Debounce & Throttle Rate-Limiting

Debounce and throttle are time-based operators that protect downstream resources from high-frequency emissions, each modeling a distinct intention. debounceTime(300) in RxJS waits 300ms after the last emission before forwarding it—canonical for search-as-you-type, collapsing dozens of keystrokes into one API call and reducing request volume by 90% compared to the average stream without any operator. throttleTime(1000) emits the first value in each 1-second window, ideal for event logging or scroll tracking where you need periodic updates, not per-pixel emissions. Kotlin Flow's debounce(timeoutMillis) integrates with coroutine cancellation via delay(), while sample(period) emits the most recent value at fixed intervals, equivalent to throttleTime with leading: false. Uber's real-time driver-location system uses sampling instead of streaming every GPS tick, cutting WebSocket message volume by 99% without degrading user experience. Unlike #7's retry strategy which recovers from errors, rate-limiting prevents errors by managing flow—a key enabler of the Reactive Manifesto's Responsive pillar. Without debounce, a 200ms typing speed generates 10 HTTP requests per search instead of 1, highlighting its critical role in efficient async data handling.