Disciple Tools Mobile App

The React Native code base for the Disciple Tools mobile app.

Download the App

Latest status

Production	Development

Team

• Mobile App Team

Dependent Repo

• Disciple Tools Mobile App Plugin
• OAuth2 plugin (coming soon)

Offline Usage

Offline Usage Guide

Basic Design Idea

Installation (Development)

• Set up Expo
• Clone this repository
• Download the "Expo" app on iOS or Android:
  • Expo Client (iOS)
  • Expo Client (Android)
• Run the following commands:

npm install
npm start
OR
expo start

• Run in Simulator:

  • Press a │ open Android (Studio): https://docs.expo.dev/workflow/android-studio-emulator/
  • Press i | open iOS (XCode): https://docs.expo.dev/workflow/ios-simulator/

• Run on device (phone) via Expo:

  • Scan the QR code above with Expo Go (Android) or the Camera app (iOS), or
  • or, manually open Expo app on phone and select appropriate option from under "Development servers"
  • (NOTE: Your phone must be on the same local network as the development computer)

• Recently tested with the following library versions:

  • Node v14 or v16 (or should work with latest)
  • Expo CLI v5+

Issues

HTTPS

You MUST connect to a D.T. instance URL with https protocol, otherwise it will fail to connect with

"Network Error"

If you are using a local D.T. instance without SSL, you can use a service like ngrok or cloudflared to create a tunnel to an https address.

With this solution, you would then also need to change the values of home and siteurl in the dt_options table in your WP database.

Firewall

If running on a device using Expo, you may need to open the necessary port on your computer to allow expo to access the app.

DataStore

Information on the redux setup for managing data: Data Store

Tests

Run all tests:

npm run test

Design Decisions

General:

• Offline-First (via dispatch to Redux onAppBackground & persistent FIFO request queue for API writes)
• Aggressive data fetching, preferring to get all vs. pagination (so that data is available offline)
• CNonce: PIN (3 sec)
• (Coming soon) Accessibility (double as Test IDs?)

UI/Framework-specific:

• Functional Components vs. Class
• Modular component design to mirror D.T Post Types and Fields, and dynamically respond to API changes, and support plugins
• Custom Hooks - map well to REST endpoints
• SWR (stale-while-revalidate), also meets requirement for background fetching, onFocus fetching (prevent stale data on refocus of app)
• Redux AND Context - Redux handles any persisted state, and Context is in-memory, runtime app state
• Prefer Skeletons to Spinners, except for Button Actions
• Minimize 3rd party dependencies where possible (eg, implement own Login form validation vs. something like Formik). Purpose: long-term maintenance (since this is an OSS project with volunteers), fewer library preference debates, less app bloat
• SecureStore - use as much as practical
• Component Library: N/A (removed Native Base)
• Abstract service libraries (ie, Expo, SWR, Axios) via Hooks, in case we want to swap for something else later

Contributing

Contributing Guide