perf(core): reduce padding native setter calls by CatchABus · Pull Request #11216 · NativeScript/NativeScript

CatchABus · 2026-05-16T13:56:43Z

PR Checklist

The PR title follows our guidelines: https://github.com/NativeScript/NativeScript/blob/master/tools/notes/CONTRIBUTING.md#commit-messages.
There is an issue for the bug/feature this PR is for. To avoid wasting your time, it's best to open a suggestion issue first and wait for approval before working on it.
You have signed the CLA.
All existing tests are passing: https://github.com/NativeScript/NativeScript/blob/master/tools/notes/DevelopmentWorkflow.md#running-unit-tests-application.
Tests for the changes are included - https://github.com/NativeScript/NativeScript/blob/master/tools/notes/WritingUnitTests.md.

What is the current behavior?

Right now, core calls padding native setter method (e.g. setPadding) for each shorthand property.
In a few words, setting css padding will call native setter 4 times.

What is the new behavior?

The new approach ensures padding keeps its shorthand identity and reduces the native setter calls at the same time.
This is achieved by sticking to core's practices:

Implement an internal property that is changed by the shorthanded props (see background, font)
Use Property.isSet to check when property is unset (good for resetting padding to default)

Following a couple of rules helps make use of core's batch update mechanism and its suspendedUpdates bag that stores pending updates per property key.
This is where paddingInternal comes to play and as a property it makes sure there's only one single update in the bag.
To trigger updates for the new property we set its value to be the 4 padding props as a concatenated string.
Then, the setNative corresponding method will use the 4 effectivePadding props to update native view padding.
Additionally, the PR improves the way default paddings are restored for both platforms by replacing effective padding props with getters and at the same time removes repetitive code here and there.

Closes #8335

nx-cloud · 2026-05-16T13:57:50Z

🤖 Nx Cloud AI Fix Eligible

An automatically generated fix could have helped fix failing tasks for this run, but Self-healing CI is disabled for this workspace. Visit workspace settings to enable it and get automatic fixes in future runs.

_{To disable these notifications, a workspace admin can disable them in workspace settings.}

View your CI Pipeline Execution ↗ for commit 611e2e3

Command	Status	Duration	Result
`nx test apps-automated -c=ios`	❌ Failed	21m 14s	View ↗
`nx run-many --target=test --configuration=ci --...`	✅ Succeeded	1s	View ↗

☁️ Nx Cloud last updated this comment at 2026-05-16 17:16:58 UTC

NathanWalker · 2026-05-16T18:51:33Z

@coderabbitai review

coderabbitai · 2026-05-16T18:51:40Z

✅ Actions performed

Review triggered.

Note: CodeRabbit is an incremental review system and does not re-review already reviewed commits. This command is applicable only when automatic reviews are paused.

coderabbitai · 2026-05-16T18:55:52Z

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Repository UI

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Run ID: 53a2fe41-68f9-4b1b-bb2a-485112b1a927

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 0c8229c and 611e2e3.

📒 Files selected for processing (16)

packages/core/ui/button/index.android.ts
packages/core/ui/button/index.ios.ts
packages/core/ui/core/view-base/index.ts
packages/core/ui/core/view/index.android.ts
packages/core/ui/core/view/index.ios.ts
packages/core/ui/label/index.ios.ts
packages/core/ui/layouts/layout-base.android.ts
packages/core/ui/layouts/layout-base.ios.ts
packages/core/ui/styling/style-properties.ts
packages/core/ui/styling/style/index.ts
packages/core/ui/text-base/index.android.ts
packages/core/ui/text-field/index.ios.ts
packages/core/ui/text-view/index.ios.ts
packages/types-android/src/lib/android/org.nativescript.widgets.d.ts
packages/types-ios/src/lib/ios/objc-x86_64/objc!TNSWidgets.d.ts
packages/types-ios/src/lib/ios/objc-x86_64/objc!UIKit.d.ts

💤 Files with no reviewable changes (1)

packages/types-ios/src/lib/ios/objc-x86_64/objc!UIKit.d.ts

Walkthrough

This PR consolidates padding handling across the NativeScript UI framework by introducing a single paddingInternalProperty that replaces individual per-side padding setters. The refactoring reduces native calls on Android (addressing #8335) and standardizes padding application across Button, Label, TextBase, TextField, TextView, and LayoutBase components on both platforms, while updating type declarations for pass-through parent behavior.

