React.memo vs. useMemo : Major differences and use cases

In the realm of software development, optimizing application performance is crucial, and memoization serves as a key technique for enhancing speed by caching results of computationally expensive function calls. This article delves into the application of memoization in React, highlighting its utility in minimizing unnecessary re-renders in functional components. By exploring an example app that pairs wines with selected cheeses, it illustrates how React.memo(), a higher-order component, and useMemo(), a React Hook, can be employed to prevent re-renders of components and functions when their respective dependencies remain unchanged. React.memo() wraps components to avoid re-rendering unless their props change, while useMemo() ensures functions within components only recompute values when dependencies update, thereby optimizing performance. The article advises using memoization judiciously due to its memory consumption and potential side effects, offering insights into when and how to implement these tools effectively for performance gains.