Hyperloop

Hyperloop lets JavaScript call native classes directly. Instead of writing a module to wrap UIImpactFeedbackGenerator, you require it and use it.

const UIImpactFeedbackGenerator = require('UIKit/UIImpactFeedbackGenerator');

const generator = UIImpactFeedbackGenerator.alloc().init();
generator.impactOccurred();

const Toast = require('android.widget.Toast');
const Activity = Ti.Android.currentActivity;

Toast.makeText(Activity, 'Saved', Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();

It is a module, maintained by TiDev, and still current: 8.0.1 is the release against SDK 13.4.

Install

<modules>
  <module platform="android">hyperloop</module>
  <module platform="iphone">hyperloop</module>
</modules>

The module is unpacked like any other - see using modules.

How the require works

The path is the native type's own name.

Platform	Form	Example
iOS	Framework/Class	require('UIKit/UIView')
Android	Fully-qualified class	require('android.widget.Toast')

Hyperloop generates a JavaScript wrapper for each type you require, at build time, by reading the platform's own metadata. That is why a type you have not required costs nothing.

Hyperloop or a module

Hyperloop for a handful of calls, for something a single app needs, and for trying an API out. No native toolchain knowledge and no separate build.

A module for something several apps need, for anything with real native logic behind it, and when you want to ship a versioned artifact. See native modules.

The wrong choice in one direction is a module for three lines. In the other, it is the same Hyperloop code pasted into four apps.

What it costs

Build time. Hyperloop scans your JavaScript for requires and generates wrappers for each. A build with many is measurably slower.

Every call crosses the bridge. Native code called in a loop from JavaScript pays per iteration. Keep native work on the native side.

You are using the platform API directly, so there is no cross-platform shape and no Titanium safety net. Guard with OS_IOS and OS_ANDROID, or Ti.Platform.osname.

The API is the platform's, so its documentation is Apple's and Google's. Titanium's reference does not describe it.

Next

CLI plugins is the other extension point: changing the build rather than the app.