Coming Soon: Faster, 100% Backwards-Compatible MagicMirror Alternative

[joshwilsonvu]

Hi all,

I’m currently working on expanding what MagicMirror can do, using the React library and all of the modern tools available today.

Big fan of MagicMirror here–I just completed my first smart mirror, a full length standing one, and I like it a lot. But as a web developer in 2019, I’ve seen how convenient a modern setup can be. Every time you update a file, the display updates instantly, without having to restart. When source code has errors, it’s displayed to the screen, with help on how to fix it.

At the same time, the Magic Mirror manifesto makes it clear how much it values accessibility and simplicity, and the last thing I would want to do is change that. But with the rise of create-react-app, you can write React applications without worrying about any configuration! And, module developers can use TypeScript, Sass, and the newest JavaScript features to help them make powerful modules faster than ever before. Most importantly, a user can “open just one file and make a small modification and see how it works out.”

It’s easy to see that the wide array of available modules is what makes this project so interesting, so existing modules will work. Copying over a config.js will work as well. The draw to this version, hopefully, will be easier module development and faster rendering and reloading.

I’m interested to hear what people think of the idea, so any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!

[sdetweil]

@joshwilsonvu I’m interested

[BKeyport]

@joshwilsonvu If it could be done so that the ideas therein could be worked into the MagicMirror project as well - so people have a fair choice, I’m all in.

[joshwilsonvu]

@BKeyport You mean merging these new features into the original project? Theoretically it should be possible, but as it comes with significant internal changes, it would be up to Michael. In the long run, it might be best to merge them so that the new React modules could work for current MagicMirror users, but this will be experimental for some time.

Maybe it could live on another branch so users could type git checkout experimental to opt into the new features.

[sdetweil]

@joshwilsonvu

Maybe it could live on another branch so users could type git checkout experimental to opt into the new features.

certainly this would be a good approach

[joshwilsonvu]

In any case, it will probably be available first as a separate repository, for ironing out bugs.

I’m debating whether to “hide” a lot of the code by putting it into an installable npm package, to leave it all in the repository, or somewhere in between. What’s more important: allowing users to see all of the code easily, or keeping it simple by hiding some of the complexity under the hood?

[sdetweil]

@joshwilsonvu if u can package it, wouldn’t be bad… just look in another folder…
just don’t min it

[cowboysdude]

Very interesting… very. Keep us updated! Thanks

[ezarlive]

@joshwilsonvu said in Coming Soon: Faster, 100% Backwards-Compatible MagicMirror Alternative:

create-react-app

+1

[joshwilsonvu]

@ezarlive it uses a fork of create-react-app under the hood so all of the same features (and ones that come out in the future) will be there. Hoping to make developing a module a perfect starter project for people interested in React.