How to virtualize large lists using react-window

In the modern JavaScript environment, managing the Document Object Model (DOM) efficiently is crucial for optimizing web page performance, especially in React applications where unnecessary re-renders can slow down user interactions. Large DOM trees can negatively impact Core Web Vitals, affecting network, runtime, and memory performances. To mitigate these issues, developers are advised to limit DOM size and consider different rendering strategies like pagination, which reduces initial load and prevents DOM bloat, though it may not suit all datasets. An alternative is virtualization, which selectively renders only visible elements based on user scroll position, offering the benefits of pagination with the user experience of infinite scrolling. The react-window library facilitates this by efficiently managing large data sets, using techniques like FixedSizeList for lists and FixedSizeGrid for grids, where only elements within the viewport are rendered, significantly improving performance. The library also supports features like dynamic scrolling behavior adjustments and unique key management to ensure seamless and responsive user experiences when handling extensive datasets.