Efficient Dating App Development with React Native

The world of online dating has undergone a significant transformation since the introduction of the swiping mechanism. In this tutorial, we’ll create a similar solution using React Native.

Getting Started with React-Native-Deck-Swiper

To replicate the swiping mechanism, we’ll utilize the powerful react-native-deck-swiper package. This npm package offers a multitude of possibilities, making it an ideal choice for our project.

Installation and Setup

To begin, we need to install the necessary dependencies. Although React Native version 0.60.4 introduced autolinking, we still need to link two dependencies manually. Additionally, we’ll require an extra step for iOS using CocoaPods.

npm install react-native-deck-swiper
npx pod-install

Building the Card Component

After installation, we’ll create a single Card component to display the photo and name of each person. We’ll utilize propTypes to ensure type safety and detect any errors early on.

import React from 'eact';
import { View, Image, Text } from 'eact-native';

const Card = ({ photo, name }) => {
  return (
    
      
      {name}
    
  );
};

Card.propTypes = {
  photo: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
  name: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
};

export default Card;

Styling the Cards

Next, we’ll add some flair to our Card component using styles. This will give our cards a visually appealing design.

.card {
  width: 300px;
  height: 400px;
  margin: 10px;
  border-radius: 10px;
  overflow: hidden;
  box-shadow: 0 0 10px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
}

.card-image {
  width: 100%;
  height: 70%;
}

.card-text {
  padding: 10px;
  font-size: 18px;
  font-weight: bold;
}

IconButton and OverlayLabel Components

We’ll create two more components: IconButton for handling user interactions and OverlayLabel for displaying labels during swipes.

// IconButton.js
import React from 'eact';
import { TouchableOpacity, View } from 'eact-native';

const IconButton = ({ icon, onPress }) => {
  return (
    
      {icon}
    
  );
};

export default IconButton;

// OverlayLabel.js
import React from 'eact';
import { View, Text } from 'eact-native';

const OverlayLabel = ({ label }) => {
  return (
    
      {label}
    
  );
};

export default OverlayLabel;

Styling the Buttons and Labels

We’ll add styles to our buttons and labels to create a cohesive design.

.icon-button {
  width: 50px;
  height: 50px;
  border-radius: 25px;
  background-color: #fff;
  box-shadow: 0 0 10px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
}

.overlay-label {
  position: absolute;
  top: 0;
  left: 0;
  right: 0;
  bottom: 0;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5);
  padding: 10px;
  font-size: 18px;
  font-weight: bold;
  color: #fff;
}

Data and Swiper Component

Now, we’ll create an array of objects to fill the Swiper component. We’ll use free random photos from Unsplash and store them in the assets folder. Finally, we’ll build the Swiper component using the react-native-deck-swiper package.

import React from 'eact';
import { View } from 'eact-native';
import Swiper from 'eact-native-deck-swiper';
import Card from './Card';

const data = [
  {
    id: 1,
    photo: 'https://source.unsplash.com/random/300x400',
    name: 'John Doe',
  },
  //...
];

const App = () => {
  return (
    
       }
        onSwiped={(cardIndex) => console.log(`Swiped card ${cardIndex}`)}
        onSwipedAll={() => console.log('Swiped all cards')}
      />
    
  );
};

export default App;

The Final Result

Our app is now complete, featuring a smooth swiping mechanism and visually appealing design. You can find the full code for this tutorial on GitHub.

The Power of React-Native-Deck-Swiper

Using react-native-deck-swiper has saved us a significant amount of time and effort. This package is a testament to the power of React Native’s PanResponder API.