Chapter 1: Introduction to Building Tables in Frontend

In today's digital landscape, the need for effective data management is paramount. At iHateReading, our admin page requires several tables to oversee various elements such as content, user management, and database organization. Tables are essential components in most CRM systems and admin panels, making them indispensable for our frontend development.

For this project, I've chosen to utilize the Tanstack table due to its efficiency and flexibility. The data for our tables will be fetched using the JSON Placeholder API, and I've set up a boilerplate using React/Next.js for a smooth development process.

This boilerplate comes pre-installed with essential libraries and frameworks, including:

• Next.js for building the frontend
• Vercel for deployment
• Firebase for database management
• GitHub for version control
• Tailwind CSS for styling
• Material UI and Mantine.dev for UI components
• Redux for state management

To get started with this repository, you can clone it using CLI or command line tools. After cloning, simply run the following command to install all necessary dependencies:

yarn install

or

npm install

Chapter 2: Understanding Tanstack Table

The Tanstack table is a headless UI component, meaning it does not directly provide UI elements but instead offers methods for defining rows and columns, which can then be rendered using basic HTML table elements. If you're unfamiliar with the concept of headless UI, it's worth researching or asking about it. Headless UI is increasingly popular in modern frontend development because it allows for:

• Fewer DOM elements
• Extensive customization
• Easy scalability
• Cross-compatibility across JavaScript frameworks

Both Tailwind CSS and Mantine.dev utilize this headless UI concept along with their styling libraries.

The first video titled "React Table Tutorial (TanStack Table)" provides a detailed overview of how to implement Tanstack tables in a React environment, covering various features and functionalities.

Chapter 3: Setting Up and Rendering the Table

To set up a Tanstack table, you typically use the useReactTable method, which accepts two primary arguments: columns and rows. Here’s a simple example:

import { useReactTable } from '@tanstack/react-table';

const table = useReactTable({ columns, data });

In the React ecosystem, you'll need to import the useReactTable method. For other frameworks such as Vue or Svelte, different methods apply.

For data fetching, I am utilizing the JSON Placeholder API, which provides user data. The useQuery hook from Tanstack simplifies the process of caching and fetching data:

const { data: allUsers, isLoading } = useQuery("allUsers", async () => {

return response.data;

});

This hook efficiently manages data retrieval and caching, allowing for smoother user experiences.

Chapter 4: Rendering Logic and Optimization Techniques

Rendering table columns and rows with Tanstack is distinct from traditional HTML table creation. You'll provide an options object when calling useReactTable, which includes:

• data: An array of objects for display
• columns: An array of definitions outlining each column's structure and behavior

Once the table instance is created, you can render it by accessing its components, like headerGroups, rows, and columns.

For performance optimization, consider implementing:

• Memoization
• Virtualization for infinite scrolling
• Lazy loading for images
• Caching strategies to minimize re-renders