I am new to Expo but so far it seems super neat not having to open up Android Studio / Xcode to run my app locally. Not having to touch that stuff makes it so much more convenient to develop.
However, I want to incorporate in app purchases (subscriptions) in my app and from the research I've done so far it doesn't seem like Expo's solution (https://docs.expo.io/versions/latest/sdk/in-app-purchases/) is very developed.
I found this npm package for in app purchases and it looks promising: https://github.com/dooboolab/react-native-iap. However it is not supported by Expo, and I don't feel like it's worth giving up all the benefits of Expo just for this one feature.
I noticed a comment in the issues here that was quite intriguing: https://github.com/dooboolab/react-native-iap/issues/174#issuecomment-393704277
This person suggests that I can continue using the master branch with Expo, and then following these steps to eject and deploy when time is ready. I've never done this, but I'm wondering if this could work:
On master:
1) Run npm install --save react-native-iap but DON'T run react-native link react-native-iap.
2) Wrap my In App Purchase module with this code. This way your code won't crash when calling IAP methods
import { NativeModules } from 'react-native';
const { RNIapModule } = NativeModules;
function hasIAP() {
return !!NativeModules.RNIapModule;
}
3) Continue developing using Expo, and just skipping the IAP stuff if !hasIAP()
On separate branch used for final QA / deployment:
1) Create a new branch called detached
2) Run expo eject
3) Run react-native link react-native-iap and all the other Manual Installation steps listed here: https://github.com/dooboolab/react-native-iap#manual-installation
4) QA everything
5) Deploy
Does anyone have experience doing this hybrid "expo for development, no expo for production" approach?
If you eject and use the Expo, you can use it like a default React-native project. The Android folder and the iOS folder are created and you will enter the appropriate package name before you create them. The modules you have installed and the modules in Expo are added to the package list when you eject the Expo. Check MainApplication.java for Android or Info.list files for iOS. There are some things that do not apply to App.json settings that were responsible for setting up after you ejected the Expo. It can be set up by referring to the official document.
Once the Expo has been ejected, the React-native link command is performed brilliantly.
ejecting the Expo does not change or disappear from the module usage
Related
There was create-react-native-app just like create-react-app
However I see https://github.com/react-community/create-react-native-app has been merged to expo.
Since I need native (android or ios) support, I can do either of theses
expo bare workflow
https://docs.expo.io/versions/v34.0.0/bare/exploring-bare-workflow/
react native init
https://facebook.github.io/react-native/docs/getting-started (react native cli quickstart)
What do I gain by going through expo bare workflow?
If you use Expo, you can use the module in Expo. Of course, Expo needs to install modules for APK availability starting with SDK33. However, you do not need to link the Expo separately.
If you use Expo, it will automatically reload the code when it is refreshed and not restarted, making it easy to see the code change.
And with fast feedback, the development cycle will be faster. Because the process of communicating from simulator to native apps is still slow, build time will be increased when using Web versions that run directly into the browser, until HMR creates a basic framework for the app because it is fast and fully available with Chrome Developer tools.
Also, if you want to install a React-native module that requires a link, you can use the 'expo eject' command to eject Expo. Then you can use React-native.
My Expo-based React Native App works without a problem when run in the Expo tool but gave the following errors when built as an APK to be installed and run standalone.
A series of white screens keep flipping before the blue screen comes up.
Here are my App.JSON and Package.JSON files
Package.json
App.json
And here are the screen capturing the error message.
Actually there are two ways to create a React Native application
create-react-native-app (CRNA)
react-native init
As you stated in comment section, You created your project using CRNA
CRNA will gave you some form of solid project structure, which is really useful for beginners to get started with react native, you code the app with pure javascript and the app will work inside Expo.
Now if you want to take build and run as a standalone apk for android,
There are two methods
You can run command: exp publish:android
You can eject your app from expo
Dont use exp publish for standalone apks,
You can use second method:
To eject your app:
First if you dont use any expo apis inside your apps, it is very easy to eject and build as a stand alone apk.
just do yarn eject
This will gave you some instructions and follow that.
After that your CRNA project structure will be converted into react-native init project structure, now you will be able to see "Android" and "iOS" folders inside your application
To take build Run: connect your phone with USB debugging ON and react-native run android.
That's all.
Solved my own problem. The 'eth-lightwallet' library works perfectly within the Expo development tool but when I build into an APK, it just made the white screen turns up with no meaningful error messages.
The solution is to replace it with a pure web3js implementation.
This may be useful if you are developing a mobile app for Ethereum.
