Consolidate `switch%platform`, `browser_only` and `platform`

[jchavarri]

There's now a bit confusing situation:

• browser_only extension
• switch%platform which include Server and Client branches
• platform which includes js and native options
• server-reason-react.browser_ppx uses -js to discard stuff for (modes melange)

We could use React namings and semantics to make things easier for folks to understand.

Maybe we could do something like this?

• Remove platform as it's covering the same functionality as browser_only
• Rename browser_only to just client
• Add server to cover the platform native case
• Change switch%platform to switch%environment

So to summarize, we'd have:

• switch%environment with Server and Client branches
• let%client
• let%server

Wdyt?

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Edited by @davesnx added server-reason-react.browser_ppx` example

[davesnx]

let%client and let%server can potentially collide with RSC ppx design thought. Personally, the _only suffix makes the intention clearer, so would rather keep let%client_only and server_only

[jchavarri]

let%client and let%server can potentially collide with RSC ppx design thought.

can you elaborate please? Edit: oh, i see, that we can use let%client as the OCaml version of use client and such. But it's not a conflict right? If you use use client then you only want to bundle that code only on the client which is what let%client would do.

Or in another way. Let's say we add let%client_only for this, and let%client for RSC. I guess people will ask "what's the difference between let%client_only and let%client and then we have to explain all implementation specific details, "this is Melange/OCaml boundary", "this is RSC server/client boundary" etc. I'd try to simplify as much as possible.

[davesnx]

We totally agree, but we might not add let%client for RSC.

If we can align both, it would be massive, but I'm afraid that isn't the case. Current browser_only discards functions and use client just changes react components.

We could make use client do all the work of browser_only (inside the module), but we can't remove browser_only since functions that aren't react components will also need it. The other interesting bit is that client components need the server implementation as well. which makes use client a bit to do.

[davesnx]

Worth sharing that there's a package called server-only that you import at the toplevel to enforce your bundler to not include those functions as server actions https://www.npmjs.com/package/server-only

And causes those kind of questions: https://www.reddit.com/r/nextjs/comments/18ih6nd/useserver_vs_serveronly/

[jchavarri]

we can't remove browser_only since functions that aren't react components will also need it

to clarify, i don't suggest to remove it but rather rename it so there's no different "concepts" going around (e.g. "browser", "client").