The work that you don't see 2.0

V2.0 of this talk, given at React Native Heroes in Turin, Italy.

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In React Native, when people usually get excited it’s all about some shiny new feature, or tool, or clickbaity “do this to get 10x better!” claim. When announcements are made, they need to be catchy, sleek and able to generate hype… and how, for the Nth time, RN is better than tech X or faster than tech Y.

But that’s not all that is happening: under the surface, deep down in the mines of the foundation of this ecosystem, there’s a steady stream of work, discussions and considerations happening - all driven by the pressing need to constantly shift React Native into something more solid and better structured. In this talk, I want to take you down into the guts of these conversations, and shine a light onto some of these radical changes, how they are shaped up and what to expect in the future of React Native.

Transcript

1. the work that you don’t see v2.0
2. Ciao Torino! #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 2
3. Ciao Torino! #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 3
4. Ciao Torino! lorenzo sciandra @kelset senior software engineer @ microsoft maintainer & releaser of RN (5+ yrs) who am i #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 4
5. the problem statement #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 5
6. REACT NATIVE #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 6 Fabric EXPO new features
7. what people talk about what people don' talk about REACT NATIVE #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 7 Lorenzo is here the boring bits
8. #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 8 the boring bits processes documentation refactorings
9. #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 9
10. the f irst victim topic releases…but not how you think #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 10 https://reactnative.dev/blog/2023/01/12/version-071
11. releases…but not how you think when i started #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 11 https://github.com/facebook/react-native/releases/tag/v0.57.4 ⚠ tribal knowledge ⚠ poor comms ⚠ lack of testing
12. releases…but not how you think now #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 12 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 ✅ changelogs ✅ documentation ✅ release crew ✅ processes
13. releases…but not how you think future #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 13 https://github.com/facebook/react-native/pull/36267
14. releases…but not how you think why is it good? #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 14 ⚖ more stable releases 🫀 less human error
15. releases…but not how you think why is it good? #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 15 ⚖ more stable releases 🫀 less human error https://rn-versions.github.io/
16. #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 16
17. we can do better #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 17
18. MORE BORING MORE CONVOLUTED #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 18
19. the monorepo the problem #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 19 📁 /react-native
20. the monorepo the problem #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 20 📁 /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/ ⚠ dark magic ⚠ inconsistencies ⚠ manual process
21. the monorepo the problem #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 21
22. the monorepo the solution #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 22 📁 /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/
23. the monorepo the solution #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 23 📁 /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 📦 ... ✅ proper repo ✅ aligned versions ✅ namespace ✅ automation
24. the monorepo 0.72 is going to be the f irst of the new era #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 24 https://github.com/facebook/react-native/commit/714b502b0c7a5f897432dbad388c02d3b75b4689
25. the monorepo 0.72 is going to be the f irst of the new era #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 25 👏👏 https://github.com/facebook/react-native/commit/714b502b0c7a5f897432dbad388c02d3b75b4689
26. the monorepo why is it good? #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 26 🔍 allows for further granularity 🧩 more control (and automation) 🤗 easier to contribute
27. massively boring 📉 very exciting future 📈 #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 27
28. ( #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 28
29. 🤔 How has this all been happening? #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 29
30. 🎻🎺🎷🪗🪕🎸🥁 #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 30 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
31. #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 31 Alex Hunt's talk at AppJS https://github.com/react-native-community/developer-experience-wg/discussions/11 …and not just that!
32. How can 🫵 get involved? #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 32
33. #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 33 how to get involved shaping react-native My personal recommendations: 1. come up with your proposal - think it through 2. write the document, add graphs and MVPs 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
34. shaping react-native how to get involved the two changes I've shown are “made by Microsoft” #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 34
35. made by Microsoft #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 35
36. made by Microsoft #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 36 🖥 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 📏 …
37. Let's close this ) off! #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 37
38. concluding 🌞 React (Native) not just hype There is a lot going on under the surface Key companies are heavily invested in its success #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 38
39. concluding 🌝 Meta will listen and (might) help you You need to know where to 👀 Be ready to put in the work #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 39
40. #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 40
41. when we cut out all the noise, React Native is one of the safest bets in the entire Open Source space #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 41
42. #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 42 TRUST IN THE PROJECT
43. thanks for listening! lorenzo sciandra @kelset slides, email, everything ➡ kelset.dev enjoy the conf ❤ #ReactNativeHeroes23 16-jun-23 @kelset 43