Cross-Platform Development With ReactXP

ReactXP is an open-source TypeScript library built by Skype on top of React and React Native. It aims to let teams build interfaces with a consistent developer experience across platforms. Miron describes it as React for multiple platforms, including iOS, Android, Windows, and the web.

ReactXP provides 11 core components and 16 APIs, with extensions for additional capabilities such as navigation and video. Its styles are cached by default, use typed helper methods, and follow Flexbox with a column default and pixel measurements. Miron also says the built-in components support shared accessibility features such as labels, traits, and VoiceOver announcements.

Skype keeps business logic and other reusable code in a common layer, with platform-specific implementations behind ReactXP. Miron estimates that about 85% of Skype's code is reused across platforms. Extensions provide platform-specific behavior, such as separate notification integrations exposed through a unified API.

Miron demonstrates wrapping Victory Charts in a module with platform entry points: the web version imports Victory, while the native version imports Victory Native. Type definitions connect the two APIs, and a TypeScript path mapping lets the app import the module from a shared location. He shows matching charts on web and mobile, including animated charts driven by D3 interpolation.