Throttling in Javascript
🔥 Ever wondered how works with both leading and trailing options?
I recently tackled a cool problem on BigFrontend.dev that required implementing a function... but not just any throttle — it had to support both:
✅ Leading: Execute immediately on the first call ✅ Trailing: Execute once more after the cooldown, if needed
And let me tell you — understanding the timing and call flow made this a lot more interesting than just slapping a around a function 😄
📌 Here's a quick refresher:
🟢 Leading = true → Run the function right away 🔴 Leading = false → Skip first call, wait for cooldown to finish
🟢 Trailing = true → If the function is called during cooldown, execute it again at the end 🔴 Trailing = false → Ignore all those calls during the cooldown
🔧 Use Case?
Perfect for high-frequency events like:
Resizing the browser
Scrolling
Typing into a search bar
Firing analytics events with control
🧠 My implementation:
🔍 Test it:
💭 Gotchas I learned:
Always reset throttle state only when needed — avoid early unlocks!
Be careful with trailing logic: store only the latest args, and execute once.
Leading and trailing combined ≠ easy mode 😅
🛠️ Would love to hear how you've handled throttling in your projects. Do you use custom logic, , or something else entirely?
Drop your thoughts below 👇
#JavaScript #Frontend #Throttle #Debounce #WebDev #CodingChallenge #React #Performance #BigFrontend #CleanCode #DevTips #WebPerformance
Adding question link here from BFE.dev https://bigfrontend.dev/problem/implement-throttle-with-leading-and-trailing-option