Unlocking the Future of React Native: A Deep Dive into the New Architecture

Preparing Your Android App for the New React Native Architecture

To harness the power of the new architecture, your Android app must meet certain prerequisites:

• Gradle v 7.x and Android Gradle plugin (AGP) v 7.x
• The new React Gradle plugin
• Building react-native from Source
• Node.js ≥ v 14

Once these requirements are met, you can begin to upgrade your Gradle and integrate the new Fabric renderer.

Upgrading Your Gradle

To access the latest version of React Native, you’ll need to update your top-level build.gradle file. This involves installing the new Gradle plugin and modifying your settings.gradle file.

// settings.gradle
include ':react-native-fabric'
project(':react-native-fabric').projectDir = new File(rootProject.projectDir, '../node_modules/react-native/React/Fabric')

Next, add the necessary code blocks to your build script and module-level Gradle file.

// build.gradle
android {
 ...
  defaultConfig {
   ...
    ndk {
      abiFilters 'armeabi-v7a', 'x86'
    }
  }
}

Accessing the Latest Version of React Native

To tap into the latest changes, you’ll need to target a specific nightly release. First, upgrade your application to the latest open-source release, and then use the following command to access the nightly release.

npm install react-native@nightly

Exploring Fabric: The New Rendering System

Fabric is designed to improve interoperability between React Native and host platforms. By leveraging a shared C++ core, Fabric enables seamless communication between JavaScript and native threads. This results in improved startup times, reduced latency, and enhanced overall performance.

The Three Phases of the Fabric Render Pipeline

The Fabric render pipeline consists of three phases:

1. The Render Phase: React executes product logic to create React element trees, which are then used to render the React shadow tree in C++.
2. The Commit Phase: The cross-platform layout engine Yoga handles layout calculations and tree promotion, ensuring that the React shadow tree is properly rendered.
3. The Mount Phase: The React Shadow Tree is transformed into a host view tree with rendered pixels on the screen.

TurboModules: The Future of Native Modules

TurboModules represent a significant enhancement to Native Modules. By exposing a top-level Native Module Proxy, TurboModules enable lazy initialization of native modules, reducing startup times and improving overall performance.

With TurboModules, you can lazy-load native modules, allowing for more efficient resource allocation and improved app performance.