By Paul Krill
JetBrains has updated its Compose Multiplatform declarative UI framework, stabilizing the multiplatform resources API, upgrading support for iOS and Web targets, and introducing an experimental navigation library based on Jetpack Compose Navigation.
Compose Multiplatform 1.6.10 was announced May 23. Instructions on getting started can be found at jetbrains.com.
The multiplatform resources API, now stable, provides more flexibility and convenience to developers, JetBrains said. Developers now can organize resources in any modules and source sets they wish; resources no longer have to be stored in commonMain. And Compose Multiplatform now takes care of publishing the necessary files for each platform. New experimental functions in the API allow fetching fonts and images as byte arrays, which should help third-party libraries that need access to Compose Multiplatform, the company said.
Elsewhere in Compose Multiplatform 1.6.10, a new experimental navigation library based on Jetpack Compose Navigation enables developers to use navigation hosts, graphs, and controllers to help users move between screens. While still experimental, the navigation library covers most of the framework’s core functionality.
iOS support has been upgraded to beta in the new version, while Web target support has moved from experimental to an alpha stage. Jetpack Compose functionality implemented for other platforms now is available for Web targets. That said, there is still a long way to go with the browser adaptation of most components, JetBrains said.
For iOS, work continues on performance improvements and fixing issues with Compose components on iOS. Enhancements include making popups, dialogs, and other widgets feel more organic. Interactions feel more natural thanks to scroll physics and native text fields, window insets, text selection, and a magnifying tool.
Compose Multiplatform 1.16.1 also features a new lifecycle library, which is based on Jetpack Lifecycle and provides a common LifecycleOwner implementation. The library extends Jetpack Compose functionality to other platforms and helps observe lifecycle states. And JetBrains said that support for Compose development has been improved “across the board” in the Fleet 1.35 IDE.
Compose Multiplatform 1.16.10 follows Compose Multiplatform 1.6.0, released in late-February and featuring a UI testing API.
