Introduction to Accompanist
Accompanist is a suite of libraries designed to enhance the capabilities of Jetpack Compose, a modern toolkit for building native Android user interfaces. While Jetpack Compose is powerful, there are still features that developers commonly require but are not yet part of the official toolkit. Accompanist fills these gaps by providing additional utilities that make Compose easier and more efficient to use.
The Concept
Accompanist functions as a type of experimental environment for new APIs in Compose, similar to a laboratory. It is used to identify and patch common omissions found in the standard Compose toolkit, allowing developers to test new API concepts and gather feedback. As these tools prove themselves useful and mature, they are often integrated into the official Compose framework, after which they are deprecated from Accompanist.
Why Accompanist?
Developers often wonder why Accompanist exists separately from AndroidX, the umbrella for many Android libraries. The reason is that it acts as a testing ground for new features that may eventually become part of AndroidX. As for future releases, developers can look to the project's FAQ for any updates or insights.
Compatibility with Compose Versions
Accompanist releases multiple versions compatible with different iterations of the Compose UI libraries. It's advisable for developers to select the Accompanist version that matches their Compose UI version due to interdependencies between these libraries. When one is upgraded, the other may need to be updated as well.
Here’s a quick look at the versions available:
- Compose 1.0 to Compose UI 1.8, each corresponding to different library prefixes.
- Developers are advised to choose the correct version to maintain harmony between dependencies.
Libraries in Accompanist
Accompanist offers a variety of libraries to extend Compose's capabilities:
- Permissions: Facilitates Android runtime permissions in Jetpack Compose.
- Drawable Painter: Allows using Android Drawables as Painters in Compose.
- Adaptive Layouts: Offers utilities for creating layouts that adapt to different screen sizes.
- Swipe to Refresh: Previously supported, now deprecated in favor of Compose Material's PullRefresh.
- Theme Adapters: Enable the reuse of themes from AppCompat and Material Design components.
- Navigation Animations: Helps integrate animations into Jetpack Navigation Compose.
Several of these were deprecated over time as they have been absorbed into the main Compose framework or replaced by other solutions.
Future of Accompanist
As the ecosystem of Compose evolves, some Accompanist libraries may eventually become obsolete. When this happens, guidelines are generally provided to help developers adapt to newer functionalities.
Contribute and Collaborate
The Accompanist project welcomes contributions from developers worldwide. Those interested should refer to the contribution guidelines before submitting their ideas or fixes.
Licensing
Accompanist is distributed under the Apache License, which outlines how the libraries can be used and shared freely.
The Story Behind the Name
The name "Accompanist" creatively captures the essence of the library. In music, an accompanist supports a soloist, and similarly, the Accompanist libraries support developers by providing additional tools around the Compose framework.
By understanding how these libraries enhance Jetpack Compose, developers can leverage Accompanist to build more robust and feature-complete Android applications.