8b67612f1d
* update release checklist * convert resource files of preserved languages * remove other resource files * rewrite L10Manager and Strings * add test for DefaultL10nManager * cleanup language extensions * update app initialization * update settings business logic * update check notification worker * remove old conversion scripts * remove lyricist dependency * remove lyricist from licenses * update documentation
122 lines
6.9 KiB
Markdown
122 lines
6.9 KiB
Markdown
## Tech stack
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Here is a list of the technologies used in the project, with a short historical explanation in the
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cases where the initial choice changed over time and the reasons why the change was made.
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<dl>
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<dt>Dependency Injection</dt>
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<dd>
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The choice here is the <a href="https://github.com/InsertKoinIO/koin">Koin</a> library. The main
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reason it was selected because of its great multiplatform support and the integration with the
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navigation library (which at the beginning of the project was not there yet, but was added later and
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proved to work great). You can find module definitions (beware, Gradle modules and Koin modules are
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two different concepts and should not be confused) in a `di` package inside each subproject, modules
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can include each other and all top-level modules are included in the shared module, more on it in
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"Module overview and dependencies".
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</dd>
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<dt>Navigation</dt>
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<dd>
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For navigation the <a href="https://github.com/adrielcafe/voyager">Voyager</a> library has been
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selected. Again, the choice was driven by its multi-platform support, its very practical approach
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and ease to set up and get going, compared to other multi-platform libraries like Decompose that
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were used in the past. Nonetheless, and this lesson was learned the hard way, easiness of use and
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compactness mean that things will go smooth in the future, and as the project grew the navigation
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library started to show its limits. Part of them were addressed by encapsulating the transition
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logic (to push/pop screens into the navigation stack and open/close modal bottom sheets) into a
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centralized component NavigationCoordinator.kt.
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Something similar was done for the navigation drawer in DrawerCoordinator.kt.
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Even the DI integration with Koin was not pain-free, the <code>:core:navigation</code> module contains
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some glue code that is used to work around some of the issues that were encountered.
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</dd>
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<dt>Networking</dt>
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<dd>Here, at least for Android developers, no surprises: the choice was <a href="https://github.com/ktorio/ktor">Ktor</a>
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which has great multiplatform support. Instead of using Retrofit, to create network adapters the
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<a href="https://github.com/Foso/Ktorfit">Ktorfit</a> library is used, which uses KSP to parse
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annotations and generate code.
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</dd>
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<dt>Resource management</dt>
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<dd>
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Initially the project used the <a href="https://github.com/icerockdev/moko-resources">Moko resources</a>
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library to load fonts, icons and all the localized messages used in the UI. It worked great, since in those areas
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Compose multiplatform missed the needed functionalities. But as long as the project grew in size and
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more complex KSP configurations were needed, having all modules depend on resources became unmaintainable.
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This is why I migrated drawable and font loading to Compose build-in system. For localization, the choice was the
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<a href="https://github.com/adrielcafe/lyricist">Lyricist</a> library, which better handles dynamic language changes
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but it had a couple of issues: its XML processor made builds non-reproducible which was a huge issue in order
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to publish on F-Droid and it did not manage plurals correctly; if using pure Kotlin files its format is non-standard
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and therefore incompatible with tools like Weblate.
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</dd>
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<dt>Image loading</dt>
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<dd>
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This was something that was expected to be simpler but unfortunately it wasn't. In the beginning
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the project used the <a href="https://github.com/Kamel-Media/Kamel">Kamel</a> library
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which had a major bug while rendering large images, which took a long time to be considered.
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The project was already relying on Kamel for many things, from loading images on demand
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to Markdown rendering, so deciding to switch was not easy at all. So as a first step,
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<a href="https://github.com/coil-kt/coil">Coil</a> 2.x was adopted on Android while keeping Kamel
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on iOS and, finally, when Coil 3.x became stable with multiplatform support all the project has
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been completely migrated.
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</dd>
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<dt>Preference storage</dt>
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<dd>
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Here the choice was the <a href="https://github.com/russhwolf/multiplatform-settings">Multiplatform settings</a>
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libary which not only works great but also offers support for encryption.
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</dd>
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<dt>Primary persistence</dt>
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<dd>
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This project was a chance to experiment with <a href="https://github.com/cashapp/sqldelight">SQLDelight</a>
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(in other multiplatform projects other libraries were tested like Exposed), whereas database encryption
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is obtained through <a href="https://www.zetetic.net/sqlcipher/sqlcipher-for-android">SQLCipher Android</a>,
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formerly <a href="https://github.com/sqlcipher/android-database-sqlcipher">Android Database SQLCipher</a>.
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</dd>
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<dt>Markdown rendering</dt>
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<dd>
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This was another part, like image loading, where KMP was at the beginning quite lacky. After having given
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up for some time and used Markwon (Java + Views) on the Android part of the app, I decided to give a
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second chance to <a href="https://github.com/mikepenz/multiplatform-markdown-renderer">Multiplatform Markdown Renderer</a>
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which was initially user for the multiplatform source set. The project grew and matured over time and
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it made it possible to add custom handlers (like modular plug-ins) which made possible to support
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Lemmy's custom features like spoilers. The migration from multiplatform renderer to Markwon and back to
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multiplatform renderer was not easy, but this project is about KMP so, as a consequence, a pure Kotlin and
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pure Compose solution <em>had to</em> be preferred. Even if it implies to sacrifice some functionality.
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</dd>
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<dt>Video playback</dt>
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<dd>
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The initial choice was to write a custom native implementation based on <code>Exoplayer</code> on Android
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and on <code>AVPlayer</code> on iOS. This solution kind of worked but had some issues and with later
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updates of Compose Multiplatform it was using deprecated functions on iOS. This is why the video player
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was eventually migrated to
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<a href="https://github.com/Chaintech-Network/ComposeMultiplatformMediaPlayer">ComposeMultiplatformMediaPlayer</a>.
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</dd>
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<dt>Theme generation</dt>
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<dd>
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The application allows to select a custom color and generate a Material 3 color scheme as a
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palette originate from that seed color. This is achieved by using the
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<a href="https://github.com/jordond/MaterialKolor">MaterialKolor</a> library which was designed to
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be multiplatform and works as a charm for the purpose. Thanks!
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</dd>
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<dt>Reorderable lists</dt>
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<dd>
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The ability to reorder lists is achieved thanks to the <a href="https://github.com/Calvin-LL/Reorderable">Reorderable</a>
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library which starting from version 1.3.1 has become multiplatform. This functionality is still
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experimental and is used only in the instance selection bottom sheet for anonymous users.
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</dd>
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<dt>Web view</dt>
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<dd>
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Initially a custom web view was implemented, relying on native views (WebView on Android and WKWebView
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on iOS), but in the end the project was migrated to <a href="https://github.com/MohamedRejeb/Calf">Calf</a>
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component to display portions of the Web.
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</dd>
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</dl>
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