Exploring Rust for Cross-Platform Mobile Logic
Sharing code between iOS and Android is a common goal to reduce development time and ensure consistency. While frameworks like Kotlin Multiplatform and React Native exist, could Rust offer advantages for core business logic? We've been investigating the potential of using Rust for shared, non-UI components in mobile apps.
The idea is compelling: write complex algorithms, data validation, or state management logic once in Rust, compile it to a native library for each platform (iOS/Android), and call it from Swift/Kotlin via a Foreign Function Interface (FFI). This promises native performance and access to Rust's powerful ecosystem and safety guarantees.
This article covers the challenges and benefits we encountered. We discuss setting up the build process, defining the FFI boundary effectively, handling data serialization between Rust and the native layers, managing memory, and the overall developer experience. Is Rust ready for prime time in mobile cross-platform logic? Read our findings.
