Compatibility: node packages depending on V8 can't function in react-native iOS

[ambarc]

I'm building a react-native app to go across Android and iOS. I'm noticing some dependencies in libraries I'm using depend on having a V8 (node) runtime. This breaks the JavaScriptCore JS runtime on iOS, with RN error-ing with something like:

Requiring unknown module _moduleA_. If you are sure the module is there try restarting the packager.

What I'm noticing is that v8 requiring moduleA doesn't get copied over in the react bundle that gets placed on the phone. I found this by logging the modules present in

node_modules/react-native/packager/react-packager/src/Resolver/polyfills/require.js

Since I don't own the libraries that I'm trying to use I can't modify the dependency.

In my case I'm trying to use the twilio module which uses Node's crypto module.

I'm guessing I won't face this issue when I build RN on Android.

What are the options like?

[facebook-github-bot]

Hey ambarc, thanks for reporting this issue!

React Native, as you've probably heard, is getting really popular and truth is we're getting a bit overwhelmed by the activity surrounding it. There are just too many issues for us to manage properly.

• If you don't know how to do something or something is not working as you expect but not sure it's a bug, please ask on StackOverflow with the tag react-native or for more real time interactions, ask on Discord in the #react-native channel.
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[grabbou]

I would't say this is possible, just like it's not possible to use node modules in Chrome or Firefox.

You can check this out, but I don't think it's going to be production ready: https://github.com/mvayngrib/rn-nodeify

[ide]

just like it's not possible to use node modules in Chrome or Firefox

For emphasis: just as Node and the browser are different environments that happen to use the same language, React Native is a third JS environment that's not a browser and isn't Node. Packages need to be written to either be universal or specifically written for React Native.

There's the "react-native" key in package.json for aliasing modules but fundamentally packages made for Node aren't necessarily going to work with RN.

[lacker]

In practice, I suggest bugging Twilio to make their stuff work with React Native. I'm closing this issue because I believe it has only the potential for philosophical angst at this point. Good luck!

[aschrijver]

There's the option to run V8 on android with node built-in. Haven't tried yet, but I will.

• https://github.com/eclipsesource/J2V8