react-native-devtools-frontend/scripts/build/ninja

DevTools build system templates

The DevTools build system contains several templates to integrate files in the build system. Below you can find an overview of which template/combination of templates you need to use and when.

Entrypoints and modules

The buildsystem has a concept of "entrypoints" and "modules". An entrypoint is a file that exports all symbols that are considered the public API of that particular component. For example, front_end/common/ exposes its public API in front_end/common/common.js. Therefore, the common.js file is considered the entrypoint.

Rule: all entrypoints use the same name in their filename as the name of the folder.

All other files in a particular component are considered implementation details and therefore part of the "module".

Rule: an entrypoint only exports symbols that are considered the public API of that component. The public API includes functions/classes/etc... that are intended to be used by other modules

For example, for front_end/common/:

1. The entrypoint is front_end/common/common.ts
2. All other files such as front_end/common/implementation_detail.ts are part of the "module"

devtools_entrypoint and devtools_module

The two templates devtools_entrypoint and devtools_module implement the respective roles of entrypoints/modules. The devtools_entrypoint includes an entrypoint, which is the entrypoint filename. The devtools_module contains a list of files that are considered the implementation of the component.

Example file for front_end/my_module/BUILD.gn:

import("../../scripts/build/ninja/devtools_entrypoint.gni")
import("../../scripts/build/ninja/devtools_module.gni")

devtools_module("my_module") {
  sources = [
    "implementation_detail.ts",
    "some_other_file.ts",
  ]

  deps = [
    "../other_dependency:bundle",
  ]
}

devtools_entrypoint("bundle") {
  entrypoint = "my_module.ts"

  deps = [
    ":my_module",
  ]
}

Rule: devtools_module is named the same name as the folder it resides in

Rule: devtools_entrypoints is named "bundle", as in a release build it bundles with Rollup

Legacy: Non-TypeScript entrypoints

Not all modules are currently typechecked only by TypeScript. There are two other options, related to the legacy Closure Compiler.

Typescriptified modules (e.g. TypeScript + Closure Compiler)

Any module that is fully typescriptified (e.g. a JavaScript file that is typechecked by both TypeScript and Compiler Compiler) can be imported from both TypeScript modules and Closure Compile-checked modules.

Rule: Any typescriptified module can never contain an entrypoint or source file in their implementation that is TypeScript-authored. In practice this rule comes down to: you can only have a TypeScript-authored implementation file if the corresponding entrypoint is also TypeScript-authored.

As such, the following layout is used for TypeScriptified modules:

import("../../scripts/build/ninja/devtools_entrypoint.gni")
import("../../scripts/build/ninja/devtools_module.gni")

devtools_module("my_module") {
  sources = [
    "implementation_detail.js",
    "some_other_file.js",
  ]

  deps = [
    "../other_dependency:bundle",
  ]
}

devtools_entrypoint("bundle") {
  entrypoint = "my_module.js"

  deps = [
    ":my_module",
  ]
}

Here, both the entrypoint and the sources of the module are all JavaScript files. All of these files are typechecked by Closure Compiler and TypeScript.

GRD file generation

To make sure that files are loaded in Chromium, DevTools generates a GRD file that includes all files that are allowed to be loaded by the backend. To generate the GRD, there are numerous variables that list all kinds of files.

Entrypoints

All entrypoints are listed in grd_files_release_sources specified in /config/gni/devtools_grd_files.gni.

Rule: in both release and debug builds, entrypoints are always included in the GRD file

Module implementation files

All implementation files for components are listed in grd_files_debug_sources specified in /config/gni/devtools_grd_files.gni.

Rule: the implementation files are only present in the GRD file in a debug build, because the release build bundles all files into the respective entrypoint