When attempting to choose a technology to assist with your mobile app development requirements, you’ll encounter an abundance of options. Selecting the best among such a heap of options is a true headache. Following trends, we can identify React Native as a top choice among developers worldwide.
Facebook developed React Native as an internal project and released it to the public in 2015. Since then, the framework has managed to survive, still being one of the top options for reliable app development. What are the factors that make React still an integral player in the realm of app development? What are the benefits of using React Native for app development? Scroll further to find answers to these questions and more to dig deeper into the blueprint of the framework.
The React Touch in Mobile App Development
React Native gives life to some of the most popular apps, such as Instagram, Facebook and Skype. The framework’s key attribute is code-reusability, a single codebase attribute that affects the functionality of an app on both Android and iOS platforms. This, along with many other developer- and user-friendly features, helped the framework stay at the forefront of the mobile app development sector.
When it comes to native web applications, a set of established regulations are present. The React framework strictly adheres to these regulations while simultaneously utilizing the declarative UI framework to create mobile applications. Rather than just being a shortcut to cross-platform development, React offers much more to developers as a feature-rich technology.
How does React Native work?
The surface-level idea of the React Native framework is to bring both Javascript and Native code together. Typically, the device directly executes the native code, while the Javascript component necessitates a virtual machine for proper operation. On Android platforms, developers use either Java or Kotlin as their native language, while on iOS, they use either Objective-C or Swift. Be aware that Android lacks an in-built JS engine if you plan to build an application in this environment. Instead, the React Native framework will include a JS engine for smooth Javascript interpretation on Android devices. Fortunately, iOS devices don’t have these issues, as they already come with an in-built JS engine called JavaScriptCore.
The catch here is that the native programming languages used for mobile app development are different from those of Javascript, and hence communication is impossible. Here comes the first deal-breaker in the React Native framework: the bridge.
In React native app development, we can create a bridge between the native language and Javascript to facilitate communication and enable data transmission. This bridge was created using C/C++, which makes its functioning easy on multiple operating systems or platforms. Because of its key role in enabling communications between the components of a React JS system, it is often defined as the heart of the system. The concept of “Bridge” is to enable bi-directional, asynchronous communication between the native and Javascript components in the framework.
Let’s examine an iOS system to understand how React Native works. During runtime, the Javascript virtual machine executes the Javascript code, while the device directly executes the native code. The bridge will handle the transfer of messages between these two components to make all the processes execute as required.
Three main threads begin to execute as soon as a user initiates use of the application. The main thread handles seamless user interactions and renders elements accordingly on the display. The Javascript thread is responsible for executing the logical elements for the system function. The shadow thread is another recent addition to the React native framework’s list of main threads. The shadow thread executes in parallel with the javascript thread, enhancing the smoothness of the UI interface. As the shadow thread offloads data related to UI measurements and interactive elements from the main thread, the rendering of elements becomes faster and more efficient.
Apart from these main threads, the React Native Framework also enables additional threads according to runtime requirements.
Why should you opt for the React Native Framework?
The gradual yet incremental surge in demand for React Native development since its launch provides insight into the cluster of benefits it brings. Apart from its highly efficient cross-platform development assistance, React comes with a bundle of perks. Let us look at all of the key points that give you even more reason to choose React Native for app development.
Create high-performing applications
If you are looking to create an advanced mobile application with numerous complex features bundled within, React Native is your go-to framework. This is because performance is a guarantee with this framework. The component-based infrastructure of React Native allows mobile app developers to juggle with the interface elements to create intrinsic solutions. If you are developing with React, you don’t have to frown much at decoding complex lines of code, as the framework will automatically handle the task of simplifying elements, making your job easier.
Frugal Solutions
Spending a fortune will never be a worrisome factor when it comes to mobile app development with React. When you follow native methods, app development typically consumes a significant portion of your budget. Native app development often requires creating two separate applications for both the iOS and Android platforms. Relying on React Native will save you the expense of hiring two different mobile app development companies to develop platform-specific applications. With a single codebase, you can cater to multi-platform services, saving considerable development time on the go. This reduced the overall development cost considerably.
Code Reusability
If you ask any experienced app developer about the perks of using React Native, he or she might most likely start with code reusability. React’s reusable components make it simple to integrate features into different parts of the application or use them at an inter-application level. This benefit of the React Native framework ensures quick import of solutions and streamlined development.
Simple user interface
A user interface is what creates the first impression among your customers. If you can make your customers say “Wow” when they use your app for the first time, then your product is already a success. This wow factor is another perk that can be easily availed of using React. In addition to simplifying the UI of the app, React incorporates powerful features to enhance efficiency. React makes the data flow easy by acting as a connector between the UI components and the native Java code set.
Future-proof Solutions
The ability to look ahead of the curve will give you an obvious boost in the competitive marketplace. React native development boosts your services to be future-proof in nature, helping your business gain the trust of your customers organically. The exceptional community support helps the framework stay up-to-date and error-free, shielding all kinds of risks that might arise after deployment. The rapid adoption of this framework in the mobile app development sector confirms that the developed applications will remain in line with current trends for an extended period.
Apart from the above-listed features, React Native promises more pros than cons for the developing community, standing tall as one of the most flexible and promising development solutions. React’s third-party library support significantly reduces overall development time, eliminating the need to create applications from scratch. With all this, it goes without saying that React is a highly flexible framework that you can depend on to create productive and efficient applications.
Final Thoughts
React provides the development community with the ability to create high-quality applications easily coupled with native codebases and libraries. The idea of making use of all the native development features while using Javascript makes React a favorite development tool among businesses and developers. Ultimately, businesses prioritize profit, while developers prioritize timely project completion. This makes the framework an elixir of features merged together to grant their wishes.
As a leading mobile app development company, our goal at Expeed is to provide you with the best solutions. Our developers can study your app development requirements and provide you with the best React Native solutions to help you stay ahead in the market. Click here to learn more about the React Native application development solutions we offer.
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