Reduce API Fragmentation Across Platforms with Unitools

1. Fragmentation of APIs:
   • Each framework offers its own set of APIs for components and hooks, leading to fragmentation in code sharing.
   • Developers often face the dilemma of choosing between platform-specific APIs, resulting in code that is tightly coupled to a particular framework.
2. Limited Options:
   • While numerous libraries exist for universal components, options for core functionalities like navigation and image handling are relatively less.
   • This scarcity makes it challenging to find robust solutions that work seamlessly across platforms, forcing developers to either compromise on functionality or invest time in building custom solutions.

1. Platform-based Solution:
   • Leveraging platform-specific logic to handle navigation and image handling. For instance, returning Next links for web platforms and Expo/React Navigation links for mobile platforms.
   • This approach prioritizes compatibility with the native features and behaviors of each platform, ensuring a smooth user experience across devices.
2. Framework-based Solution:
   • Developing a unified API within a base library that abstracts away platform-specific details.
   • Creating platform-specific libraries that unify props for each framework, allowing developers to seamlessly switch between Next.js, Expo, and React Native without sacrificing functionality.
   • Base library is aliased with framework-specific libraries in the user's project, ensuring ease of use and compatibility.

Unitools is a suite of tools designed to simplify code sharing among Next.js, Expo, and React Native projects. It is an essential tool in today's cross-platform development landscape, especially with the increasing shift towards universal app development. Unitools offers a unified API for managing images, links, and route navigation hooks across all these platforms.

• Unified API: By centralizing functionality within a base library, Unitools abstracts away platform-specific details, making it easier for developers to write code that works across different frameworks.
• Platform-specific Libraries: To ensure compatibility and optimize performance, Unitools offers platform-specific libraries that unify props for each framework. This approach allows developers to leverage the native features and behaviors of each platform while maintaining a consistent API.
• Alias Integration: Unitools seamlessly integrates with developers' projects through aliasing, making it easy to incorporate the base library and platform-specific extensions without disrupting existing workflows.

While a platform-first approach may seem intuitive, it often leads to fragmented code and limited flexibility. By prioritizing a framework-based solution, Unitools ensures compatibility with future framework-specific optimizations and features, safeguarding against the ever-changing landscape of cross-platform development.

During our exploration of solutions, we identified a need for seamless integration with Expo Web. Solito, a platform-based solution, mainly returns NextLink on web platforms. This prompted us to create our own framework-based solution.

1. Base package which exports the interface
2. Expo package
3. Next.js package

• Link - A unified API for expo and next link
• Image -A unified API for expo and next image
• Router - A unified API for expo and next router

Unitools provides a comprehensive solution to cross-platform development challenges. It offers a unified toolkit for sharing code across Next.js, Expo, and React Native projects. With a framework-based approach that prioritizes compatibility and flexibility, Unitools enables seamless code sharing and boosts developer productivity in the ever-changing world of app development.