The development of the React Native framework actually started as a hackathon effort in 2013, responding to the need of the developer community: it was looking for a mobile alternative that would combine the advantages of mobile app development with the power and agility of the native React environment. This resulted in React Native, a framework created by Facebook, and supported and continuously pushed forward by the development community.
By using React Native, you can use the same code for deployment on iOS as well as on Android. This means a huge saving in development time and cost. Theoretically, the development effort could be cut by half. In practice, the cost saving will be a little lower but still more than interesting enough to make the investment worth your while. According to recent calculations, about 90% of the code can be reused between Android and iOS, but it would be wise to calculate some extra time for practical modifications as well.
React Native might be considered as the mobile next step after React: It builds on the React ideas and allows you to create powerful mobile applications. In fact, React Native features an interesting extra that you will not find in the native frameworks: the ‘live reload’ feature, enabling you to immediately see the result of the latest change that you have made to the code. If you have two windows opened – one containing the code and the other showing a mobile screen as a result of the code – you can immediately see the effect of what you have changed in one screen, on the other screen.
With Android and iOS apps becoming more popular every passing day, businesses are investing in creating apps for both platforms to reach a much wider audience. As a result, cross platform app development is increasingly being preferred over a fully native app development by the majority of developers. React Native, a cross platform framework, is quickly becoming an increasingly popular mobile development solution. In this article, we will elaborate on the advantages and disadvantages of React Native framework, so that you can make the right choice for your app business.
A framework that is completely community-driven, with React Native you can always reach out for guidance from other developers, search for relevant information, and even help out other developers struggling with something. Developers can also take advantage of the community by asking other developers to review or give relevant feedback on their ongoing undertakings. Furthermore, developers are encouraged to share their findings and learnings, making it a truly collaborative experience for everyone involved. This is one of the awe-inspiring benefits of using React Native.
Most of the code is cross-platform, meaning it is compatible with both Android and iOS, developers only need to build one app, and in the end two apps are created. This saves time in development of the app, which saves a lot of money that would have been put into building separate apps. With React Native businesses can have both apps at once for little more than half the cost of building one version. Companies no longer have to choose which version to build and launch first due to the cost of building two separate apps. In addition maintenance and updates are done on both apps at the same time which saves on future costs once the apps are built and launched.
The type of interface used in React Native makes it easy for different developers on a team to jump in where someone else left off and continue building. This increases team flexibility, and makes it easier to update and upgrade the mobile app. It also creates flexibility for testers who are able to create testing scenarios much easier. These advantages also contribute toward saving time and money. If it is desired or becomes necessary to move the app to another development framework in the future, app developers don’t need to start over. They can export the app from React Native and move it into Android Studio or Xcode and continue from there. This is a huge benefit of using React Native for mobile app development and adds to its flexibility.
