[WIP] perf: native-stack (v2)

[kirillzyusko]

Details

Change for the mobile platforms to use the native-stack navigator:

Native Stack Navigator provides a way for your app to transition between screens where each new screen is placed on top of a stack.

With this we will get native screen transitions, which feel better and don't get blocked if the JS thread is blocked.

This was discussed here: #vip-newdot-performance

Warning

This is a second revision of the implementation. The first one caused a lot of issues, especially when it comes to keyboard appearance on iOS, transition events detection on Android. A successor of #29991

The main difference comparing to the first version of implementation is the fact that now we use native-stack everywhere (before on different stack navigators level we were using different navigators). For that we had to patch some libraries:

PRs from patches:

• feat(iOS): Add slide_from_left transition software-mansion/react-native-screens#2057 <- added slide_from_left transition for Search/Workspace pages
• feat: added integration for InteractionManager with native-stack react-navigation/react-navigation#11887 <- fixed an integration with InteractionManager (used in useSingleExecution hook).

Fixed Issues

$ #37923
$ #29948
PROPOSAL: #29948

These issues were spotted in the first revision of implementation, so it's also important to test them:

$ #37354
$ #37257
$ #37252
$ #37273
$ #37156
$ #37325

Tests

• Open app
• press on search filed
• be sure that:
  • screen transition is from left to right (Android/iOS/mWeb)
  • drawer tranistion is from left to right + content behind drawer is still visible (web)
  • screen search can be loaded (i. e. it's not infinite loading) -> [HOLD for payment 2024-03-07] [Android] infinite loading search screen #37156
• close screen
  • on iOS test that it can be dismissed via gesture from right to left [HOLD for payment 2024-03-14] Gesture to hide the search page should be right to left  #37354 and back button
  • on mWeb iOS it can be dismissed via gesture from left to right and back button
  • on Android can be closed via system gestures and back button
  • on web can be closed via back button
• open any chat
• tap on composer
• go to previous screen
  • on iOS/mWeb iOS do it via gesture from left to right and back button
  • on Android/web do it via back button
• be sure there is no keyboard jumps on previous screen -> [HOLD #37891] Keyboard jumps around when swiping back from chat to LHN with gesture  #37923
• open chat again
• tap on task
• tap on Assignee
• be sure there is no infinite loading for the screen -> [HOLD for payment 2024-03-07] Android - Task-Tapping assignee shows infinite loading page #37252
• go back to task
• tap on Title
• be sure keyboard is opened automatically -> [HOLD for payment 2024-03-07] [$500] Android - Task - Keyboard does not open after selecting task title #37273
• go back to main page
• tap on user avatar (to open Account settings)
• tap on wallet, tap on "Add bank account"
• tap on "Debit card"
• be sure keyboard gets opened automatically -> [HOLD for payment 2024-03-07] [$500] Android - Wallet - The keyboard does not open automatically when the debit card is opened #37325
• go back to main page
• press "+" in TabBar
• tap Request Money
• enter any amount
• press "Next"
• be sure that on participant screen keyboard appears from the bottom -> [HOLD for payment 2024-03-07] [$500] IOU - Keyboard comes out from right to left on participant screen #37257

Offline tests

Not needed.

