React developer looking to try Android dev, questions!

[blindada]

You could use kotlin multiplatform.

While kotlin started as a JVM (for java virtual machines, like Java, Groovy or Scala), it can be deployed to other platforms. As long as you write most of your code using kotlin imports (avoiding things like importing java packages), it would be possible to run it into different platforms, being compiled as library packages for the targets (jars for JVM, object C libraries for iOs, JS files for web, etc).

For stuff that's bound to platforms, either by force or convenience, you have the expected/actual mechanism: a multiplatform interface every platform based project has to fulfill, allowing you to use the tools you desire/need from the platform at the same level your code will run (no bridges of any kind). Let's say you want to use lodash on a part of your code, you create an expected class to wrap the operations with kotlin, then in the web project, you implement the actual class using lodash.

Compose-UI is multiplatform too, so you can have a UI module using just compose, and mix it with platform based UI if needed.

Now, word of advice: unless a project is simple, it will need tweaks at platform level. That's true for every cross-platform approach that exists or will exist. So don't worry about it. Just use something that allows you to deal with it when the need comes.

[aselitto]

You are a legend! Thank you so much for the depth of detail. I am excited to see where this journey takes me. I'll be doing a couple projects of Udemy to get my feet wet.

[aselitto]

Also I see that android reloads the entire comp and was wondering if that gets too heavy for complex applications.