Throttling in Javascript

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

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