Facts you should know about React Native

Hi! You seem curious to learn about React Native today. As always we are here at your service. Okay, so let’s begin with the basics of this platform.

Firstly, what is React? React is a framework which was launched by Facebook for data-driven web interfaces. Apparently, it provides a component driven architecture. This architecture uses a declarative syntax and is extensible easily. The main motive behind creating React is to learn once and write anywhere.

Now, let’s understand React Native by understanding the difference React and React Native.

React is a framework which uses JavaScript for building applications while React Native is a platform that allows you to build native and cross-platform apps. And if there is any confusion, React.js is a JavaScript library used for building high-performance UI layer.

React Native provides a virtual DOM representation which renders native controls. It is able to use native platform components like switches, labels, tab bars, sliders, and wrap them in React component counterparts.

In short, React Native is the future of hybrid app development and its fan following is growing since its launch in 2015. It was used to build many famous apps like Facebook, Instagram, Airbnb, Tesla, Skype, and Walmart.

Now that you are clear on the definition of React Native. We have outlined a few facts that you should know about React Native:??????? 

JavaScript

Javascript is the biggest plus of React Native as Javascript is the fastest programming language and is widely used. This also means the manpower for React Native is available very easily in the market and due to abundance, prices are quite negotiable.

Updates

While it is still possible for developers to push updates directly to users in Android so they don’t have to download it from the Play store, Apple’s new guidelines ban any code push in the the App store apps. The user will have to manually download it from the the App Store in case of iPhone users.

UI and Performance

Currently, mobile applications are built with a combination of CSS, HTML, and JavaScript. This approach to mobile app development works but it has some drawbacks around the app performance.

While some frameworks fail in mimicing the native UI elements as the details like animations are time-consuming and get obsolete quickly, React Native has covered this issue end-to-end. This is done by leveraging existing means of rendering in order to translate the markup to real native UI elements.

Additionally, React functions separately from the UI which directly means that your app will maintain high performance without compromising the capability. Another benefit of using React Native is in favor of React developers. They can switch from the web platform to developing mobile apps with look and feel of a native app while using familiar tools.?????????????? 

Cross-Platform and Code Sharing

Given that a React developer can easily work with React Native, opting for React Native a smart option these days. The resources which are required to build mobile application narrow down and developing a mobile app becomes a cheaper option.  

Most of the code is reusable and can be shared across other platforms. This is the reason why the tech giants are opting for React Native. In React Europe 2015, speaker from Facebook mentioned that the code for Facebook Ads Manager application for Android constitutes 87% of the iOS version.

It should be noted that not all the code you have written will be reusable depending on your app functionality. However, React Native is still an smart option to opt for if you are targeting both the iOS and Android platform. It saves a you a lot of efforts, lines of code and money.

Hot Reload

Hot Reload is a bliss for developers who sweat a lot in making changes. Hot Reload saves the time it takes to save a project in order to see the changes. This enhances the developers’ experience to a great extent. Hot Reloading is best explained in this video if you are curious.

Does React Native have any disadvantages?

That is another popular question which needs to be answered in order to  deliver a better understanding of React Native. Like everything else in the world, React Native also have another side of the coin. It comes with following drawbacks:????????????????????? 

Maturity

React Native was first launched in 2015 for iOS and the Android version was released 5 months later. Clearly, it is very young relatively and thus the documentation has a lot of room for improvement. We can all agree with that, right? Though the relief is, Facebook is on it and it is evolving continuously.

Debugging

With React Native comes an additional layer to your mobile application which makes the debugging very difficult. This is especially difficult at the intersection of the host platform and React. Ugh!

What are the alternatives to React Native?

Yes, there are alternatives to React Native. ‘Are these alternatives better than the React Native’ is the topic for our another blog. Follow us here for continued updates on similar topics - Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | LinkedIn

Xamarin

Meet the strongest competitor of React Native - Xamarin, an established cross-platform development platform. It uses C# for mobile app development and it competes with React Native in performance, comprehensive APIs, mature IDEs and a more friendly licensing.

Weex

Again a tough competitor as the code written can be reused in web, Android, and iOS platform. Yes, the very same codebase. Another reason for a strong competition is its low footprint, high performance, simple syntax, and extendable APIs. You can build native mobile apps using CSS, HTML, and JavaScript.?????????????? 

Native app development

This is the best-suited option if you wish to develop two separate apps for Android and iOS. The native languages for iOS and Android are strict and hence it is easy to detect errors. Also, with native app development, you will have easy access to APIs as there are no extra layers.

Over to you…

Whether React Native is better than its competitor is still unsolved but as a matter of fact, it is a strong competitor to native app development and other alternative frameworks. Do you wish to opt for cross-platform app development? Let us assist you with your requirements. Drop your contact details here and we will get back to you!