Location Sharing

useTrack Hook Documentation

Introduction

The useTrack custom hook is designed to facilitate real-time location tracking in React Native applications. Leveraging the power of WebSockets via socket.io-client, this hook offers methods to create, join, and leave tracking rooms, broadcast location movements, and maintain a log of messages related to tracking events.

Key Features

• Real-time Communication: Utilizes Socket.IO for real-time bidirectional event-based communication.
• Redux Integration: Seamlessly integrates with Redux for state management.
• Location Sharing: Enables users to share their current location in real-time and receive location updates from others.
• Dynamic Room Creation: Provides functionality to generate unique tracking rooms.

Data Types

MoveMessage

Represents a location update:

• lat: Latitude.
• long: Longitude.
• roomId: The unique identifier for the tracking room.
• type: Always set to "move" for this type.

JoinMessage

Represents a message when a user joins a room:

• message: Message content, typically indicating a user has joined.
• type: Always set to "join_room" for this type.

MessageData

A union type that could either be MoveMessage or JoinMessage.

Functionality Overview

useTrack

This is the main custom hook function which encapsulates all tracking related functionalities:

• Socket Connection: When a token is available, the hook establishes a socket connection to the server, registering multiple event listeners for various socket events.

• Messages: An array that logs all received messages related to join events and move events.

• Location Broadcasting: Whenever a location is updated (and tracking is enabled), the new location is broadcasted to other members of the current tracking room.

• Room Management: Provides methods to create a new room, join a specified room, leave the current room, and start sharing your location in the room.

How to Use

1. Incorporate the Hook:

   In your component, use the useTrack hook:

   const {
     isConnected,
     messages,
     roomId,
     joinRoom,
     handleLeaveRoom,
     createRoom,
     startTrackMe,
     exitRoom,
     parentLocation,
   } = useTrack();

2. Join a Room:

   To join a room:

   joinRoom("ROOM_ID_HERE");

3. Start Broadcasting Your Location:

   After joining, you can start broadcasting your location:

   startTrackMe("ROOM_ID_HERE");

4. Leave a Room:

   When done with tracking, you can leave the room:

   handleLeaveRoom("ROOM_ID_HERE");

5. Create a New Room:

   If you want to create a new tracking room:

   createRoom();

6. Receive Parent's Location:

   You can access the parent's location (if available) using:

   const { latitude, longitude } = parentLocation;

Conclusion

The useTrack hook offers a comprehensive solution to real-time location tracking in React Native applications. With an easy-to-use interface and real-time capabilities, it ensures seamless location sharing and monitoring, enhancing the user experience and application functionality.