Unlock the Power of React Native Paper: A Comprehensive Guide
Introduction to React Native Paper
React Native Paper is a popular component library for building React Native apps. It provides a solution for developers who want to create visually appealing applications with minimal design skills. With React Native Paper, you can focus on programming the core functionality and validate the feasibility of your concept quickly.
Building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) with React Native Paper
In this tutorial, we’ll explore how to use React Native Paper to develop a good-looking MVP for your app. We’ll leverage the library’s components and customization options to build a simple application called “Crypto Info.”
Setting Up React Native Paper
To get started, we need to install React Native Paper using our package manager of choice. We’ll also add the Babel plugin to our babel.config.js file for production environment and install react-native-safe-area-context for handling safe area.
Configuring React Native Paper Components
Next, we’ll set up our React Native Paper components by adding the necessary code to our App.js file. We’ll use context instead of Redux for state management inside this app and render the app based on context value.
Building the Crypto Info App
Our demo app, Crypto Info, consists of three screens: HomeScreen, FavoritesScreen, and SettingsScreen. We’ll focus on the usage of React Native Paper in each screen.
HomeScreen
HomeScreen displays a list of cryptocurrencies with basic information about each one. We’ll use the withTheme wrapper from React Native Paper to make use of the theme set inside the PaperProvider.
FavoritesScreen
FavoritesScreen displays a list of our favorite cryptocurrencies for easier navigation. It contains all the same elements as the HomeScreen.
SettingsScreen
SettingsScreen contains only one setting at this moment, which is a Switch component that dispatches an action to the context store to switch the currently used theme in the whole app.
Theming with React Native Paper
React Native Paper supports theming through the PaperProvider component, which applies the default theme to the app. We can customize or completely override the theme by providing our own custom theme.
New Components in React Native Paper 5.0
React Native Paper 5.0 introduces several new components and features that make creating beautiful and functional apps easier using Material Design 3. Let’s take a closer look at some of these new components: SegmentedButtons, Tooltip, and Drawer.CollapsedItem.
Using Custom Icons in React Native Paper
When using React Native Paper, you may want to use custom icons different from the default MaterialCommunityIcons. We can import our desired custom icons and pass them to the settings prop within the PaperProvider component to achieve this.
Conclusion
React Native Paper is a powerful and versatile library that streamlines the development of React Native apps. With its developer-friendly approach and flexibility, React Native Paper empowers you to bring your app ideas to life efficiently, even without extensive design skills.