Issue: Handling Large Playlists in the YouTube Playlist Length Calculator

:wave: Hello everyone,

I’m currently working on enhancing the functionality of the YouTube Playlist Length Calculator, and I’ve run into a challenge with handling large playlists. As users add more videos, the calculator’s performance begins to lag, particularly when processing lengthy playlists with hundreds of entries.

Details:

  • Current Functionality: The calculator retrieves video lengths from YouTube using the YouTube API and sums them to provide a total playlist length.
  • Issue: When users input playlists with a significant number of videos (e.g., over 100), the API calls take longer to complete, leading to a poor user experience. Additionally, there are occasional timeouts due to the high volume of requests.

What I’ve Tried So Far:

  1. Batch Requests: Implemented batching for API calls to reduce the number of requests but found it complex to manage and process the results efficiently.
  2. Loading Indicators: Added loading indicators to improve user feedback during lengthy calculations, but the perceived performance is still lacking.

My Questions:

  1. Caching Results: Would implementing a caching mechanism for previously calculated playlists help improve performance? If so, what strategies could I use for effective caching?
  2. Optimizing API Calls: Are there best practices for optimizing API requests to reduce load times when retrieving video data from YouTube?
  3. User Experience: What UI/UX strategies can I implement to maintain a smooth experience while dealing with large playlists?

:speech_balloon: I’m looking for any advice, tips, or experiences you might have with similar challenges! Your insights would be greatly appreciated as I aim to improve the overall performance of the YouTube Playlist Length Calculator. #WebDevelopment #APIOptimization #UserExperience