React-Native-MacOS does not support `use_frameworks!, :linkage => :dynamic`

[cipolleschi]

Environment

react-native -v: 0.73
npm ls react-native-macos: 1000.0.0
node -v: v18.14
npm -v: 8.12.1
yarn --version: 1.22.19
xcodebuild -version:
Xcode 15.1
Build version 15C5028h

Steps to reproduce the bug

I was helping out @shwanton in supporting use_frameworks! in react-native-macos.

I managed to have them working with :linkage => :static and the Old Architecture in this PR.

I then started looking into :linkage => :dynamic in the Old Architecture and I hit a wall. MacOS has some circular dependencies that needs to be fixed as dynamic frameworks need to be able to build in isolation and circular dependencies prevent that, unfortunately.

The two dependencies I found are:
First

• RCTView depends on RCTText becauese of this
• RCTText depends on React-Core because of this
• React-Core owns RCTView, thus, the circular dependency

Second

• RCTTouchHandler depends on RCTText because of this
• RCTText depends on React-Core because of this
• React-Core owns RCTView, thus, the circular dependency.

There are various way that we can use to break those:

• we can create a couple of protocols in React-Core, make the RCTText classes conform to them and use them to decide what to do.
• if the RCTText classes exposes some specific selector that are custom to them, we can use that instead of the class name
• if the RCTText classes has some values we can leverage at runtime to make the decision, we can use them.

Expected Behavior

Being able to build with use_frameworks!, :linkage => :dynamic

Actual Behavior

Fails to build

Reproducible Demo

1. git clone https://github.com/microsoft/react-native-macos
2. cd react-native-macos
3. yarn
4. cd packages/rn-tester
5. bundle install
6. NO_FLIPPER=1 USE_FRAMEWORKS=dynamic bundle exec pod install
7. open RNTestProject.xcworkspace
8. Select the RNTester-MacOS target
9. cmd + B

Additional context

On mobile, use_frameworks! is a requirement for Firebase, for example. Perhaps Firebase is not compatible with MacOS?
Or aren't there libraries which requires that to be turned on?

Enabling and supporting Swift, requires a folder structure which is exactly the one enforced by frameworks (Clang modules) so it make sense to make sure we support it.

Dynamic frameworks will also catch those circular dependencies automatically!

[maksimlya]

Hi, I just got this issue as well. I need this to be able to use CocoaAsyncSocket library. Any workaround/solution?

[Saadnajmi]

No workaround / solution at the moment. For my own knowledge, what kind of issue do you run into when you try to use something like CocoaAsyncSocket without frameworks?

[maksimlya]

https://github.com/robbiehanson/CocoaAsyncSocket

According to their instructions, if I want to run it from swift I need to add the framework:

use_frameworks! # Add this if you are targeting iOS 8+ or using Swift
pod 'CocoaAsyncSocket'  

Without adding the framework, Swift simply cannot find the lib.

But it's ok, since I just downloaded the source code and linked it manually to the project. TCP works fine, thx for the help.

[hryhoriiK97]

Hey @Saadnajmi, I ran into this issue while working on react-native-enriched-markdown. We need use_frameworks! to integrate an SPM dependency (RaTeX for LaTeX math rendering) via CocoaPods' spm_dependency.

As described in this issue, :linkage => :dynamic fails due to circular deps between React-Core and React-RCTText.

I also tried :linkage => :static but that breaks too — React-Fabric fails to build with 'react/renderer/components/view/KeyEvent.h' file not found. The problem is that the view subspec includes headers from both platform/cxx/ and platform/macos/, and with use_frameworks! the compiler picks up the wrong (cxx) version instead of the macOS one.

Is there any plan to fix use_frameworks! support for macOS? We're on react-native-macos 0.81.4.

[Saadnajmi]

@hryhoriiK97 Prior to your comment, I had no plans to fix this as apart from firebase I hadn't seen much usage of dynamic linkning apart from firebase. Now that I see it blocks SPM deps, I will take another look. Unsure it'll land with our next release (0.83), but maybe right after and I'll backport? Thank you for bringing to my attention!