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Zorian
Zorian

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The Secret to Effortless App Updates Explained in 2 Minutes! ๐Ÿš€

Developers usually experience frustration when dealing with unexpected bugs in new App Store or Play Market releases. Each fix requires creating a new build, undergoing another round of platform checks, and waiting for approval. This process is time-consuming, but a more efficient way is backend-driven UI (BDUI).
Backend-driven UI is a development approach that transfers components' business logic and functionality to the server side. The client-side builds the UI based on instructions from the server, allowing for more dynamic and flexible updates.

How Backend-Driven UI Streamlines Dynamic Updates?

The App Store and Play Market allow specific changes to be made dynamically without resubmitting the application. For example, if you need to add a productโ€™s serial number to a list of products, you can implement this change using BDUI without resubmitting the app. This approach leverages server-side control to update the UI based on new data dynamically.

Practical Implementation

Now, letโ€™s explore how you can implement BDUI in your mobile app. Let's consider an app that displays a list of items for sale, like shoes. Hereโ€™s how we can dynamically use BDUI to manage and update the UI.

Step 1: Create Hooks for Fetching Data and Rendering Components

First, we need some hooks to fetch instructions from the server and render components dynamically.
useFetchData Hook: This hook fetches instructions from the server.

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useRenderComponent Hook: This hook dynamically imports and renders components based on the server's instructions.

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useRenderItemsList Hook: This hook renders a list of items based on the fetched instructions.

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Step 2: Create Reusable Components

Next, we need reusable components that will be rendered based on server instructions. Hereโ€™s an example of a button component.
Button Component:

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Step 3: Integrate Hooks and Components in the App

Finally, letโ€™s integrate these hooks and components into our main app component to render the UI dynamically.

App Component:

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In this setup, useFetchData fetches the instructions from the server. The useRenderItemsList hook uses these instructions to dynamically render components using useRenderComponent. This allows for dynamic UI updates without requiring a new app release.

Over To You

Many leading tech companies successfully use BDUI, making it a valuable skill for developers to master and enhance the user experience. Interested to learn more about BDUI? Check out this article: How Backend Driven UI is Changing the Approach to Mobile Development?

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