17. Keeping up to Date With Jetpack Compose

Written by Prateek Prasad

Jetpack Compose is still a relatively new technology, so developers must stay up to date with the latest development, new feature announcements and best practices.

So far in this book, you learned how to build apps using Jetpack Compose. In this chapter, you will learn about some strategies and resources you can use to stay on top of the latest and greatest in the Jetpack Compose ecosystem.

Official Sources

Jetpack Compose Documentation

The best and most reliable resource to learn about Jetpack Compose and to get all the new updates are the channels from Google.

The first one is the Jetpack Compose documentation. Google has done an excellent job curating the resources into helpful paths, which they update promptly. You can check it out at https://developer.android.com/jetpack/compose/documentation.

Accompanist

Google also provides a public repository on GitHub called Accompanist. Accompanist provides supplementary APIs for Compose that are considered experimental. Experimental means the API isn’t regarded as final and is being changed depending on feedback from the developer community.

This repository is worth keeping an eye on as it gives a glimpse into what Google may introduce into Compose. You can check the repository out at https://github.com/google/accompanist.

Android Developers Blog

Another great resource to keep on your reading list is the Android Developers blog on Medium.

The blog has articles on Jetpack Compose and covers news and tutorials related to other Android libraries.

Android Developers YouTube Channel

The Android Developers YouTube channel should be on your YouTube subscriptions if you like consuming video content over blog posts.

They cover regular news around Android Development and have curated playlists around topics like Jetpack Compose.

Android Developers Backstage Podcast

If you have been writing Android apps for a while, you are no stranger to the Android Developers Backstage podcast.

Chet, Roman, and Tor from Google regularly host Googlers working on the libraries and features you enjoy and have had several hosts who wrote the compose framework. These episodes offer many behind-the-scenes insights how design decisions were made.

Jetpack Compose Sample Apps

If you like jumping straight into code and getting your hands dirty with the latest and most cutting-edge stuff, then the official sample apps repository is the place to go.

These projects are the quickest to adopt the new features announced in the alpha releases, and they also show the best practices around working with compose in different situations within your existing project.

Community Resources

Jetpack Compose has a large thriving community behind it. So aside from resources offered by Google, several resources within the community are worth keeping track of.

Conferences and Meetups

Considering how new Jetpack Compose is, there is an ocean of content available online by experts for you to consume. Most flagship android conferences have been dominated by Jetpack Compose-related content.

Droidcon is one example of such a conference. It runs several chapters worldwide and also publishes session recordings.

Twitter

The last resource on this list is, of course, Twitter. Developers worldwide are building cool things with Jetpack Compose and sharing them publicly.

A quick and easy way to filter things is to check out the #jetpackcompose hashtag.

While you are at it, you should also follow the @AndroidDev profile, where they share news about new launches, upcoming events, and highlight community contributions,

With this handy list of resources you will not miss out any important announcement around Jetpack Compose.

Platforms of the Future

Jetpack Compose has gained a lot of traction in the android community and with JetBrains working on their fork of Compose i.e. JetBrains Compose, it is expected that Compose will be supported on a variety of platforms, including desktop and web, as well as other new emerging platforms.

While things are still very new in this area, here are some resources to help you stay on top of the news.

Jetpack Compose on WearOS

The APIs to use Compose on WearOS are very similar to their mobile counterparts. There are however some key differences to be aware of.

To learn all about how to use Compose on WearOS check out the documentation.

Compose for Desktop

JetBrains has published their artifacts to use Compose APIs to build desktop applications. A lot of the knowledge from Jetpack Compose will carry over to the desktop platform.

To stay on top of all developments in this area, visit the Compose for Desktop web page.

Compose Multiplatform

Compose is also gaining traction on Web, Linux, Windows and other emerging platforms with the artifacts being available for the same.

This is still an evolving space with things changing rapidly. If you are keen on jumping in however, visit the Compose Multiplatform web page.

Key Points

• Jetpack Compose is rapidly evolving so its important to stay up to date.
• Google offers several helpful resources in various formats for you to consume.
• There is an active community behind Jetpack Compose.
• You can also learn more about new developments in Jetpack Compose through community initiatives like events, meet-ups, and social media.
• Compose is actively being ported to other platforms like WearOS, Desktop, Web etc.