What Is App Expo On Mac

Let’s explain what the Xcode@5 task do. We choose a Release configuration and the iphoneos sdk as previously declared in the variables and we enabled the generation of a package for the app: an ipa. The compiler also needs to know which scheme to use inside your project to build your application. If you do not know what scheme you have inside your project, open a terminal on your mac. MACS Membership is a step beyond and a separate purchase after Section 609 certification. MACS Worldwide empowers members to grow their businesses and delivers tangible member benefits through industry advocacy with government regulators and by providing accurate, unbiased technical information, training products, mobile A/C diagnostics APP, training curriculum and money-saving affinity member.

by Soujanya PS

I recently started to develop a React-Native app on iOS. This was my first foray into native app development. I was surprised by the ease and level of abstraction provided by React-Native’s command line interface. I was also curious to understand what happens under the hood when React-Native runs an app on a device or a simulator.

What

I spent a lot of time going through the relevant code. There was no one place which summarized what React-Native does to get the app working. Partly, that was the motivation to come up with this piece. I want to help any other person who is starting off afresh with React-Native app development.

React-Native provides command line utilities to run an app on iOS and Andriod simulators/devices. Without further ado, let's try to understand the what and how of the process to run React-Native apps on iOS.

Behind the scenes

React-native provides this neat utility called init. It creates a native app template for you. This template creates the relevant Xcode project files under the iOS folder of the app.

React-Native apps can be launched on iOS simulators/physical devices by running the following command in the root folder of an app:

Successful execution would open the app on a simulator or a connected device. For this to happen, there are a bunch of steps which are executed when we run the above command.

run-ios command

React-Native provides a number of command line utilities to work with the app. These can be found under the local-cli folder of the React-Native node module. run-ios is one such utility which invokes the runIOS() function defined in the runIOS.js file. run-ios accepts certain options such as:

Device/Simulator selection

When no device is specified, run-ios would launch the app in Debug mode on a simulator by default. This is done by executing a series of xcrun simctl commands. They would first check the list of available simulators on Mac, pick one among them, and then boot the selected simulator.

Alternatively, if you wish to run the app on a physical device, plug the device to the Mac and then pass on the device details to the run-ios command.

The next step is to build the Xcode project of the app.

Building App code

Usually, the React-Native app Xcode project can be found in the iOS folder present under the root folder. The Xcode project is built using the xcodebuild command. Any options specified to run-ios such as the configuration etc. are passed on to this command.

By default, the Xcode project is built in Debug scheme. Once the project is successfully built, the app is installed and launched on the simulator or the connected device.

App code bundling in Debug Mode

During the development process, React Native loads our JavaScript code dynamically at runtime. For this, we need a server to bundle our app code and provide it as needed.

While the Xcode project is being built in Debug mode, an instance of Metro server is also started in parallel. Metro is the bundler used by apps created by the React-Native command line interface (CLI). It is used to bundle our app code in development. This helps us with faster and easier debugging by enabling hot reloading etc.

Metro server is configured to start on port 8081 by default. Once the app is launched in the simulator, a request is sent to the server for the bundle.

The server then downloads all the required dependencies, bundles the JavaScript app code and sends it back to the app. After this step, you can see the app working on the simulator or a connected device.

App code bundling in Release Mode — Pre-packaging the JavaScript bundle

In release mode, we have to pre-package the JavaScript bundle and distribute it inside our app. Doing this requires a code change so that it knows to load the static bundle. In AppDelegate.m file, change jsCodeLocation to point to the static bundle if you’re not in debug mode.

This will now reference the main.bundle resource file. This file is created during the Bundle React Native code and images build Phase in Xcode. During this phase, react-native-xcode.shscript is runwhich bundles the JavaScript app code. This script can be found under the React-Native node module’s scripts folder.

Building the app from Xcode

What Is App Expo On Mac

Alternatively, the Xcode project can also be built within Xcode in Mac instead of using the React-Native CLI. Once done, the app can be launched on a simulator selected from the Xcode options or on a connected physical device.

What Is App Expo On Macbook

I hope this helped you understand the various steps which happen when we run a simple react-native run-ios command which magically brings up an app on iOS.

Some parts of the information provided here have been sourced from the React-Native home page. The rest is a product of me snooping around the code :)

June 22, 2020

Video replay of today’s event will be available shortly.

Here’s what we announced.

The things you do every day just got easier than ever with iOS 14. Redesigned widgets put more information on an all-new Home Screen. App Clips help you handle tasks quickly. And the App Library automatically organizes your apps, so you can find them even faster.

Unlock the unique capabilities of iPad with iPadOS 14. Use handwriting as easily as typed text in Notes. Access more app functions in a single view with enhanced app designs. And write in any text field with Scribble.

What Is App Expo On Macbook Pro

macOS Big Sur brings a stunning new design that makes Mac even more powerful. The biggest Safari update ever delivers a more personal and private browsing experience, while updates to Messages and Maps let you express and explore like never before.

With watchOS 7, you can now discover custom watch faces on websites and social media and share faces with friends. You’ll also meet the Sleep app of your dreams, track fitness metrics with four new workouts, and create healthier habits with the new Handwashing feature.

Watch previous Apple events