January 2025 Summaries

InCommon, a mobile app designed to foster connections among company employees, sought to integrate sophisticated charts into its platform but found existing React Native libraries lacking in quality. Initially attempting to create a custom solution involving a webview for rendering sensitive organizational charts, the team pivoted to using Expo's DOM Components following the release of Expo SDK 52, which facilitated the integration of web-based D3 charts directly into their app. This approach allowed InCommon to seamlessly incorporate dynamic org charts into their mobile app, leveraging shared code across both mobile and web platforms without the need for extensive redevelopment. Despite some limitations, such as the need to pass all data and callbacks through props, the use of DOM Components has proven beneficial, enabling InCommon to streamline development and potentially bring other web-based features, like the admin dashboard, to their mobile app in the future.

React-native-bottom-tabs is a library that leverages native platform primitives to create tab bars, offering seamless integration with operating systems on iOS and Android for a more authentic app appearance. The library distinguishes itself from JavaScript-based tabs by using native components that adapt to various platforms, such as tvOS and iPadOS, displaying tabs as a sidebar or at the top respectively. Notable features include automatic scroll to top, content offsetting, haptic feedback, and multi-platform support, with the ability to update automatically with future system releases. The library supports multiple themes, including Android's Material2 and Material3, and encourages the use of static images for icons to enhance performance. The blog post guides users on transitioning from JavaScript Bottom Tabs to Native Tabs using Expo Router, emphasizing API parity to simplify migration. The future development of the library includes plans to introduce Native Headers and expand API parity, with community feedback encouraged for further improvements.

In this guest post, Alfred, a Norwegian developer with a decade of experience, shares his process of migrating a seven-year-old React Native app, "Blur," to Expo, a recommended framework for app development. The app, a party game providing challenges and mini-games, includes complex components like an iOS widget and custom fonts. Alfred outlines the reasons for the migration, such as the need for a robust CI/CD solution, reducing app complexity, and avoiding native code hassles, especially with the retirement of AppCenter's CodePush. The migration involved several steps: adapting dependencies to Expo, using Expo's Continuous Native Generation (CNG) for native code, and employing Expo Application Service (EAS) for effective CI/CD. He also tackled challenges like ensuring widget support and maintaining localization. Despite some drawbacks like longer build times and potential plugin conflicts, Alfred is pleased with the streamlined development experience Expo offers, emphasizing that while Expo introduces a degree of vendor dependency, it remains an open-source tool providing flexibility for future development needs.

Expo Application Services (EAS) has achieved SOC 2 Type 2 compliance as of December 21, 2024, enhancing trust among developers and enterprise customers by demonstrating secure and reliable service delivery. The SOC 2 framework, which includes 136 controls, ensures that customer data is encrypted both at rest and in transit, with organizational measures in place to limit data access. The Type 2 compliance, audited by MJD Advisors, involves a thorough evaluation of both documented policies and their implementation over a three-month period. This compliance is particularly important for enterprise customers, making it easier for them to confidently use EAS services, while also benefiting all developers, including those on the Free plan, by ensuring company-wide security measures are applied. The SOC 2 Type 2 report, which highlights EAS's security trust services criterion, is available to those with an active Enterprise plan subscription, reinforcing EAS's commitment to security and compliance across its offerings.

EAS Hosting is introduced as a comprehensive solution for deploying and scaling universal API routes and React websites, aimed at simplifying server-driven app development for platforms like Android, iOS, and web. It addresses the challenges faced by developers when deploying server-driven applications, which are commonly used by large companies but remain complex for many developers. EAS Hosting, built on Cloudflare's Workers platform, offers an end-to-end deployment service that integrates with EAS Workflows to seamlessly deploy server and web app components, providing real-time logging, metrics, and debugging capabilities. This service supports deployment of Expo web apps in server or static mode with a single command, offering a scalable and reliable serverless environment. Initially launched as a Public Preview, EAS Hosting is designed to evolve with feedback, promising robust support for React Server Components and advanced server-side features, while maintaining compatibility with most JavaScript runtimes. The platform aims to enhance the development experience by integrating deeply with Cloudflare’s ecosystem, offering developers a trusted environment to build and deploy their applications efficiently.

Simon Grimm, creator of Galaxies.dev, discusses the integration of Expo SQLite and Drizzle to streamline database management in React Native apps, addressing the challenges posed by traditional SQLite. Expo SQLite offers a lightweight solution, but its raw interface can be cumbersome. By incorporating Drizzle, developers gain type safety and developer-friendly abstractions, simplifying processes like schema management and query writing. The guide outlines the setup process, including configuring necessary files and generating migrations, and highlights the benefits of using Drizzle's query builder for cleaner, type-safe queries. It also introduces live queries through the useLiveQuery hook, which automatically updates data changes, and demonstrates a new, efficient method for debugging SQLite databases using the Drizzle Studio Expo dev tool plugin. This approach modernizes data workflows, making them more manageable and enjoyable.