What is a MiniApp?

A MiniApp is a JavaScript React Native application. That's it!

We made the choice to distinguish a MiniApp from a full-fledged application considering that a MiniApp is not a complete application on its own--but rather a "mini" application that can be combined with and composed of other MiniApps to form parts of a mobile application.

• A MiniApp is a JavaScript React native project representing a specific feature or component.
• A MiniApp can be a single, simple UI component with minimal logic or it can be a single page application that includes business logic and can communication with the native side.
• A MiniApp can be a multi-page application containing a complete application feature.
• A MiniApp can be shipped and updated inside a mobile application, either from within a native container for non-released mobile application versions, or as an Over The Air (OTA) update for released native applications.

As a JavaScript developer what does a MiniApp means to me?

As a JavaScript developer, it means that there is no real change to your workflow or your current knowledge of React Native. You continue to write JavaScript, you continue to use React Native and, you'll be able to use third-party JavaScript packages in your application. And developing a MiniApp is exactly the same as developing an application or component using React Native on it's own.

While your actual coding experience won't change, the CLI commands have changed slightly. Some of the commands that you use with the React Native CLI have been replaced with a few Electrode Native CLI commands.

For example, instead of running the react-native run-ios command to launch your React Native MiniApp inside an iOS simulator or real device, you will use the ern run-ios command. Instead of using the react-native start command, you'll use the ern start command. Most of these commands invoke the underlying equivalent React Native commands, but the Electrode Native CLI commands perform additional platform-specific logic. Also you won't have to use the React Native link command due to the fact that supported native dependencies will be automatically linked.

As a mobile developer what does a MiniApp mean to me?

As a mobile app developer, you don't need to interact directly with the JavaScript MiniApps. Selected MiniApps are packaged inside the Electrode Native container library that you add to your mobile application project. The container includes the MiniApps as native Views that you can embed inside their own Activities on Android and ViewControllers on iOS--and launch it when it's ready based on your overall mobile application flow.

Interactions and communication between the MiniApps and your mobile application are triggered using APIs that are also part of your container. The APIs can be used in your mobile application in a way that is very intuitive and mobile-development friendly--while also leveraging a high degree of type-safety at compile time.

Considerations and MiniApp recommendations

There are a few considerations and recommendations that you want to read about before using Electrode Native.

Navigation

• The Electrode Native platform currently does not ship with its own navigation library nor does it reuse a specific navigation library.

  Navigation is a difficult problem to tackle with React Native. And when you start mixing mobile native screens with JavaScript React Native screens, and you must account for potential navigation to and from mobile views between React Native MiniApps, as well as in between React Native MiniApps themselves...not to mention the fact that you need a solution that can work with many different mobile application code bases--the problem becomes even more complex.

  Currently Electrode Native does not support a navigation mechanism. If you want your MiniApp to reach maximum reusability and maximum reach potential, you should consider writing single page MiniApps. For example, MiniApps that are composed of a single screen only and do not involve navigation from one screen to another screen.

  This recommendation does not apply to "private" MiniApps that might be used only within your own organization. With private MiniApps, there are many ways to develop the MiniApps to integrate your existing mobile application native navigation.

Third-party native modules

• The Electrode Native platform offers support for third-party React Native native modules that do not require JavaScript React Native developers to actually use any command to properly link native modules with their MiniApp.

  However, the Electrode Native platform also does not support "all" third-party native modules. Each native module needs to be listed in the platform manifest and configurations must be modified so that the native modules can be properly injected into any container.

  Considering that the Electrode Native master manifest is a public GitHub repository, and it is not bound to a specific platform release lifecycle--anyone can contribute to the open source in order to add new native module support for their own--as well as any other developer's use!