
    const observer = new IntersectionObserver(([entry]) => {
      setIsVisible(entry.isIntersecting)
    }, { threshold: 0.1, ...options })
    const el = ref.current
    if (el) observer.observe(el)
    return () => { if (el) observer.unobserve(el) }
  }, [])

  return [ref, isVisible]
}

Pay attention to edge-case handling — it's critical in production.

Summary ​

  • The code examples are for reference only and should be adapted to your actual use case
  • Adopting Concurrent Mode isn't a silver bullet — choose based on your project's scale and tech stack
  • Understanding the underlying principles matters more than memorizing APIs
  • Be sure to validate compatibility before using it in production
  • In team collaboration, conventions and documentation matter more than the tech itself

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