frontend-patterns

name	frontend-patterns
description	Frontend development patterns for React, Next.js, state management, performance optimization, and UI best practices.

Frontend Development Patterns

Modern frontend patterns for React, Next.js, and performant user interfaces.

Component Patterns

Composition Over Inheritance

// GOOD: Component composition
interface CardProps {
  children: React.ReactNode
  variant?: 'default' | 'outlined'
}

export function Card({ children, variant = 'default' }: CardProps) {
  return <div className={`card card-${variant}`}>{children}</div>
}

export function CardHeader({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return <div className="card-header">{children}</div>
}

export function CardBody({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return <div className="card-body">{children}</div>
}

// Usage
<Card>
  <CardHeader>Title</CardHeader>
  <CardBody>Content</CardBody>
</Card>

Compound Components

interface TabsContextValue {
  activeTab: string
  setActiveTab: (tab: string) => void
}

const TabsContext = createContext<TabsContextValue | undefined>(undefined)

export function Tabs({ children, defaultTab }: {
  children: React.ReactNode
  defaultTab: string
}) {
  const [activeTab, setActiveTab] = useState(defaultTab)

  return (
    <TabsContext.Provider value={{ activeTab, setActiveTab }}>
      {children}
    </TabsContext.Provider>
  )
}

export function TabList({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return <div className="tab-list">{children}</div>
}

export function Tab({ id, children }: { id: string, children: React.ReactNode }) {
  const context = useContext(TabsContext)
  if (!context) throw new Error('Tab must be used within Tabs')

  return (
    <button
      className={context.activeTab === id ? 'active' : ''}
      onClick={() => context.setActiveTab(id)}
    >
      {children}
    </button>
  )
}

// Usage
<Tabs defaultTab="overview">
  <TabList>
    <Tab id="overview">Overview</Tab>
    <Tab id="details">Details</Tab>
  </TabList>
</Tabs>

Render Props Pattern

interface DataLoaderProps<T> {
  url: string
  children: (data: T | null, loading: boolean, error: Error | null) => React.ReactNode
}

export function DataLoader<T>({ url, children }: DataLoaderProps<T>) {
  const [data, setData] = useState<T | null>(null)
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true)
  const [error, setError] = useState<Error | null>(null)

  useEffect(() => {
    fetch(url)
      .then(res => res.json())
      .then(setData)
      .catch(setError)
      .finally(() => setLoading(false))
  }, [url])

  return <>{children(data, loading, error)}</>
}

// Usage
<DataLoader<Product[]> url="/api/products">
  {(products, loading, error) => {
    if (loading) return <Spinner />
    if (error) return <Error error={error} />
    return <ProductList products={products!} />
  }}
</DataLoader>

Custom Hooks Patterns

State Management Hook

export function useToggle(initialValue = false): [boolean, () => void] {
  const [value, setValue] = useState(initialValue)

  const toggle = useCallback(() => {
    setValue(v => !v)
  }, [])

  return [value, toggle]
}

// Usage
const [isOpen, toggleOpen] = useToggle()

Async Data Fetching Hook

interface UseQueryOptions<T> {
  onSuccess?: (data: T) => void
  onError?: (error: Error) => void
  enabled?: boolean
}

export function useQuery<T>(
  key: string,
  fetcher: () => Promise<T>,
  options?: UseQueryOptions<T>
) {
  const [data, setData] = useState<T | null>(null)
  const [error, setError] = useState<Error | null>(null)
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false)

  const refetch = useCallback(async () => {
    setLoading(true)
    setError(null)

    try {
      const result = await fetcher()
      setData(result)
      options?.onSuccess?.(result)
    } catch (err) {
      const error = err as Error
      setError(error)
      options?.onError?.(error)
    } finally {
      setLoading(false)
    }
  }, [fetcher, options])

  useEffect(() => {
    if (options?.enabled !== false) {
      refetch()
    }
  }, [key, refetch, options?.enabled])

  return { data, error, loading, refetch }
}

// Usage
const { data: products, loading, error, refetch } = useQuery(
  'products',
  () => fetch('/api/products').then(r => r.json()),
  {
    onSuccess: data => console.log('Fetched', data.length, 'products'),
    onError: err => console.error('Failed:', err)
  }
)

Debounce Hook

export function useDebounce<T>(value: T, delay: number): T {
  const [debouncedValue, setDebouncedValue] = useState<T>(value)

  useEffect(() => {
    const handler = setTimeout(() => {
      setDebouncedValue(value)
    }, delay)

    return () => clearTimeout(handler)
  }, [value, delay])

  return debouncedValue
}

// Usage
const [searchQuery, setSearchQuery] = useState('')
const debouncedQuery = useDebounce(searchQuery, 500)

useEffect(() => {
  if (debouncedQuery) {
    performSearch(debouncedQuery)
  }
}, [debouncedQuery])