QA Steps

• Open app
• press on search filed
• be sure that:
  • screen transition is from left to right (Android/iOS/mWeb)
  • drawer tranistion is from left to right + content behind drawer is still visible (web)
  • screen search can be loaded (i. e. it's not infinite loading) -> [HOLD for payment 2024-03-07] [Android] infinite loading search screen #37156
• close screen
  • on iOS test that it can be dismissed via gesture from right to left [HOLD for payment 2024-03-14] Gesture to hide the search page should be right to left  #37354 and back button
  • on mWeb iOS it can be dismissed via gesture from left to right and back button
  • on Android can be closed via system gestures and back button
  • on web can be closed via back button
• open any chat
• tap on composer
• go to previous screen
  • on iOS/mWeb iOS do it via gesture from left to right and back button
  • on Android/web do it via back button
• be sure there is no keyboard jumps on previous screen -> [HOLD #37891] Keyboard jumps around when swiping back from chat to LHN with gesture  #37923
• open chat again
• tap on task
• tap on Assignee
• be sure there is no infinite loading for the screen -> [HOLD for payment 2024-03-07] Android - Task-Tapping assignee shows infinite loading page #37252
• go back to task
• tap on Title
• be sure keyboard is opened automatically -> [HOLD for payment 2024-03-07] [$500] Android - Task - Keyboard does not open after selecting task title #37273
• go back to main page
• tap on user avatar (to open Account settings)
• tap on wallet, tap on "Add bank account"
• tap on "Debit card"
• be sure keyboard gets opened automatically -> [HOLD for payment 2024-03-07] [$500] Android - Wallet - The keyboard does not open automatically when the debit card is opened #37325
• go back to main page
• press "+" in TabBar
• tap Request Money
• enter any amount
• press "Next"
• be sure that on participant screen keyboard appears from the bottom -> [HOLD for payment 2024-03-07] [$500] IOU - Keyboard comes out from right to left on participant screen #37257

PR Author Checklist

• I linked the correct issue in the ### Fixed Issues section above
• I wrote clear testing steps that cover the changes made in this PR
  • I added steps for local testing in the Tests section
  • I added steps for the expected offline behavior in the Offline steps section
  • I added steps for Staging and/or Production testing in the QA steps section
  • I added steps to cover failure scenarios (i.e. verify an input displays the correct error message if the entered data is not correct)
  • I turned off my network connection and tested it while offline to ensure it matches the expected behavior (i.e. verify the default avatar icon is displayed if app is offline)
  • I tested this PR with a High Traffic account against the staging or production API to ensure there are no regressions (e.g. long loading states that impact usability).
• I included screenshots or videos for tests on all platforms
• I ran the tests on all platforms & verified they passed on:
  • Android: Native
  • Android: mWeb Chrome
  • iOS: Native
  • iOS: mWeb Safari
  • MacOS: Chrome / Safari
  • MacOS: Desktop
• I verified there are no console errors (if there's a console error not related to the PR, report it or open an issue for it to be fixed)
• I followed proper code patterns (see Reviewing the code)
  • I verified that any callback methods that were added or modified are named for what the method does and never what callback they handle (i.e. toggleReport and not onIconClick)
  • I verified that the left part of a conditional rendering a React component is a boolean and NOT a string, e.g. myBool && <MyComponent />.
  • I verified that comments were added to code that is not self explanatory
  • I verified that any new or modified comments were clear, correct English, and explained "why" the code was doing something instead of only explaining "what" the code was doing.
  • I verified any copy / text shown in the product is localized by adding it to src/languages/* files and using the translation method
    • If any non-english text was added/modified, I verified the translation was requested/reviewed in #expensify-open-source and it was approved by an internal Expensify engineer. Link to Slack message:
  • I verified all numbers, amounts, dates and phone numbers shown in the product are using the localization methods
  • I verified any copy / text that was added to the app is grammatically correct in English. It adheres to proper capitalization guidelines (note: only the first word of header/labels should be capitalized), and is either coming verbatim from figma or has been approved by marketing (in order to get marketing approval, ask the Bug Zero team member to add the Waiting for copy label to the issue)
  • I verified proper file naming conventions were followed for any new files or renamed files. All non-platform specific files are named after what they export and are not named "index.js". All platform-specific files are named for the platform the code supports as outlined in the README.
  • I verified the JSDocs style guidelines (in STYLE.md) were followed
• If a new code pattern is added I verified it was agreed to be used by multiple Expensify engineers
• I followed the guidelines as stated in the Review Guidelines
• I tested other components that can be impacted by my changes (i.e. if the PR modifies a shared library or component like Avatar, I verified the components using Avatar are working as expected)
• I verified all code is DRY (the PR doesn't include any logic written more than once, with the exception of tests)
• I verified any variables that can be defined as constants (ie. in CONST.js or at the top of the file that uses the constant) are defined as such
• I verified that if a function's arguments changed that all usages have also been updated correctly
• If any new file was added I verified that:
  • The file has a description of what it does and/or why is needed at the top of the file if the code is not self explanatory
• If a new CSS style is added I verified that:
  • A similar style doesn't already exist
  • The style can't be created with an existing StyleUtils function (i.e. StyleUtils.getBackgroundAndBorderStyle(theme.componentBG))
• If the PR modifies code that runs when editing or sending messages, I tested and verified there is no unexpected behavior for all supported markdown - URLs, single line code, code blocks, quotes, headings, bold, strikethrough, and italic.
• If the PR modifies a generic component, I tested and verified that those changes do not break usages of that component in the rest of the App (i.e. if a shared library or component like Avatar is modified, I verified that Avatar is working as expected in all cases)
• If the PR modifies a component related to any of the existing Storybook stories, I tested and verified all stories for that component are still working as expected.
• If the PR modifies a component or page that can be accessed by a direct deeplink, I verified that the code functions as expected when the deeplink is used - from a logged in and logged out account.
• If the PR modifies the form input styles:
  • I verified that all the inputs inside a form are aligned with each other.
  • I added Design label so the design team can review the changes.
• If a new page is added, I verified it's using the ScrollView component to make it scrollable when more elements are added to the page.
• If the main branch was merged into this PR after a review, I tested again and verified the outcome was still expected according to the Test steps.

