The future of NativeBase: March 2023
The state of NativeBase v3: March 2023
The good parts
In 2021, the team realized React Native's potential extended beyond React Native alone, prompting development of React Native Aria for use in NativeBase v3. Since then, organizations and developers have embraced NativeBase for cross-platform web and mobile applications.
npm downloads
The library continues expanding with approximately 87K weekly downloads on npm. NativeBase ranked sixth among JavaScript mobile rising stars in 2022.
The not-so-good parts
While many applications have been successfully built with NativeBase, some challenges have emerged.
The performance issues
The inclusion of numerous features introduced performance concerns. This issue sparked comparisons with pure React Native performance and generated constructive feedback for developing alternatives.
Maintainability
A complex styling engine combined with the component library and varied APIs created maintenance challenges. These complexities also hindered community and organizational contributions.
The future of NativeBase
Fixing the not-so-good parts
The library has been divided into three separate parts (thread). The third component isn't a library but styling copied into user projects.
The libraries include:
- dank.style: A universal and performant styling library optimized through a babel-plugin. Most NativeBase styling engine complexity has been reimplemented in dank. Visit here to explore further.
- gluestack-ui (alpha): Universal, headless, and independent components optionally styled within user projects. Comparable to radix-ui.
FAQs
- What is the meaning of "universal"? The term universal covers React and React Native both, including Next.js and Expo.
- Should I use NativeBase v3? Early testers are invited to gluestack-ui beginning March 6th. Contact @nativebase / @sanketsahu via direct message for access.
- I have a large project written in NativeBase v3. Should I migrate to gluestack-ui? NativeBase v3 remains functional and stable. "There are no significant issues. It just works." Patch updates will be maintained for React and React Native compatibility. Migration to gluestack-ui is optional.
- What is gluestack? And how is that related to NativeBase? Gluestack is a full-stack framework for contemporary web and mobile application development. It's not yet available. The NativeBase creators are developing the framework, which utilizes gluestack-ui as its component library.
- What happened to NativeBase Startup+? Why was it discontinued? Development was discontinued in favor of gluestack-ui improvements.
- Will we rewrite Startup+ with gluestack-ui? Work may resume once gluestack-ui reaches beta status. No current timeline exists.
- Should I trust using the future versions of NativeBase (or the successor of NativeBase)? Multiple reasons support this trust. "We have maintained it for seven years." Continued support is ensured because it has become fundamental to the gluestack framework.
- What's your long-term support (LTS)? NativeBase and gluestack are backed by GeekyAnts, an OSS-loving, community-driven team of geeks. "We are here to stay and support our open-source initiatives."