I am familiar with React Native. I got a new macbook and I am trying to create a new file. However, when I run create-react-native-app [name of app] I am greeted with:
This command requires Expo CLI.
Do you want to install it globally [Y/n]?
When I pressed Y it created the file, however, in a complete file layout. It looked so odd and there were some files missing too.
Normally, when I run create-react-native-app it created the file without asking anything about expo. I am pretty confused. I'm pretty sure I have done wrong somewhere. Where and how I can get the traditional installation process back?
I also know that expo helps with testing. Since may I have been using npm start and npm run ios to test my apps on device and xcode simulation.
https://facebook.github.io/react-native/docs/getting-started I followed this.
New version out now and create react native app has been merged with expo CLI.
To avoid any bug use new version to create react apps, follow the command bellow which is also in the link given in your question.
expo init AwesomeProject
After installation you will be guided to start project with expo start.
cd AwesomeProject
expo start
I have build an app using react native(detached) but the thing is I would want to completely get rid of Expo. The reason is, what if one day EXPO service get shut down or no more supported.
So in this case I would not want the app to be affected.
Currently I need to publish my app thru ExpoKit to see the latest changes, how would I build my android app so it would not have any reference to Expo but still be able to work properly
Currently this is how I understand how the react native and expo works: first u build ur app using react native code and then a bundle.js is generated somewhere on cloud(EXPO) using publish command so the app communicate with that bundle.js.
Note I am not using any feature from Expo so why would I need Expo in this case?
Edited: If I am detaching my app from expo, I mean why would I still need Expo? Can't I just build the app and run the app without expo at all?
You can build your whole application without using expo, just follow the steps from facebook documentation in "Building Projects with Native Code" tab.
or
you can run "npm run eject" in your project root directory folder.
After this, you can build your appliaction using react-native cli commands, like
react-native run-android.
edited :--
For building apk for production, you can follow steps given in facebook documentation as generating signed apk and for released IPA for iOS yo can follow building your app for production for IOS.
I literally started reading about ReactNative an hour ago and am reading this git readme https://github.com/react-community/create-react-native-app/blob/master/react-native-scripts/template/README.md
Next I googled about it and found this link which seem to be explaining it but not to me novice in web, react, or react-native
https://github.com/react-community/create-react-native-app/blob/master/EJECTING.md
Can someone explain to me as if I am 2 years old what is the meaning of eject? I keep hearing term "ejected project" but I cannot wrap my head around it.
Summary
If you created an app using create-react-native-app MyApp, ejecting your app gets your app to be the same as if you created your project using react-native init MyApp
aka
create-react-native-app MyApp > make changes to app > eject app
is roughly equivalent to
react-native init MyApp > make changes to app
More Details
What's the difference between create-react-native-app MyApp and react-native init MyApp?
Quick start vs. Full scale development
The philosophy behind create-react-native-app is:
Minimal "Time to Hello World": Create React Native App should reduce the setup time it takes to try building a mobile app to the absolute minimum, ideally on par with React web development (especially as seen with Create React App).
Develop on Your Device: It should be easy to develop on a physical device when you want to test how your app feels and responds to inputs.
One Build Tool: If you just want to get started with React Native, you shouldn't need to install Xcode, Android Studio, NDKs, or mess with environment variables.
No Lock-In: You can always "eject" to your own build setup if you need to write custom native code or modify how your app is built.
Essentially, create-react-native-app lets you get up and running quickly without having to a do a lot of (or any) configuration. In order to do this, it hides a lot of details from you.
If you want to create a serious app, you need to set up a real development environment. You can do this from scratch by running react-native init <project-name>. If you started with a react native project using create-react-native-app, you can get to this same place by "ejecting" your app
More details from the official documentation about getting started with React Native can be found here.
My understanding is that when you run the "create-react-native-app" (or "expo init" now) you are basically adding the Expo library on top of React Native.
I think the main reason for using Expo is to get your app up and running quickly. I think the main reason to eject is that eventually you might need to do more complicated customization with native code and need more control, etc. Here is a better explanation of Expo vs React Native CLI to bootstrap your app:
https://levelup.gitconnected.com/expo-vs-react-native-cli-a-guide-to-bootstrapping-new-react-native-apps-6f0fcafee58f
When you eject you are returning to the same state as if you did not use Expo to setup your app (native ios/android projects will be generated, etc.)
Here are a few other links that helped me understand:
http://www.reactnativeexpress.com/environment
https://docs.expo.io/versions/latest/expokit/eject/