State Management Patterns

Context + Reducer Pattern

interface State {
  products: Product[]
  selectedProduct: Product | null
  loading: boolean
}

type Action =
  | { type: 'SET_PRODUCTS'; payload: Product[] }
  | { type: 'SELECT_PRODUCT'; payload: Product }
  | { type: 'SET_LOADING'; payload: boolean }

function reducer(state: State, action: Action): State {
  switch (action.type) {
    case 'SET_PRODUCTS':
      return { ...state, products: action.payload }
    case 'SELECT_PRODUCT':
      return { ...state, selectedProduct: action.payload }
    case 'SET_LOADING':
      return { ...state, loading: action.payload }
    default:
      return state
  }
}

const ProductContext = createContext<{
  state: State
  dispatch: Dispatch<Action>
} | undefined>(undefined)

export function ProductProvider({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  const [state, dispatch] = useReducer(reducer, {
    products: [],
    selectedProduct: null,
    loading: false
  })

  return (
    <ProductContext.Provider value={{ state, dispatch }}>
      {children}
    </ProductContext.Provider>
  )
}

export function useProducts() {
  const context = useContext(ProductContext)
  if (!context) throw new Error('useProducts must be used within ProductProvider')
  return context
}

Performance Optimization

Memoization

// useMemo for expensive computations
const sortedProducts = useMemo(() => {
  return products.sort((a, b) => b.volume - a.volume)
}, [products])

// useCallback for functions passed to children
const handleSearch = useCallback((query: string) => {
  setSearchQuery(query)
}, [])

// React.memo for pure components
export const ProductCard = React.memo<ProductCardProps>(({ product }) => {
  return (
    <div className="product-card">
      <h3>{product.name}</h3>
      <p>{product.description}</p>
    </div>
  )
})

Code Splitting & Lazy Loading

import { lazy, Suspense } from 'react'

// Lazy load heavy components
const HeavyChart = lazy(() => import('./HeavyChart'))
const ThreeJsBackground = lazy(() => import('./ThreeJsBackground'))

export function Dashboard() {
  return (
    <div>
      <Suspense fallback={<ChartSkeleton />}>
        <HeavyChart data={data} />
      </Suspense>

      <Suspense fallback={null}>
        <ThreeJsBackground />
      </Suspense>
    </div>
  )
}

Virtualization for Long Lists

import { useVirtualizer } from '@tanstack/react-virtual'

export function VirtualProductList({ products }: { products: Product[] }) {
  const parentRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null)

  const virtualizer = useVirtualizer({
    count: products.length,
    getScrollElement: () => parentRef.current,
    estimateSize: () => 100,  // Estimated row height
    overscan: 5  // Extra items to render
  })

  return (
    <div ref={parentRef} style={{ height: '600px', overflow: 'auto' }}>
      <div
        style={{
          height: `${virtualizer.getTotalSize()}px`,
          position: 'relative'
        }}
      >
        {virtualizer.getVirtualItems().map(virtualRow => (
          <div
            key={virtualRow.index}
            style={{
              position: 'absolute',
              top: 0,
              left: 0,
              width: '100%',
              height: `${virtualRow.size}px`,
              transform: `translateY(${virtualRow.start}px)`
            }}
          >
            <ProductCard product={products[virtualRow.index]} />
          </div>
        ))}
      </div>
    </div>
  )
}

Form Handling Patterns

Controlled Form with Validation

interface FormData {
  name: string
  description: string
  endDate: string
}

interface FormErrors {
  name?: string
  description?: string
  endDate?: string
}

export function CreateProductForm() {
  const [formData, setFormData] = useState<FormData>({
    name: '',
    description: '',
    endDate: ''
  })

  const [errors, setErrors] = useState<FormErrors>({})

  const validate = (): boolean => {
    const newErrors: FormErrors = {}

    if (!formData.name.trim()) {
      newErrors.name = 'Name is required'
    } else if (formData.name.length > 200) {
      newErrors.name = 'Name must be under 200 characters'
    }

    if (!formData.description.trim()) {
      newErrors.description = 'Description is required'
    }

    if (!formData.endDate) {
      newErrors.endDate = 'End date is required'
    }

    setErrors(newErrors)
    return Object.keys(newErrors).length === 0
  }

  const handleSubmit = async (e: React.FormEvent) => {
    e.preventDefault()

    if (!validate()) return

    try {
      await createProduct(formData)
      // Success handling
    } catch (error) {
      // Error handling
    }
  }

  return (
    <form onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
      <input
        value={formData.name}
        onChange={e => setFormData(prev => ({ ...prev, name: e.target.value }))}
        placeholder="Product name"
      />
      {errors.name && <span className="error">{errors.name}</span>}

