What is React Native?

React.js vs. React Native

React.js is an open-source JavaScript library that simplifies the development process and creates applications with great performance and perfect user interfaces.

On the other hand, React Native is a well-known mobile application development framework that allows mobile application developers to create a rich mobile UI from declarative components using JavaScript only. It is used to create cross-platform applications with the help of reusable components.

React serves as a bridge between JavaScript and native mobile features. React Native builds upon React and allows us to create cross-platform compatible applications. That is, it allows us to run our applications on iOS and Android devices.

Why React Native?

React Native is the ideal option for building cross-platform applications for several reasons.

Multiplatform support

React Native is a JavaScript framework that allows users to learn once and develop everywhere. It enables us to develop mobile applications that run natively on several platforms, including iOS and Android.

Reusable code and prebuilt components

React Native’s primary benefit is that developers don’t need to write separate programs for various platforms, such as Android and iOS. In fact, there is a 90% code reuse rate between the two platforms, which greatly accelerates and optimizes development.

Cost effectiveness

React Native’s ability to reuse code significantly reduces development costs. This is because 90% of the framework can be implemented using a single piece of code. As a result, React Native developers can avoid spending a lot of time and money developing separate mobile applications for each platform, such as Android and iOS.

Fast refresh capability

Fast refresh enables developers to run the application while installing new updates and making UI changes. The developer does not have to completely rewrite the program because the changes are immediately noticeable.

Hot and live reloading

With the advent of hot and live reloading, there are no longer endless build times. A small number of changes we make to our code become visible as we work on the project. Live reloading updates the entire application, whereas hot reloading only updates the file that has been modified while preserving the application’s original state. This feature provides the ideal development experience.

Rich UI

React Native uses React to build responsive and quick application interfaces. Its component-based approach and strong rendering capabilities enables the development of simple and complex user interface designs.