Clean code and Compose Multiplatform

If you are an Android developer who works with Jetpack Compose, we have a pro tip for you: create a Compose Multiplatform module in your project for low-level basic components. Jetpack Compose is a powerful UI toolkit for Android app development that streamlines UI development and boosts app performance. With a Compose Multiplatform module, you can enjoy several benefits that will enhance your development process and promote cleaner code. Keep reading to learn more about this approach and how it can help you build better apps with less effort.

Stable

Firstly, Compose Multiplatform is a stable technology for Android development. It means that you are working with a technology that has been tested and is reliable for use. It is a proven technology that will work for your development needs.

Separation of concerns

It forces you to have a proper separation of concerns. By creating separate components, you can make sure that each component is doing one thing, and one thing well. This approach will make it easier for you to maintain your code and fix bugs when they occur.

Pure components

Using pure components with clearly defined inputs and outputs in your Composable functions means that you can easily reuse your code in other contexts. This is a significant advantage when it comes to scaling your project and reducing development time. By creating reusable components, you can avoid writing redundant code and save time when building new features. You can also reduce the likelihood of introducing bugs when adding new functionality since each component is self-contained and has a clearly defined purpose.

No dependencies on platform

Creating components in a Compose Multiplatform module eliminates dependencies on the Android framework, giving you more flexibility and reducing the likelihood of bugs. Additionally, pure components with well-defined inputs and outputs make it easier to reuse code across different platforms, resulting in improved code modularity, portability, and reduced development time. Overall, reusing components across different platforms (e.g., Android, desktop, and iOS) is much easier when they are pure and free from platform-specific dependencies. This makes your code more modular and portable, allowing you to take advantage of new platforms or devices without rewriting large portions of your codebase.

Testable

Since each component is doing only one thing and has no external dependencies, testing becomes a much simpler task. Unit tests can be written to verify that the component functions correctly under various scenarios, and it becomes much easier to isolate and fix any bugs that might arise. By using pure components with inputs and outputs, it becomes much easier to verify the input/output values of each component. This makes it easier to write automated tests that verify the correctness of each component in isolation. Since the components have no dependencies on the framework, tests are less likely to be affected by unexpected interactions with the Android operating system. Overall, creating low-level basic components in a Compose Multiplatform module makes testing a much simpler and more reliable process. This can help you to identify and fix issues quickly, improving the quality and reliability of your codebase.

The best scenario

The best-case scenario when using Compose Multiplatform is that you can support desktop devices right now out of the box. If you want to deep dive into it, iOS can be supported with adjustments (due to internal limitation mainly). In the future, this limitation will be removed, so making your code future-proof now is an excellent way to save time and effort down the road.

The worst-case scenario

The worst-case scenario is that something went wrong and you just need to move your code into the androidApp module. This is not a serious issue since it only requires a minor code adjustment. Therefore, there is very little risk involved in creating a Compose Multiplatform module for low-level basic components, and the potential benefits are significant.

The extra cost

On top of that, creating a Compose Multiplatform module has near-zero extra cost, which means that adopting this approach will have minimal impact on your development process. By taking this simple step, you can future-proof your code and reap the benefits of improved code quality, scalability, and easier testing.

Conclusion

In summary, creating Compose Multiplatform module with well-defined composable functions provides numerous benefits, including easier code reuse, reduced development time, and improved scalability across different platforms. So, if you’re a mobile developer (iOS or Android) who wants to improve your development process, we encourage you to give this approach a try.