Issue 1: Refactor State Management to Improve Performance and Maintainability #3
Description
Title: Refactor State Management to Improve Performance and Maintainability
Description:
Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
The frontend application currently uses a large number of separate React Context providers, as seen in client/src/context/AppProvider.tsx. While this approach works for smaller applications, it can lead to performance issues and make state management increasingly complex and difficult to maintain as the application grows. The nested structure of providers for App, Socket, Settings, View, File, Run Code, and Chat contexts can result in excessive re-renders and a tangled dependency graph.
Describe the solution you'd like
To address this, I propose consolidating these disparate contexts into a more centralized and efficient state management solution. Two popular and effective libraries for this are Redux Toolkit and Zustand.
Refactoring to a centralized store would offer several benefits:
- Improved Performance: By reducing the number of context providers, we can minimize unnecessary re-renders and optimize the application's performance.
- Simplified State Management: A centralized store provides a single source of truth, making the application's state easier to understand, manage, and debug.
- Enhanced Maintainability: With a more organized state structure, the codebase will be cleaner and more maintainable in the long run, making it easier to add new features and fix bugs.
Describe alternatives you've considered
We could continue with the current multi-context approach, but this is likely to become more problematic as the application scales. Other state management libraries could also be considered, but Redux Toolkit and Zustand are both well-supported and widely adopted in the React ecosystem.
Additional context
This refactoring is a significant architectural improvement that will pay dividends in terms of performance and developer experience. It will set a solid foundation for the future growth of the application.