Screenshots/Videos

Android: Native

telegram-cloud-document-2-5442872807086113148.mp4

Android: mWeb Chrome

telegram-cloud-document-2-5449560084050887588.mp4

iOS: Native

76cd68bb-6ef8-46d7-9609-cf0ad3964289.mp4

iOS: mWeb Safari

5aa0fca4-72a3-4441-a56f-57da3d095883.mp4

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

a8d30d7e-8aad-4ac0-affe-83ab19584109.mp4

MacOS: Desktop

f6fe3999-d45a-49a2-9e6a-cc5c8e5764d3.mp4

[melvin-bot]

@cubuspl42 Please copy/paste the Reviewer Checklist from here into a new comment on this PR and complete it. If you have the K2 extension, you can simply click: [this button]

[kirillzyusko]

@mountiny I think this PR is ready for review 👀 And from my testing experience - the second version feels much more stable than initial implementation 💪

[mountiny]

@kirillzyusko for easier QA could you please list the test scenarios from the regressions in the PR body? QA will then have easier life once this hits staging

[mountiny]

@cubuspl42 Createing a new build, will you be able to test this one tomorrow?

[github-actions]

🧪🧪 Use the links below to test this adhoc build on Android, iOS, Desktop, and Web. Happy testing! 🧪🧪

Android 🤖	iOS 🍎
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/android/37891/index.html	https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/ios/37891/index.html
Desktop 💻	Web 🕸️
❌ FAILED ❌	https://37891.pr-testing.expensify.com
The QR code can't be generated, because the Desktop build failed

---

👀 View the workflow run that generated this build 👀

[cubuspl42]

A tough one to review meaningfully. I left one minor comment.

[cubuspl42]

@kirillzyusko I would also appreciate some summary of the testing steps! Especially if you redacted them for clarity.

[kirillzyusko]

@mountiny @cubuspl42 I update test steps 🙌 But you also can test any scenarios that you would like to test 👀

[cubuspl42]

be sure screen transition is from left to right

What I observe: on iOS Native it's right-to-left, on Android Native it's left-to-right. Is this expected? If so, the testing steps should specify it.

[kirillzyusko]

What I observe: on iOS Native it's right-to-left, on Android Native it's left-to-right. Is this expected? If so, the testing steps should specify it.

@cubuspl42 I created a patch for that functionality on iOS, so you'll need to reinstall node_modules and re-assemble app again (because I modified native code). Can you confirm that you did it and still see right-to-left transition on iOS? 👀

[cubuspl42]

My bad! I did as you said, works as expected now in that aspect.

[cubuspl42]

Interestingly, on Android I'm able to go back using a gesture from both sides of the screen. Is it expected?

native-stack-v2-android-compressed.mp4

Actually, always takes two tries. Doesn't feel right.

