Posts - page 14

Recent posts

Universal iOS Apps with React Native

August 14, 2017  less than 1 minute read  

This is one of those short “tip” posts. I was developing a nice React Native app and blogging about it. However, I bumped into a problem where my iOS simulator runs always appeared as if they were on an iPhone. If I ran the app on an iPad, it would still act as if it were on an iPhone. The fix for this is buried inside XCode. Open XCode and then open the .xcodeproj file, which is inside the ios folder of your project. Then click on the project name. You will see a section like this: Note...

Integrating React Native, TypeScript, and MobX

August 11, 2017  5 minute read  

In my last article, I psted about getting TypeScript working with React Native. I’m building a flexible, best-practices, Notes App in React Native. This means I need a backing store, and it has to be local for offline capabilities. React has a definite way of building data into the UI and the manipulation of that data is an architecture known as Flux. Flux isn’t a concrete implementation, however. Normally, I would use Redux as the concrete implementation. However, I have recently started wor...

Debugging React Native with TypeScript and Visual Studio Code

August 09, 2017  2 minute read  

One of the things I really miss from React Native was the support for TypeScript. TypeScript helps me immensely, but it really comes into its own with React programming as the PropTypes are specified for you (no more propTypes static). I’m also getting into MobX as a flux implementation and that uses decorators, which is native in TypeScript. There is lots to love in TypeScript. However, every single guide I saw for implementing TypeScript within React Native was flawed. Specifically, there ...

Implementing swipe-right on a React Native FlatList

August 07, 2017  6 minute read  

I’m progressing on my “master-detail” pattern for a react-native app. The actual implementation of master-detail is shockingly simple (more on that later). However, I bumped into some specific issues when I was implementing it. The first of these was covered last time – how to detect orientation changes in React Native. The next is this. How do I implement swipe-right so that I can add a swipe-to-delete function to a FlatList. Let me explain a little further. The latest edition of React Nati...

Handling orientation changes in React Native

July 26, 2017  3 minute read  

I’ve just returned to my JavaScript days and am trying to learn React Native again. One of the things I like to do is to produce a “perfect” app – one that will work on both tablet and phone in any orientation and that includes all the best practices. Things like my Notes App on Android, for example, took me off to learn content providers. React Native is no different. There are a bunch of things you just have to know. One of the things I want to do is to produce a single app that does maste...

The things I like (and don’t like) about Swift?

June 19, 2017  6 minute read  

Recently, I’ve given myself the task of learning the “native” mobile development platforms. That means Java or Kotlin for Android and Swift or Objective-C for iOS development. Kotlin is a ways behind Java for Android development and I already knew (somewhat) the Java language, so that one was relatively easy. Swift is the new kid on the block, but it’s obviously the way to go for iOS Development. This is not a blog post about how to learn Swift. In fact, I’m probably not going to teach y...

Which is better - React Native or Xamarin Forms?

May 25, 2017  5 minute read  

Let’s talk about a loaded question. After my recent forays into both React Native and Xamarin Forms, I got asked on Twitter – which is better, React Native or Xamarin Forms? Further, I should answer this for JavaScript experts, C# XAML experts and for developers with experience in both. After all, both produce native apps and both use a common codebase. The Short Version There isn’t a clear winner here. If I am a JavaScript expert, I’ll gravitate towards React Native. If I’m a C# exper...

Building a service in the Cloud

May 08, 2017  7 minute read  

I’ve been thinking about providing services in the cloud for a few years now. A common question I see time and time again is this: “What pieces of the cloud do I need to build my solution?” The answer is always “it depends.” This post is about those options. A service – whether it be a mobile backend, web server or public API – generally has different kinds of content. A web site, for example, will have images, stylesheets and other static content. However, that same web site may als...