The Efficient SearchBox in React

How can we make our basic implementation better?

This is a follow-up article to my impromptu search box implementation in React. Just like that one, I am writing this on the fly, too — after having an interesting technical discussion with a senior engineer.

I felt I could use this opportunity to brush up on some fundamental concepts for myself.

First, a quick recap of my previous implementation:

1. We have an input box, and on change, we set the value of the search query.
2. Whenever the query changes, we trigger a useEffect, where we call the API to get the required data.
3. The API call is wrapped with a setTimeout function to produce the debounce effect.
4. The results from the API are set to the searchResults state.
5. searchResults are rendered via a simple map function and a div element.

Simple and straightforward.

The question — how can we make it even better?

I have two ideas to explore:

• Refactor the code to use some reusable hooks for better maintainability and structure.
• Add caching to avoid making unnecessary API calls to fetch the same data.