[Front End System Design] - Facebook News Feed

Step-by-Step Tutorial: Designing a Front-End System for Facebook News Feed

1. Understand the General Requirements:

   • Define the feature you want to build, such as an infinite scrollable news feed with stories based on user subscriptions.
   • Users should be able to share stories, post comments, and include media like images and links.

2. Identify Specific Requirements:

   • Ensure the feature is accessible on a wide range of devices and for people with disabilities.
   • Define functional aspects and support for different devices.

3. Design Components and Data Entities:

   • Create components like story cards, comment lists, and comment inputs.
   • Define data entities such as story data, comments, media, and user information.

4. Set Up Data API:

   • Define endpoints like getPosts, createPost, and createComment with necessary parameters.
   • Choose between REST and GraphQL for organizing the API.

5. Implement Data Store:

   • Fetch data based on parameters like timestamp and cursor.
   • Normalize and flatten the data store for efficient data access.

6. Handle Edge Cases and Real-Time Updates:

   • Implement real-time updates using techniques like long polling, websockets, or server-sent events.
   • Ensure efficient loading of new stories without impacting performance.

7. Incorporate Infinite Scroll:

   • Design an infinite scroll feature to load and display stories as users scroll.
   • Use Intersection Observer API to manage data loading based on user viewport.

8. Optimize Performance:

   • Optimize assets, images, and scripts for faster loading.
   • Consider using HTTP/2 for multiplexing and better resource loading.

9. Enhance Rendering Performance:

   • Use server-side rendering for pre-rendering pages.
   • Optimize CSS selectors and scripts to improve rendering speed.

10. Ensure Accessibility:

    • Support different color schemes for users with color blindness.
    • Add ARIA attributes for screen readers and implement hotkeys for navigation.

11. Bonus:

    • Implement lazy loading for images to improve loading times.
    • Enable offline access using service workers and cache resources for a seamless user experience.

By following these steps, you can design and implement a front-end system for a Facebook-like news feed that is efficient, accessible, and optimized for performance.