The work that you don't see

In the React space, there’s always a lot going on - and with that, a lot of emotions that can swing in both good and bad ways: how many times we’ve seen a hot take on Twitter generating drama? That, paired with a lack of communication from who’s in the driving seat, can create a lack of trust towards this awesome technology.

But behind the scenes, there is a dedicated group of developers working to improve the underlying infrastructure of React Native. This work is focused on making the technology more robust, better structured, and ultimately more reliable. In this talk, I'll take you on a deep dive into the inner workings of these discussions and highlight some of the radical changes that are being made. My hope is that by shining a light on this under-appreciated work, I can help restore your faith in the future of React Native.

Transcript

1. the work that you don’t see
2. before we start lorenzo sciandra @kelset senior software engineer @ microsoft maintainer & releaser of RN (5+ yrs) who am i #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 2
3. the problem statement #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 3
4. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 4
5. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 5 the drama 🎭 <screenshot of a clickbait youtube video> <screenshot of a clickbait youtube video> <screenshot of a clickbait youtube video> <screenshot of a clickbait youtube video> <screenshot of a clickbait youtube video> <screenshot of a clickbait youtube video> <screenshot of a blogpost title over dramatic> <screenshot of a blogpost title over dramatic> <screenshot of a blogpost title over dramatic> <screenshot of a blogpost title over dramatic> <screenshot of a blogpost title over dramatic> <spicy tweet by a nobody> <spicy tweet by a nobody> <spicy tweet by a nobody> <spicy tweet by a nobody> <screenshot of a reddit comment> <screenshot of a reddit comment> <screenshot of a reddit comment> <screenshot of a reddit comment> <screenshot of a reddit comment> <screenshot of a reddit comment> <screenshot of a reddit comment> <screenshot of a reddit comment> <screenshot of a reddit comment>
6. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 6 the roaring silence 🫥
7. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 7 the roaring silence 🫥 https://github.com/facebook/react-native/wiki/Roadmap
8. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 8 feedback loop? 🤔
9. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 9 feedback loop? 🤔 https://github.com/react-native-community/discussions-and-proposals/discussions/546
10. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 10
11. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 11
12. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 12 ➡ TRUST IN THE PROJECT Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt
13. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 13 💧 can we trust it?
14. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 14
15. …how to handle it? #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 15
16. …how to handle it? #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 16
17. 💡 #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 17
18. being boring #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 18
19. what people talk about what people don' talk about react native #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 19
20. what people talk about what people don' talk about the boring bits #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 20 react native
21. are you excited to be BORED? 🎉 #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 21
22. the f irst victim topic releases…but not how you think #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 22 https://reactnative.dev/blog/2023/01/12/version-071
23. releases…but not how you think when i started #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 23 ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ https://github.com/facebook/react-native/releases/tag/v0.57.4
24. releases…but not how you think now #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 24 ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ https://github.com/facebook/react-native/releases/tag/v0.71.3 https://github.com/reactwg/react-native-releases/discussions/58 https://reactnative.dev/blog/2022/09/05/version-070 https://reactnative.dev/contributing/release-branch-cut-and-rc0
25. releases…but not how you think future #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 25 https://github.com/facebook/react-native/pull/36267
26. releases…but not how you think why is it good? #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 26 ⚖ more stable releases 🫀 less human error
27. releases…but not how you think why is it good? #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 27 ⚖ more stable releases 🫀 less human error https://rn-versions.github.io/
28. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 28
29. we can do better #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 29
30. MORE BORING MORE CONVOLUTED #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 30
31. the monorepo the problem #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 31 📁 /react-native
32. the monorepo the problem #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 32 📁 /react-native 📦 "react-native" - 0.71.0 📦 "@react-native/assets" - 1.0.0 📦 "@react-native-community/eslint-con f ig" - 3.0.1 📦 "react-native-codegen" - 0.0.15 📦 ... 📁 /react-native/packages/ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠
33. the monorepo the problem #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 33
34. the monorepo the solution #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 34 📁 /react-native 📦 "react-native" - 0.71.0 📦 "@react-native/assets" - 1.0.0 📦 "@react-native-community/eslint-con f ig" - 3.0.1 📦 "react-native-codegen" - 0.0.15 📦 ... 📁 /react-native/packages/
35. the monorepo the solution #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 35 📁 /react-native/packages/ 📦 "react-native" - 0.72.x 📦 "@react-native/packager-assets" - 0.72.x 📦 "@react-native/eslint-con f ig" - 0.72.x 📦 "@react-native/codegen" - 0.72.x 📦 ... ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
36. the monorepo 0.72 is going to be the f irst of the new era #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 36 https://github.com/facebook/react-native/commit/714b502b0c7a5f897432dbad388c02d3b75b4689
37. the monorepo 0.72 is going to be the f irst of the new era #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 37 👏👏 https://github.com/facebook/react-native/commit/714b502b0c7a5f897432dbad388c02d3b75b4689
38. the monorepo why is it good? #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 38 🔍 allows for further granularity 🧩 more control (and automation) 🤗 easier to contribute
39. massively boring 📉 very exciting future 📈 #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 39
40. ( #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 40
41. 🤔 How has this all been happening? #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 41
42. 🎻🎺🎷🪗🪕🎸🥁 #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 42 https://github.com/facebook/react-native/blob/main/ECOSYSTEM.md https://github.com/react-native-community/discussions-and-proposals/pulls https://github.com/microsoft/rnx-kit/discussions/categories/bundle-working-group
43. How can 🫵 get involved? #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 43
44. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 44 how to get involved shaping react-native My personal recommendations: 1. come up with your proposal - think it through 2. draft up a document, a few graphs (ex. Excalidraw) 3. show it to a few people, get feedback 4. establish a collaboration with Meta 5. open the proper RFC in the discussion-and-proposal repo 6. execute on the plan and co-own it
45. shaping react-native how to get involved the two changes I've shown are “made by Microsoft” #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 45
46. made by Microsoft #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 46
47. made by Microsoft #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 47 🖥 react-native-macos 🪟 react-native-windows 📲 react-native-test-app 🌟 rnx-kit 📏 align-deps 📏 metro-serializer-esbuild 🪟 hermes-windows and much, much more! 
 👉 https://devblogs.microsoft.com/react-native/ 
 🐦 @ReactNativeMSFT
48. Let's close this ) off! #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 48
49. concluding 🌞 React (Native) not just 🎭 There is a lot going on under the surface Key companies are heavily invested in its success #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 49
50. concluding 🌝 Meta will listen and (might) help you You need to know where to 👀 Be ready to put in the work #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 50
51. when we cut out all the noise, React Native is one of the safest bets in the entire Open Source space #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 51
52. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 52 TRUST IN THE PROJECT
53. thanks for listening! lorenzo sciandra @kelset slides, email, everything ➡ kelset.dev enjoy ChainReact ❤ #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 53 Thanks Jamon, Gant and the IR team for making this awesome conference!