Changes

Padding Property Consolidation

Layer / File(s)	Summary
ViewBase padding state refactoring `packages/core/ui/core/view-base/index.ts`	`ViewBase` separates effective padding overrides from defaults using `_effectivePadding` and `_defaultPadding` fields, implements `effectivePadding*` as getter/setter accessors, adds `getEffectivePaddingShorthand()` helper, and introduces `_setDefaultPaddings(insets)` hook for platform implementations to compute padding from native insets.
Padding internal CSS property system `packages/core/ui/styling/style-properties.ts`, `packages/core/ui/styling/style/index.ts`	New `paddingInternalProperty` CSS property backed by `_paddingInternal` shorthand is introduced and registered on `Style`; per-side padding property handlers conditionally compute effective padding and refresh `paddingInternal` via `getEffectivePaddingShorthand()`.
Platform-specific default padding initialization `packages/core/ui/core/view/index.android.ts`, `packages/core/ui/core/view/index.ios.ts`	Android and iOS `View` classes override `_setDefaultPaddings()` to compute default padding from native insets; Android padding application logic in `_redrawNativeBackground` now directly uses `effectivePadding*` accessors instead of conditional selection.
Button padding consolidation `packages/core/ui/button/index.android.ts`, `packages/core/ui/button/index.ios.ts`	Android Button consolidates per-side padding setters into single `paddingInternalProperty` native setter; iOS Button calls `_setDefaultPaddings()` during initialization and converts border/padding setters to use `UIEdgeInsets` constructor.
Label padding consolidation `packages/core/ui/label/index.ios.ts`	iOS Label consolidates per-side padding setters into single `paddingInternalProperty` native setter and converts border width setters to use `UIEdgeInsets` constructor.
TextBase padding consolidation `packages/core/ui/text-base/index.android.ts`	Android TextBase consolidates per-side padding setters into single `paddingInternalProperty` native setter that computes combined padding from effective values and border widths.
TextField padding consolidation `packages/core/ui/text-field/index.ios.ts`	iOS TextField consolidates per-side padding setters into single `paddingInternalProperty` native setter (padding realized via `textRectForBounds`).
TextView padding consolidation `packages/core/ui/text-view/index.ios.ts`	iOS TextView calls `_setDefaultPaddings()` during initialization, converts border width setters to use `UIEdgeInsets` constructor, and consolidates `paddingInternalProperty.setNative` to compute all four `textContainerInset` sides from combined effective padding and border widths.
LayoutBase padding and pass-through consolidation `packages/core/ui/layouts/layout-base.android.ts`, `packages/core/ui/layouts/layout-base.ios.ts`	Android LayoutBase consolidates per-side padding into single `paddingInternalProperty` setter and updates pass-through call; iOS LayoutBase calls `setPassThroughParent()` directly without casting.
Native API type declarations `packages/types-android/src/lib/android/org.nativescript.widgets.d.ts`, `packages/types-ios/src/lib/ios/objc-x86_64/objc!TNSWidgets.d.ts`, `packages/types-ios/src/lib/ios/objc-x86_64/objc!UIKit.d.ts`	Android LayoutBase gains `getPassThroughParent()` and `setPassThroughParent(boolean)` methods; iOS UIView interface gains `setPassThroughParent(boolean)` method; UIKit replaces `setPassThroughParent()` with `setNeedsUpdateProperties()`.

