Unlocking the Power of React Native and ClojureScript

Understanding React Native

React Native is an open-source framework that enables developers to build native mobile applications for Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, and other platforms. Its architecture relies on a “bridge” that converts JavaScript code into native platform components, allowing access to platform-specific features such as cameras and geolocation. To run smoothly, React Native relies on external tools and frameworks, including Node.js.

Benefits of Using ClojureScript with React Native

ClojureScript, with its concise and elegant syntax, offers several advantages when used with React Native:

• Awesome Language Features: ClojureScript’s functional programming paradigm and immutable data structures make it easier to reason about code and prevent bugs.
• Easily Readable Code: ClojureScript’s expressive syntax and concise codebase make it easier for developers to read and understand code, reducing the time spent on debugging.
• Smaller Codebase Size: ClojureScript’s compact syntax results in smaller codebases, making it easier to maintain and update applications.

Integrating React Native and ClojureScript

While older methods like Re-Natal, Krell, and React Native Figwheel Bridge are available, they are either no longer supported or require extensive setup and configuration. Instead, we recommend using the rn-rf-shadow template, which provides a simple and efficient way to bootstrap a React Native app with ClojureScript.

Using the rn-rf-shadow Template

To get started, follow these steps:

1. Prerequisites: Ensure you have the necessary toolchains installed, including VS Code with Calva, Emacs with CIDER, or IntelliJ with Cursive REPL.
2. Cloning the Project: Clone the rn-rf-shadow repository and open the project in VS Code.
3. Install Dependencies: Run the command to install shadow-cljs, React Native, Expo, reagent, re-frame, and other dependencies.
4. Install and Set up Calva: Install the Calva extension and set up the REPL.
5. Start the App: Run the build task and start the application.

Customizing the App

To customize your app, update the app.cljs file with your custom code. For example, replace the existing code with the following:

(ns example.app
  (:require [reagent.core :as r]
            [re-frame.core :as rf]
            [react-native.core :as rn]))

(defn app []
  (let [greeting (rf/subscribe [:get-greeting])]
    (fn []
      [rn/view {:style {:flex 1 :justify-content "center" :align-items "center"}}
       [rn/text {:style {:font-size 24 :color "black"}} @greeting]
       [rn/button {:title "Learn More"
                   :on-press #(rf/dispatch [:set-greeting "Hello, World!"])}]])))

This will display a greeting message and a button that updates the greeting when pressed.