React Native
The mobile app development space has grown tremendously in recent years.
As per reports, the worldwide annual app downloads are estimated to increase from 194 billion in 2018 to 299 billion by 2023.
If you wonder which app to build and which technology to choose from?
A mobile app development framework that is user-friendly, economical, and compatible with both iOS and Android platforms is always a great bet.
In this article, We will discuss one of the most effective development solutions- React Native and the reasons why it is an ideal framework for mobile app development.
Let’s go…!
What is React Native?
React Native is an open-source UI software framework created by Meta Platforms launched in 2015. It is used to develop applications mainly for Android, Android TV, iOS, macOS, Web, Windows and UWP (Universal Windows Platform ) by enabling developers to use the React framework along with native platform capabilities without compromising the user experience.
It uses JavaScript to create cross-platform mobile applications with true native capabilities. This means you can develop natively-rendered mobile apps for both iOS and Android simultaneously using a single codebase.
As we are using the term native repeatedly, Let’s know what it is, The term native refers to an app that is created for a specific operating system, platform or device.
Prerequisites to start with React Native.
To work with React Native, you will need to have an understanding of JavaScript fundamentals.
React components wrap existing native code and interact with native APIs via React’s declarative UI paradigm and JavaScript. This enables native app development for whole new teams of developers, and can let existing native teams work much faster.
This capability has made React Native one of the most popular app development frameworks in the industry.
According to the Stack Overflow Survey 2021, 58.08% of developers preferred working on React Native in the past year and would continue to do so in the future.
How React Native Works?
React Native works on three threads.
UI Thread- The main application thread that has access to the UI of the application
Shadow Thread- The background thread that uses React library to calculate the layout of the application.
JavaScript Thread- The execution thread that contains the React (JavaScript) code.
First of all, a layout is created using the codes in the JavaScript thread. This layout calculation is then offloaded to the shadow thread which constructs a tree of this layout using a layout engine called Yoga.
The communication between the two threads happens through a React Native bridge which serializes the data in JSON format and transfers it to the UI (main) thread after receiving the rendered markup from Yoga.
The main thread then renders the UI after deserialization and completes the mapping from the browser to React Native.
Benefits of using React Native.
· Third-Party Plugins
· UI Focused
· Native Look and Feel
· Large Community Support
· Cost-Efficiency
· Live Reload
· Code Reusability
Apps that are built on React Native.
· Uber Eats
· Skype
And many more..!
