State Management in Frontend Development: The Cost of Predictability

State management has been a vital problem in frontend app development since the early days. Today, there are several widely accepted state management libraries, each with similar ways of getting states but different ways of changing them. For developers, one of the most important aspects of these libraries is how predictable state changes are.

However, predictability comes at a high cost in today's practice. While predictable state changes mean that state changes are easy to reason about, it can be challenging to achieve this predictability without sacrificing performance or code complexity.

In this article, we will explore the cost of predictability in state management and the trade-offs that developers must consider when choosing a state management library.

What Does it Mean by Predictable?

Predictable state changes mean that state changes are easy to reason about. Developers can easily understand what, why, when, and how states are changed. Predictability is crucial in large-scale applications where multiple developers work on the same codebase.

However, achieving predictability can be challenging. In the past, the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern was used for state management. But, it was hard to reason about state changes since every model hosted a state on its own and emitted events of its state changes.

Today, state management libraries like Redux, MobX, and Recoil have made state management more predictable. These libraries provide a centralized store that holds the application's state, making it easier to reason about state changes.

The Cost of Predictability

While predictability is essential, it comes at a cost. Achieving predictability can lead to performance issues, code complexity, and increased development time.

For example, Redux is a popular state management library that provides a predictable state container. However, Redux requires developers to write a lot of boilerplate code, which can increase code complexity and development time.

MobX, on the other hand, is a library that provides a simpler API for state management. It is less predictable than Redux, but it is easier to use and can improve performance.

Recoil is a new state management library that provides a balance between predictability and ease of use. It is designed to work with React and provides a simple API for state management.

Choosing the Right State Management Library

When choosing a state management library, developers must consider the trade-offs between predictability, performance, code complexity, and development time.

If predictability is crucial, Redux may be the right choice, but developers must be prepared to write a lot of boilerplate code. If ease of use and performance are more important, MobX or Recoil may be a better choice.

In conclusion, predictability is essential in state management, but it comes at a cost. Developers must consider the trade-offs between predictability, performance, code complexity, and development time when choosing a state management library. By understanding these trade-offs, developers can choose the right state management library for their application.