Search Places App

This is a React application that allows users to search for places and view the results in a paginated table. The app is built with TypeScript and uses modern React practices for optimal performance and responsiveness.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (version 12 or higher)
• npm (version 6 or higher)

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/kirankumargonti/search-places.git
   

2. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd search-places
   

3. Install dependencies:

   npm install
   

4. Go to https://rapidapi.com/wirefreethought/api/geodb-cities, sign up for an API key, and create a .env file in the root directory with the following format:

   VITE_APP_API_URL=your_api_url
   VITE_APP_API_KEY=your_api_key_from_rapidapi
   

5. Start the development server:

    npm run dev
   

6. Open http://localhost:5173 to view the app in your browser.

Usage

• Type in the search box to search for places
• Use the pagination controls to navigate through results
• Adjust the "Limit" to change the number of results fetched from the API (1-10)
• Adjust the "Items per page" to change the number of results displayed in the table (cannot exceed the limit)
• Use Ctrl/Cmd + / to quickly focus on the search input
• On smaller screens, the table view will transform into a card view for better readability

Built With

• React
• TypeScript
• CSS
• Vite - Next Generation Frontend Tooling

Features

1. Search functionality with debounced input to reduce API calls
2. Paginated results display with dynamic page number generation
3. Adjustable limit for API requests (1-10)
4. Adjustable items per page for table display (cannot exceed the limit)
5. Responsive design (down to 300px width)
6. Keyboard shortcut (Ctrl/Cmd + /) to focus on the search input
7. Error handling and display
8. Loading spinner during API requests
9. Table view transforms into card view on smaller screens

Optimizations

1. Debounced search input and limit changes to reduce unnecessary API calls
2. Memoized components using React.memo to prevent unnecessary re-renders
3. useCallback for event handlers and functions to maintain referential equality
4. useMemo for derived state to avoid unnecessary recalculations
5. Responsive design for various screen sizes, including mobile-friendly card view for table data
6. CSS variables for consistent theming and easy customization

Responsive Design

• The app is fully responsive down to 300px width
• Table view transforms into a card view on screens smaller than 768px
• Font sizes and spacing adjust for smaller screens
• Input fields and controls stack vertically on smaller screens for better usability