      {/* Other fields */}

      <button type="submit">Create Product</button>
    </form>
  )
}

Error Boundary Pattern

interface ErrorBoundaryState {
  hasError: boolean
  error: Error | null
}

export class ErrorBoundary extends React.Component<
  { children: React.ReactNode },
  ErrorBoundaryState
> {
  state: ErrorBoundaryState = {
    hasError: false,
    error: null
  }

  static getDerivedStateFromError(error: Error): ErrorBoundaryState {
    return { hasError: true, error }
  }

  componentDidCatch(error: Error, errorInfo: React.ErrorInfo) {
    console.error('Error boundary caught:', error, errorInfo)
  }

  render() {
    if (this.state.hasError) {
      return (
        <div className="error-fallback">
          <h2>Something went wrong</h2>
          <p>{this.state.error?.message}</p>
          <button onClick={() => this.setState({ hasError: false })}>
            Try again
          </button>
        </div>
      )
    }

    return this.props.children
  }
}

// Usage
<ErrorBoundary>
  <App />
</ErrorBoundary>

Animation Patterns

Framer Motion Animations

import { motion, AnimatePresence } from 'framer-motion'

// List animations
export function AnimatedProductList({ products }: { products: Product[] }) {
  return (
    <AnimatePresence>
      {products.map(product => (
        <motion.div
          key={product.id}
          initial={{ opacity: 0, y: 20 }}
          animate={{ opacity: 1, y: 0 }}
          exit={{ opacity: 0, y: -20 }}
          transition={{ duration: 0.3 }}
        >
          <ProductCard product={product} />
        </motion.div>
      ))}
    </AnimatePresence>
  )
}

// Modal animations
export function Modal({ isOpen, onClose, children }: ModalProps) {
  return (
    <AnimatePresence>
      {isOpen && (
        <>
          <motion.div
            className="modal-overlay"
            initial={{ opacity: 0 }}
            animate={{ opacity: 1 }}
            exit={{ opacity: 0 }}
            onClick={onClose}
          />
          <motion.div
            className="modal-content"
            initial={{ opacity: 0, scale: 0.9, y: 20 }}
            animate={{ opacity: 1, scale: 1, y: 0 }}
            exit={{ opacity: 0, scale: 0.9, y: 20 }}
          >
            {children}
          </motion.div>
        </>
      )}
    </AnimatePresence>
  )
}

Accessibility Patterns

Keyboard Navigation

export function Dropdown({ options, onSelect }: DropdownProps) {
  const [isOpen, setIsOpen] = useState(false)
  const [activeIndex, setActiveIndex] = useState(0)

  const handleKeyDown = (e: React.KeyboardEvent) => {
    switch (e.key) {
      case 'ArrowDown':
        e.preventDefault()
        setActiveIndex(i => Math.min(i + 1, options.length - 1))
        break
      case 'ArrowUp':
        e.preventDefault()
        setActiveIndex(i => Math.max(i - 1, 0))
        break
      case 'Enter':
        e.preventDefault()
        onSelect(options[activeIndex])
        setIsOpen(false)
        break
      case 'Escape':
        setIsOpen(false)
        break
    }
  }

  return (
    <div
      role="combobox"
      aria-expanded={isOpen}
      aria-haspopup="listbox"
      onKeyDown={handleKeyDown}
    >
      {/* Dropdown implementation */}
    </div>
  )
}

Focus Management

export function Modal({ isOpen, onClose, children }: ModalProps) {
  const modalRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null)
  const previousFocusRef = useRef<HTMLElement | null>(null)

  useEffect(() => {
    if (isOpen) {
      // Save currently focused element
      previousFocusRef.current = document.activeElement as HTMLElement

      // Focus modal
      modalRef.current?.focus()
    } else {
      // Restore focus when closing
      previousFocusRef.current?.focus()
    }
  }, [isOpen])

  return isOpen ? (
    <div
      ref={modalRef}
      role="dialog"
      aria-modal="true"
      tabIndex={-1}
      onKeyDown={e => e.key === 'Escape' && onClose()}
    >
      {children}
    </div>
  ) : null
}

Remember: Modern frontend patterns enable maintainable, performant user interfaces. Choose patterns that fit your project complexity.