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Clicking on comments results in a weird flicker effect where the page appears empty for a split second before being filled with content. Also, the comment coll

by hasenj 9y ago

Clicking on comments results in a weird flicker effect where the page appears empty for a split second before being filled with content. Also, the comment collapse button doesn't seem to work. Is there really any benefit to implement HN as a JS driven web application? IMO, Hacker News is simple enough such that implementing it as JS-Driven app actually makes it slower than the original.

clintonwoo 9y ago
Yes the benefit is that you can prefetch other page assets then client render new pages using only GraphQL queries. Download the whole site once and and runs more like an app afterwards. Perhaps a good alternative to the flicker effect would be to put loading indicators in place of each UI component as it loads so you can see the structure.
- hasenj 9y ago
  You are missing the point. HN is so simple that introducing such defects in the name of some theoretical abstract benefit shows a lack of care about the user experience and the product. I see this attitude all the time and I find it unprofessional.
10-6 9y ago
The weird flicker/initial empty page (might) be because all the components are being mounted synchronously on page load. The new version of react introduced async rendering of new components: https://medium.com/behind-the-screens/dont-load-all-your-web-components-at-once-19580acd86f3 https://medium.com/behind-the-screens/dont-load-all-your-web...
- hellofunk 9y ago
  Are you sure it is not due to the fetching of content form the server rather than the UI synchronicity? I'm quite certain it is just latency for the download. The components might be fetching that data during their mounting if the architecture was set up that way, but the actual mounting shouldn't be the cause; React's UI is much faster than latency caused by that alone. It would be better if the components showed a waiting indicator during the download, if the components are responsible for the download. Alternately, the page itself could show that loader before mounting its sub components. Actually, there are many "alternately"s because frankly this site's approach isn't ideal.
- wiredearp 9y ago
  I don't know what they told you, but async rendering will in any case cause flickering.

by hasenj 9y ago

clintonwoo 9y ago

Yes the benefit is that you can prefetch other page assets then client render new pages using only GraphQL queries. Download the whole site once and and runs more like an app afterwards. Perhaps a good alternative to the flicker effect would be to put loading indicators in place of each UI component as it loads so you can see the structure.

hasenj 9y ago
You are missing the point. HN is so simple that introducing such defects in the name of some theoretical abstract benefit shows a lack of care about the user experience and the product. I see this attitude all the time and I find it unprofessional.

10-6 9y ago

The weird flicker/initial empty page (might) be because all the components are being mounted synchronously on page load. The new version of react introduced async rendering of new components: https://medium.com/behind-the-screens/dont-load-all-your-web-components-at-once-19580acd86f3 https://medium.com/behind-the-screens/dont-load-all-your-web...

hellofunk 9y ago
Are you sure it is not due to the fetching of content form the server rather than the UI synchronicity? I'm quite certain it is just latency for the download. The components might be fetching that data during their mounting if the architecture was set up that way, but the actual mounting shouldn't be the cause; React's UI is much faster than latency caused by that alone. It would be better if the components showed a waiting indicator during the download, if the components are responsible for the download. Alternately, the page itself could show that loader before mounting its sub components. Actually, there are many "alternately"s because frankly this site's approach isn't ideal.
wiredearp 9y ago
I don't know what they told you, but async rendering will in any case cause flickering.