Ruby for All

Building Rails-Powered Mobile Apps with Joe Masilotti

Nov 23, 2023

Joe Masilotti, the 'Turbo Native Guy,' discusses Turbo Native and its advantages for building Rails-powered mobile apps. He explains how Turbo Native simplifies the process of building Native iOS and Android apps and highlights the efficiency of Turbo Native in rolling out updates. Joe also introduces his library, Turbo Navigator, and shares advice for junior Rails developers interested in Turbo Native. The speakers discuss their experiences at the Rails World Conference and express their excitement about future events.

38:41

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Episode guests

Joe Masilotti

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Turbo Native allows Rails developers to build hybrid iOS and Android apps by rendering mobile web content, eliminating the need for separate codebases.

Turbo Native simplifies the app deployment process by automatically reflecting updates and features from the Rails app in the iOS and Android apps, saving time and effort.

Deep dives

Turbo Native: An Introduction to Building Hybrid Apps

Turbo Native, a part of the Hotwire stack, is a framework that aims to make building hybrid iOS and Android apps easier for Rails developers. It allows developers to render mobile web content, such as HTML and CSS, within a hybrid app. This means that developers can write HTML once and have it work across multiple platforms. The core content is rendered within a web view, while the native functionalities, like push notifications, are still accessible. Turbo Native eliminates the need to build screens for each platform separately, saving time and effort. This framework is particularly beneficial for Rails developers looking to create mobile apps without the burden of maintaining separate codebases.

Introduction

3min

Building Mobile Apps with Rails and React Native

10min

Hotwire's Pillars and an Introduction to Stimulus

5min

Turbo Navigator: Bringing Turbo Native to iOS

6min

Discussing the Rails World Conference and Future Plans

2min

Excitement About Rails World Conference and Future Events

13min

On this episode of Ruby for All, Andrew and Julie welcome Joe Masilotti, known as the ‘Turbo Native Guy,’ to discuss Turbo Native. They cover what Turbo Native is, its advantages when building apps, and how it can be an effective tool for Rails developers. Joe also gives us an update on his library, Turbo Navigator, and provides some insightful advice for those wanting to dive into Turbo Native. He shares his experience of Rails World Conf, discusses the future of Turbo Native, and Joe shares advice for junior Rails developers interested in Turbo Native. Press download now to hear much more!

[00:00:47] Joe introduces himself and discusses Turbo iOS and its benefits for Rails developers. He outlines the difficulties of building Native iOS and Android apps and explains how Turbo Native simplifies this.

[00:03:12] Julie expresses interest in potentially using Turbo Native for her projects. Joe elaborates on the advantages of Turbo Native, such as avoiding the need to build and maintain separate screens for each platform.

[00:04:50] Joe discusses the process of app release and approval on iOS and Android, highlighting the efficiency of Turbo Native in rolling out updates.

[00:06:49] Julie asks how Turbo Native achieves its functionality and Joe describes the use of a web view that renders the mobile web content within the app.

[00:08:19] Andrew talks about his expectations for app quality on his iPhone and Joe explains how Turbo iOS and Strata avoid poor native web implementations.

[00:10:32] Andrew inquires about Strata, its necessity, and its impact now that it has been released. Joe clarifies that while Strata is not essential for building Turbo Native apps, it does facilitate easier communication between web content and native code, reducing boilerplate code.

[00:12:28] Andrew comments on the marketing of Strata by 37signals and its positioning as a game-changer. Joe agrees it was a marketing issues and notes that Strata was branded as a third pillar of Hotwire, and he discusses a conversation he had with DHH about the positioning of Turbo, Stimulus, and Strata.

[00:14:49] Julie asks for an explanation of what Stimulus is. Andrew describes it as a lightweight JavaScript framework that integrates with HTML, providing a structured way to write JavaScript in Rails, and Joe adds that Stimulus allows for reusable JavaScript behaviors across multiple pages.

[00:18:06] Andrew asks Joe about his library, Turbo Navigator. Joe explains that Turbo Navigator aims to bring Turbo iOS up to feature parity with Turbo Android, simplifying the use of Turbo Native on iOS by reducing boilerplate. Andrew mentions Joe’s upcoming Turbo Native crash course.

[00:20:58] Julie inquires about getting started with Turbo Native and Joe suggests watching his Rails World talks and checking out resources on his website and mentions a book he wrote coming out soon.

[00:24:21] Joe shares his positive experience at Rails World, and he mentions the podcast booth at the conference and Andrew reminisces about RubyConf and looking forward to future events.

[00:29:12] Andrew asks what Joe predicts happening in the new few months around iOS and what he’s excited for. Joe anticipates a surge in interest for Turbo Native following the conference, and he’s energized by increasing developer interest in Turbo Native and contemplates expanding his educational content as a result.

[00:32:12] Andrew brings up a past RailsConf in Portland where he sought advice from Joe getting into iOS development and he credits Joe’s suggestion to use Swift Playgrounds. Joe affirms that Swift Playgrounds is an excellent tool for leaning Swift, but for Turbo Native specifically, developers need to engage with Xcode and write Swift more directly related to app development.

[00:35:03] Joe talks about Kotlin, noting its fast evolution and his plan to pick up more of the language due to demand for Android content.

[00:35:35] Joe emphasizes that Turbo Native is a wrapper around a Rails website and suggests building a mobile website first before enhancing it with Turbo Native.

[00:36:56] We end with Joe advising junior Rails developers that while Turbo Native is not necessary to know, it could provide a competitive advantage in the job market.

Panelists:
Andrew Mason
Julie J.

Guest:
Joe Masilotti

Sponsors:

Honeybadger

GoRails

Links:

Andrew Mason X/Twitter

Andrew Mason Website

Julie J. X/Twitter

Julie J. Website

Joe Masilotti X/Twitter

Joe Masilotti Website