[kirillzyusko]

Interestingly, on Android I'm able to go back using a gesture from both sides of the screen. Is it expected?

@cubuspl42 Yes. Actually this is system UI and yes, it can be triggered from any horizontal side of the app (i. e. left or right). And it's simply simulation of hardware/software button press (these buttons were widely adopted in Android < 10), but in Android 11 they decided to make navigation bar smaller and replace all buttons (back button/recent apps/home) with gestures.

So when you perform gesture one time - it'll close a keyboard. When you do it a second time - it'll close a screen.

So this is handled on OS level and it's not something that we can prevent (though we can override an action on the gesture and prevent screen from being hidden, but I wouldn't recommend to do that because many android users are using these system gestures to do a quick navigation in the app).

[cubuspl42]

I understand! Makes sense.

[mountiny]

Thanks for chugging along, @cubuspl42 what is your ETA on this one?

[cubuspl42]

I'm resuming the testing, ETA should be < 4h unless something bad is found

[cubuspl42]

@kirillzyusko

You wrote "Not affected" in the Screenshots/Videos on non-Native platforms. Please don't do so in the future in cases like this. Your intention was not to affect these platforms, it's not clear from the change itself that they are not affected.

On a related, but separate topic, the "Tests" sections should be written according to Expensify's "cross-platform 99% of the time" philosophy. Pragmatically speaking, you should note which steps are platform-specfic and you should cover all platforms. Even when it's something as simple as "Ensure that this and this and this interaction (still) works".

[cubuspl42]

Asking about this PR specifcially now: from which side should the search panel enter the screen on mobile web, by design and intention?

[cubuspl42]

On iOS Web, the automatic keyboard opening doesn't work for me. It's not clear if this is a regression or an unrelated known issue. Would you please clarify it?

native-stack-v2-ios-web-compressed.mp4

[chrispader]

Damn, that is annoying. I am not sure if we would want to enable this only on iOS.

How do the animations compare between current android and the native-stack enabled iOS?

They compare quite well in my opinion. This is Android on stack and iOS on native-stack.

Since the animations are quite similar and this PR paths the way for all future work on platform stack navigation, do you think we can still merge this? (seems that some pages/logic in E/App is not quite 100% adapted to native-stack yet. iOS animations look a bit weird)

Screen.Recording.2024-04-26.at.00.27.45.mov

RPReplay_Final1714084540.MP4

[kirillzyusko]

Hey 👋

I did testing of app side by side (iOS for now, will test Android later) and here is a list of all bugs that I discovered:

1. White screen after the gesture from a wrong side (left to right)

Click me to see a bug

native-stack	js stack
Simulator.Screen.Recording.-.iPhone.15.Pro.-.2024-04-26.at.14.30.28.mp4	Simulator.Screen.Recording.-.iPhone.15.-.2024-04-26.at.14.31.38.mp4

It happens because you press on a "card" (chat). And when you release a finger, then navigation hapens to this particular screen. But if you simply press on this card then you will also see a white screen.

got fixed after pulling in main branch 🤷‍♂️

2. Double navigation after back gesture (software-mansion/react-native-screens#2118)

native-stack	js stack
Simulator.Screen.Recording.-.iPhone.15.Pro.-.2024-04-26.at.14.26.40.mp4	Simulator.Screen.Recording.-.iPhone.15.-.2024-04-26.at.14.28.57.mp4

It happens because you press on a "card" (chat). And when you release a finger, then navigation hapens to this particular screen.

3. Random white flash on back transition

Click me to see a bug

native-stack	js stack
random-white-flash.mov	Simulator.Screen.Recording.-.iPhone.15.-.2024-04-26.at.14.37.33.mp4

got fixed after pulling in main branch 🤷‍♂️

4. Avatar incorrect back transition

Click me to see a bug

native-stack	js stack
Simulator.Screen.Recording.-.iPhone.15.Pro.-.2024-04-26.at.14.39.35.mp4	Simulator.Screen.Recording.-.iPhone.15.-.2024-04-26.at.14.40.21.mp4

Fixed via patch modification + unmounting screen after transition completion + reverting screen options.

