I am trying to create an app using React Native that runs on iOS, Android, macOS and Windows. An advantage of being able to use React Native is that you can share code between platforms.
I am following the setup guides for React Native macOS and Windows, but in the guides, they guide you through creating a new app from scratch for each platform. As I want to use the same app, so I don't have to write the same code twice, I create the macOS app following the guide. Then, in this app, I use the command npx react-native-windows-init --overwrite from the Windows guide to initialise the Windows platform. But when I then go to run the macOS app using the command npx react-native run-macos, I get the error:
Cannot find module 'metro-config/src/defaults/exclusionList'
and
no bundle URL present
One thing I find strange about the setup guides is that for macOS it tells you to use React Native 0.63 and for Windows 0.66. I used 0.66 for both, maybe this is the problem. But if it is, and each platform requires different versions of React Native, how can I use the one app / codebase for both platforms? This goes against one of React Native's core premises:
Create platform-specific versions of components so a single codebase can share code across platforms.
Is it possible to create a single app for both desktop platforms like you would with iOS and Android, and if so, how?
Yes, you can. You will have to create a mono repo
Or you can use mono repo boilerplate. Here is a link to it
https://github.com/mmazzarolo/react-native-universal-monorepo
Related
I have a react-native App which is not using Expo and runs on android and iOS. Is it possible to make it run on Web? I found multiple projects for this purpose but I am not sure if those projects are aimed to be used only with Expo projects or not. I use multiple android and iOS modules in my app, I can't imagine how those modules will be converted to run on web. Any advise? Is what I am trying to do is even possible?
If you're using native modules with android or IOS specific functionality then you'll have to find a replacement that supports web, (or keep them and use something else for web).
Also no need to stay away from expo modules, expo modules can be used outside of expo too, here's how you can set them up: https://docs.expo.dev/bare/installing-expo-modules/
I'd suggest you listen to some of Fernando Rojo's talks about this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FfvIuSouTU&ab_channel=SoftwareMansion
I am trying to start a react native project using the React Native CLI method (https://reactnative.dev/docs/environment-setup). My first question is, if I have a mac and my friend has a windows computer can we both work on the same app? Also, how do I configure one single code base for both ios and android? Do I just follow the installation instructions for both in a single project? Thanks!
Yes, you can work separately on windows and mac for the same app and you don't have to configure any kind of codebase as react native is hybrid app development technology, you just have to write a single code for both the android and ios platforms.
To install react native CLI just follow the official document on your specific platforms because both of them have a slight difference in the installation process, after successful installation, I would suggest you to use some kind of VCS(Version controlling system) like git or svn.
I am also working in the same process as you have described I am developing in windows and my friend is working on the mac.
feel free to contact me I will help you if you have any kind of queries
I am fairly new to React Native and I am trying to implement a map that can be used in Web, Android and iOS.
The resources I have found online, are for implementing Android and iOS with react-native-maps or just in Web with react-native-web-maps. Is there an easy way to incorporate all of them in React Native?
I am also using the Expo CLI to run the server. I have not run npm run eject to create the OS-specific files as I am trying to make the code as cross-platform as possible.
I don't know if any package works straight away for all environments but you can conditionally render map component for mobile and for web.
I have used these following packages in mobile and web versions of Expo app, they work pretty similarly and are easy to use and implement:
-mobile: #react-navigation/native
-web: #react-google-maps/api
Relatively new to React Native, I’m using AirBnb’s react native maps package in my app, and all the tutorials talk about getting Google Maps (rather than Apple Maps) to work in iOS by going into my iOS folder and managing the cocoapods dependencies etc.
I don’t completely remember, but I created my app with expo init, or maybe with create-react-native-app, and I don’t have an iOS folder. From what I’ve read it looks like I can get the separate folders by ejecting my app.
Here is what my actual question is about: The question is basically “Can I use Google Maps in an iOS MapView and still code my app in React Native and run it in Expo in both Xcode simulator and Android emulator, and still have hot/live loading?”
You could abstract the question just a bit and phrase it as “Can I follow the instructions on, say, a MapView tutorial, to use native dependencies, having iOS and Android folders, and still write my app in React Native and run it in both simulators with hot/live loading?”
(Or, once I’m using the native stuff do I have to code in Swift/Java and Xcode/Android Studio?)
As noted in the expo documentation, expo already contains a google maps map view.
https://docs.expo.io/versions/latest/sdk/map-view/
if you didn't create your app with expo but just with the create-react-native-app command you can use this package maintained by the RN community:
https://github.com/react-native-community/react-native-maps
This package uses native components so you need to link it (only if you don't use expo) and then you can just use it in your screens as a normal component.
I am new to React Native and I know that there are two ways to develop native applications using react native
1- react native init --> need to compile the native cod
==> Result is Native Application for Android "Android SDK required" and Native Application for IOS "Xcode required"
2- create react native app --> no need to compile the native code !!
as CRNA uses Expo_SDK to access native API, but :
Is the result app is really native! or Expo Sdk is like Cordova but used by React and if result native, Expo claims that the result is native!, have they cloned both Android Sdk and Xcode for IOS or how does it work ?!
Expo apps are React Native apps which contain the Expo SDK. The SDK is a native-and-JS library which provides access to the device’s system functionality (things like the camera, contacts, local storage, and other hardware). That means you don’t need to use Xcode or Android Studio, or write any native code, and it also makes your pure-JS project very portable because it can run in any native environment containing the Expo SDK.
Expo also provides UI components to handle a variety of use-cases that almost all apps will cover but are not baked into React Native core, e.g. icons, blur views, and more.
Finally, the Expo SDK provides access to services which typically are a pain to manage but are required by almost every app. Most popular among these: Expo can manage your Assets for you, it can take care of Push Notifications for you, and it can build native binaries which are ready to deploy to the app store.
You should take a look at the Expo doc
Expo app is as native as React native. They do the following things so you don't need to setup Android / iOS SDK locally.
provide Expo App on Android/iOS
so you can build the js code and use Expo App to debug during the development.
provide build server
once you run expo build command, expo will upload the compiled js code and build Android/iOS file on their server. You can download the built file from their server.
You can eject from the Expo, setup Android / iOS SDK locally, and build the app as normal React Native app
Expo (and react-native) apps use native (android and ios) ui components to render the apps ui, like any native android or ios app would. Therefore they can be considered as native apps.
However your app logic is executed within a javascript thread an will communicate with the native threads (through the react-native bridge) to modify the native ui components. Since the bridge is completely asynchronous this should not affect the native ui performance of your application. If you want to understand the communication between js and native code it may be a good start to read this guide.
2- create react native app --> no need to compile the native code !!
With expo there is no need to compile native code, as expo already includes a "ready to use build" of react-native along with several other common react-native libraries. In an expo app this will be used together with your javascript bundle which than communicates through the react-native bridge with the already present native part.
They are basically just abusing the fact that you can inject different javascript bundles into a prebuilt react-native app. (as long as you are using only accessing a subset of the native functionality of that prebuilt app)
Note that Appcenters codepush uses the same functionality and their setup integration actually delivers a nice example how different javascript bundles can be loaded without touching the native part:
in ios AppDelegate.m this line is changed:
original react-native js-bundle loading which always resolves a static bundle
return [[NSBundle mainBundle] URLForResource:#"main" withExtension:#"jsbundle"];
js-bundle loading with codepush which can resolve to different js-bunldes
return [CodePush bundleURL];
Link to full codepush ios integration guide