React Native: How To Build Bidirectional Infinite Scroll

React Native developers often face challenges with implementing bidirectional infinite scroll, particularly when using FlatList or SectionList, which natively support infinite scroll only in one direction. To address this, a new open-source package, react-native-bidirectional-infinite-scroll, has been developed to facilitate bidirectional scrolling by adding support for the onStartReached prop, allowing developers to trigger callbacks when scrolling near the start of the list. This package optimizes scrolling by managing the execution order of onStartReached and onEndReached to prevent scroll jumps, thereby maintaining a smooth user experience. Additionally, it includes props like onStartReachedThreshold and onEndReachedThreshold for better control over the scroll offset at which these callbacks are triggered. The package also supports a maintainVisibleContentPosition prop on Android, inspired by similar functionality on iOS, through the dependency @stream-io/flat-list-mvcp. A tutorial demonstrates implementing a chat UI with this package, including features like sending messages and auto-scrolling to the bottom, showing its practical application in real-world scenarios.