Implement Throttling Mechanism

This challenge requires you to implement a throttling mechanism. Throttling is a technique used to control the rate at which a function can be executed. This is particularly useful for preventing a function from being called too frequently, which can save resources, avoid API rate limits, or improve user experience.

Problem Description

You need to create a throttle function that takes two arguments:

1. A callback function that you want to throttle.
2. A limit (in milliseconds) that defines the minimum time interval between consecutive calls to the callback.

The throttle function should return a new function. When this new function is called, it should only execute the original callback function if the specified limit has passed since the last successful invocation of the callback. If the limit has not passed, the call to the throttled function should be ignored.

Key Requirements:

• The returned function should accept any arguments and pass them to the callback function.
• The callback function should be executed with the this context preserved from the throttled function's call.
• The throttling should reset after the limit has passed, allowing the next invocation to execute.

Expected Behavior:

• The first call to the throttled function should always execute the callback immediately.
• Subsequent calls within the limit period should be ignored.
• Once the limit has elapsed since the last execution, the next call to the throttled function should execute the callback.

Edge Cases to Consider:

• Rapid successive calls.
• Calls occurring exactly at the limit boundary.
• What happens if the limit is 0 or negative? (Assume a limit of 0 means no throttling).

Examples

Example 1:

Input:
let calls = 0;
const throttledLog = throttle((message) => {
  calls++;
  console.log(message);
}, 100); // Throttle to once every 100ms

// Simulate calls
throttledLog("First call"); // Executes immediately
throttledLog("Second call"); // Ignored (within 100ms)
setTimeout(() => throttledLog("Third call"), 50); // Ignored (within 100ms)
setTimeout(() => throttledLog("Fourth call"), 120); // Executes (120ms > 100ms)

Output:
First call
Fourth call

Explanation:
"First call" executes immediately.
"Second call" and the call at 50ms are ignored because they happen within 100ms of the first call.
"Fourth call" at 120ms is executed because it's more than 100ms after the initial "First call". The `calls` counter would be 2.

Example 2:

Input:
let history = [];
const processItem = (item) => {
  history.push({ item, timestamp: Date.now() });
};
const throttledProcess = throttle(processItem, 200); // Throttle to once every 200ms

// Simulate calls
throttledProcess("A"); // Executes at t=0
throttledProcess("B"); // Ignored
setTimeout(() => throttledProcess("C"), 150); // Ignored
setTimeout(() => throttledProcess("D"), 250); // Executes at t=250 (250ms > 200ms since last exec)
setTimeout(() => throttledProcess("E"), 280); // Ignored (within 200ms of call D)
setTimeout(() => throttledProcess("F"), 500); // Executes at t=500 (500ms > 200ms since last exec of D)

Output (simulated history):
[
  { item: "A", timestamp: 0 },
  { item: "D", timestamp: 250 },
  { item: "F", timestamp: 500 }
]

Explanation:
"A" executes at t=0.
"B" and "C" are ignored as they are within 200ms of "A".
"D" executes at t=250, which is 250ms after "A" (and thus after the 200ms limit).
"E" is ignored as it's within 200ms of "D".
"F" executes at t=500, which is 250ms after "D" (and thus after the 200ms limit).

Example 3: (Zero limit)

Input:
let count = 0;
const increment = () => { count++; };
const noThrottle = throttle(increment, 0);

noThrottle();
noThrottle();
noThrottle();

Output:
count will be 3

Explanation:
A limit of 0 means no throttling is applied, so every call executes the callback.

Constraints

• limit will be a non-negative integer representing milliseconds.
• The callback function can accept any number of arguments.
• The solution should be efficient and not introduce significant overhead beyond its intended purpose.
• The this context of the throttled function calls should be correctly passed to the callback.

Notes

• You will need to keep track of the last time the callback was successfully invoked.
• JavaScript's setTimeout or equivalent timing functions will be useful here.
• Consider how to handle the this context and arguments passed to the throttled function.
• A limit of 0 should effectively disable throttling.