ListDisplay

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ListDisplay ​

ListDisplay is a headless-first, feature-driven list rendering system for React.

It is designed to handle complex data presentation use cases such as filtering, sorting, pagination, selection, and actions — without forcing UI, CSS, or layout decisions on the consumer.

You bring:

  • your data source
  • your schema
  • the features you want
  • the UI you want

ListDisplay wires everything together and stays out of your way.

Why ListDisplay exists ​

Most list/table components make the same assumptions:

  • features are always enabled
  • UI and logic are tightly coupled
  • customization means fighting CSS
  • “headless” stops being headless the moment things get complex

ListDisplay takes the opposite approach:

  • All features are opt-in
  • All features are pluggable
  • UI is entirely replaceable
  • State and rendering are decoupled
  • The parent component does not re-render

You only pay for what you explicitly enable.

Core principles ​

Feature-first architecture ​

Filtering, sorting, pagination, selection, actions, modals, and custom behavior are implemented as independent plugins.

Nothing is active unless registered.

Stable runtime, isolated re-renders ​

All state mutations and updates happen inside the ListDisplay runtime. The parent component remains untouched by internal re-renders.

Headless by default ​

ListDisplay ships with abstract UI contracts, not opinions. Default UI implementations exist, but they are optional and replaceable.

Explicit wiring ​

If a feature needs a handler or UI surface, it must be provided. Missing wiring fails early and predictably.

High-level architecture ​

At runtime, ListDisplay is composed of:

  • Core engine
    Manages state, feature lifecycle, and execution order

  • Feature registry
    Registers and resolves feature plugins

  • Feature context
    The single source of truth exposed to UI slots

  • UI slots
    Pure render surfaces that consume the context

Who this is for ​

ListDisplay is built for:

  • applications with non-trivial list behavior
  • teams that care about long-term maintainability
  • developers who want control instead of presets

It is not optimized for:

  • drop-in tables with no customization
  • “one prop does everything” components

Where to go next ​

  • 📘 Guide – how to use ListDisplay step by step
  • 🧩 Features – filtering, sorting, pagination, selection, actions, modals
  • 🧠 Core API – runtime, context, registry, store
  • 🎨 UI slots – table, toolbar, pagination, modal outlet