🎯 4 (Complex) | ⏱️ ~60 minutes

🐰 A hop, skip, and consolidated call—
Padding once lived scattered far and wide,
Till ViewBase stitched the defaults with pride,
And native clicks dropped five milliseconds tall!
Now buttons and labels spring with unified stride. ✨

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Title check	✅ Passed	The title 'perf(core): reduce padding native setter calls' directly describes the main optimization: consolidating multiple padding setter calls into one internal call.
Description check	✅ Passed	The description clearly explains the current behavior, new approach, implementation details, and the problem being solved (reducing native setter calls for padding).
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	The PR successfully addresses issue `#8335`'s requirements: it prevents multiple native padding calls by introducing paddingInternalProperty, consolidates all 4 padding values into a single native call (setPadding), and improves default padding restoration across both platforms.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	All changes are directly related to the padding optimization objective. Platform-specific type declarations (UIKit, TNSWidgets) were updated to support the new setPassThroughParent API used in the refactored padding logic.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.

_{✏️ Tip: You can configure your own custom pre-merge checks in the settings.}

✨ Finishing Touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

Create PR with unit tests

Tip

💬 Introducing Slack Agent: The best way for teams to turn conversations into code.

Slack Agent is built on CodeRabbit's deep understanding of your code, so your team can collaborate across the entire SDLC without losing context.

Generate code and open pull requests
Plan features and break down work
Investigate incidents and troubleshoot customer tickets together
Automate recurring tasks and respond to alerts with triggers
Summarize progress and report instantly

Built for teams:

Shared memory across your entire org—no repeating context
Per-thread sandboxes to safely plan and execute work
Governance built-in—scoped access, auditability, and budget controls

One agent for your entire SDLC. Right inside Slack.

👉 Get started

Thanks for using CodeRabbit! It's free for OSS, and your support helps us grow. If you like it, consider giving us a shout-out.

❤️ Share

_{Comment @coderabbitai help to get the list of available commands and usage tips.}

CatchABus added 2 commits May 16, 2026 16:22

perf(core): reduce padding native setter calls

cb506c7

ref: improved padding reset mechanism

c99432d

CatchABus added 2 commits May 16, 2026 17:12

chore: reduced line lengths

57d6707

fix(android): Corrected native view reference access

611e2e3

CatchABus marked this pull request as ready for review May 16, 2026 16:54

CatchABus requested review from NathanWalker and farfromrefug May 16, 2026 16:54

NathanWalker approved these changes May 21, 2026

View reviewed changes

NathanWalker merged commit 4815e50 into NativeScript:main May 21, 2026
3 of 5 checks passed

CatchABus mentioned this pull request May 27, 2026

fix(android): Removed invalid default padding conversion #11230

Merged

5 tasks

Provide feedback

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly

Uh oh!

perf(core): reduce padding native setter calls#11216

perf(core): reduce padding native setter calls#11216
NathanWalker merged 4 commits into
NativeScript:mainfrom
CatchABus:perf/android-setpadding

CatchABus commented May 16, 2026 •

edited

Loading

Uh oh!

nx-cloud Bot commented May 16, 2026 •

edited

Loading

Uh oh!

NathanWalker commented May 16, 2026

Uh oh!

coderabbitai Bot commented May 16, 2026

Uh oh!

coderabbitai Bot commented May 16, 2026

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

2 participants

Uh oh!

Conversation

CatchABus commented May 16, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

PR Checklist

What is the current behavior?

What is the new behavior?

Uh oh!

nx-cloud Bot commented May 16, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

🤖 Nx Cloud AI Fix Eligible

Uh oh!

NathanWalker commented May 16, 2026

Uh oh!

coderabbitai Bot commented May 16, 2026

Uh oh!

coderabbitai Bot commented May 16, 2026

Walkthrough

Changes

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

2 participants

CatchABus commented May 16, 2026 •

edited

Loading

nx-cloud Bot commented May 16, 2026 •

edited

Loading