5. Random screen clearance on back transition (maybe related to white flash on back transition)

Click me to see a bug

native-stack	js stack
random-screen-clearance.mov	Simulator.Screen.Recording.-.iPhone.15.-.2024-04-26.at.14.48.24.mp4

got fixed after pulling in main branch 🤷‍♂️

6. Empty screen gets pushed

Click me to see a bug

native-stack	js stack
Screen.Recording.2024-04-26.at.14.55.27.mov	Screen.Recording.2024-04-26.at.15.00.20.mov

We show spinner initially, so technically it's not an empty screen (and the same problem now is present in js-stack too).

7. Submit expense/assign task/pay someone/track expense/etc. leads to white screen

Click me to see a bug

native-stack	js-stack

got fixed after pulling in main branch 🤷‍♂️

Warning

The correct priority would be to fix issues 1, 2, 7 (to understand why white screen gets shown and how to fix it).

[kirillzyusko]

And here is Android part

1. Can not upload a photo for profile (iOS+Android)

Click me to see a bug

App from market	With native stack

2. Back transitions instantly remove current screen (known issue - software-mansion/react-native-screens#1685)

App from market	With native stack
telegram-cloud-document-2-5294459555042838618.mp4	telegram-cloud-document-2-5294459555042838604.mp4

3. Keyboard handling is broken (sometimes) (opened issue - software-mansion/react-native-screens#2124 Expensify/react-native-live-markdown#346)

App from market	With native stack

I'll go through all issues and will try to fix them (or will create a separate issues in associated repositories in case if I can not fix them).

[mountiny]

@kirillzyusko @chrispader I agree that the latest videos you have showed are quite similar for both ios and android so that would be good to go imho

@kirillzyusko great testing! definitely lets try to catch as many of these as possible

[kirillzyusko]

great testing! definitely lets try to catch as many of these as possible

@mountiny sure! 😎

[WoLewicki]

It would be perfect to submit issues (and hopefully fix them) in the react-native-screens repo with all the issues you find and are reproducible in the simple scenarios too! We started working on another approach to fixing the software-mansion/react-native-screens#1685 here: software-mansion/react-native-screens#2119

[kirillzyusko]

@mountiny @WoLewicki I fixed all the issues that were fixable in Expensify codebase and for all external bugs I opened issues on GitHub in react-native-screens repository 👀

I think the next step would be to pause the work in the current PR and wait until all reported issues will be fixed and then continue a work in this PR.

Let me know if you want me to look into opened issues or if you want SWM guys to look into it 😊

cc @hannojg @chrispader

[mountiny]

Thanks Kiril, that sounds great! @WoLewicki Will you be able to handle the reported issues in SWM?

[WoLewicki]

Will you be able to handle the reported issues in SWM?

Sure! @kirillzyusko can you list all of them here?

[kirillzyusko]

@WoLewicki yep, sure:

• live-markdown + native-stack + fabric causes incorrect layout when keyboard is open on Android software-mansion/react-native-screens#2124
• When I want to go to the previous page, everything suddenly disappears software-mansion/react-native-screens#1685 (I guess WIP PR is fix(Android): flicker on goBack software-mansion/react-native-screens#2119)
• [iOS] back gesture activates Pressable element software-mansion/react-native-screens#2118
• live-markdown + native-stack + fabric causes incorrect layout when keyboard is open on Android react-native-live-markdown#346 (react-native-live-markdown)

[WoLewicki]

• When I want to go to the previous page, everything suddenly disappears software-mansion/react-native-screens#1685 (I guess WIP PR is fix(Android): flicker on goBack software-mansion/react-native-screens#2119)

Could you check if software-mansion/react-native-screens#2134 makes it all work correctly?

[kirillzyusko]

Hey @WoLewicki

I am OOO this week, so can verify only on the next week. @chrispader maybe you can check in a meantime (if you have a capacity)?

[chrispader]

I am OOO this week, so can verify only on the next week. @chrispader maybe you can check in a meantime (if you have a capacity)?

I'm also pretty busy this week (also because of App.js Conf), so i could work on it next week at the earliest.