The React Native platform was released for Facebook. It is currently used for such leading mobile apps as Instagram, Facebook, and Skype. The developers of the platform claim that it saves a lot of time. This is made possible by the fact that once developed using this platform, code can be used in different apps an unlimited number of times. Repeated use of the same code will save you up to one-third of your finances, and consequently, make the cost of your developed apps lower. But why should you use React Native development services?
RN has an interesting origin story. Back in 2015, the Facebook creation team thought it would be great to create a framework fork that would make it much easier to create apps for smartphones. This was the moment when React Native development emerged. The RN immediately appeared on GitHub, so that enthusiasts could also join the project and contribute to its improvement.
There are several objective reasons for the popularity of React. The first is the relatively small size of the finished program, which is extremely important for the limited memory of smartphones. The second is the high level of performance and smooth operation. The structure provides separate modules, which significantly speeds up the process of creating the app. React Native development is based on JavaScript.
When compared to the standard app-building process, RN has a lot to offer. The finished app consists of JavaScript. For creation here it is worth highlighting an important advantage - there is no need to completely complete the build to test the update. This can be done immediately.
The key reasons for the popularity of React Native development
- Code is created using the JavaScript language that many people know. Most of the classic React components are also present.
- It is possible to quickly make a full-fledged app. Allows you to save a budget.
- A large number of ready-made modules that can be used in the development process positively affects the speed of realization.
- It is possible to quickly test each change.
- Support of rendering with native components. This increases the performance of the finished app.
Why choose React Native development for creating a product
There are many technologies with which you can create your own app, and many of them are hard to call bad. Let's consider the most popular development tools:
- Swift/Kotlin (native development).
- Flutter
- RN
Swift/Kotlin (native development).
Many customers often assume that native development is what they need. But the problem lies not only in the technical requirements but also in the business goals. We are often talking about a startup, and a startup needs to be always fast and cheap. Native development is not about that at all.
Supporting two OS by different developers with roughly the same design sounds like something irrational, though with a long term perspective, but for a startup, it may not come, so this option fell by itself.
Flutter
This is the trendiest and most relevant thing on the market. It would be great to start building a new startup with Flutter, but there is one big BUT. The market for developers of this technology is too limited. It significantly increases the cost of such specialists and greatly expands the budget to create the project.
React Native development
When we talk about React Native development, we don't mean mimicking a web app. We're talking about a real native product built and optimized for a specific OS. That is, developers can use the same code to make a complete and consistently working product for key modern OS, both mobile and desktop.
However, the architecture has a significant difference. We can argue about design concepts, API intricacies, etc. for a long time. RN makes it possible to create two separate products with the same principles in the foundation. At the same time, the main part of the software code will be the same.
Mobile OS has a large number of SDKs, many modules, and individual components. For a developer to export all of these components into JavaScript would take too much time. This is not a very smart decision. But RN eliminates this problem. If the concept of a future project needs unique solutions, the final product can be extended with native code Objective-C, Swift, and/or Java.
If you can't implement an idea with JavaScript tools, developers can plug in Objective-C tools. It's also possible to use functions from other libraries, if necessary.
Layout in React Native development
We should also mention the ease and speed of working with the layout. If we are talking about classic native development, the programmer needs to manually specify the exact location of each component of the interface. And it does not matter whether he uses AutoLayout, or does everything himself.
With React Native development, everything is much simpler. Here, each element is represented in the component tree as an HTML element. All components are arranged from top to bottom.
Conclusions
The versatility of React Native development for the largest possible audience of users, has led to increased complexity in code design. The increasing complexity of the coding process has increased the time it takes for a developer to create code. Developers have had to manually incorporate any exceptions that may be on different user devices.
With each release of a new version of Android or iOS, you will need to spend additional time and resources to update the platform. Therefore, before you start working on React Native you need to decide for yourself if you are willing to spend on updates.
apps developed with this platform tend to run a little slower than those developed with other platforms, but developers assure that this happens imperceptibly to the human eye. Therefore, if the performance issue is very significant for you, it might make sense to try out the platform in test mode.
Platform developers recommend their users develop apps to use the services of professionals who are familiar with the work of React Native. Frequent complaints about compatibility and debugging problems with the platform on the part of users. In order to solve these problems in a timely manner, your specialist must have a good understanding of the platform's source code.