As an Internet agency, Brthrs is constantly working with new technologies and frameworks, such as ChatGPT, Progressive Web Apps and React Native. Using new developments makes our work more enjoyable and more possible. One example is the advances the technology behind app development has experienced in recent years.
When organizations have an app developed, they want it to be usable on as many devices as possible with as little investment as possible. Logical, after all, budgets are not unlimited.
To build apps more efficiently, developers use frameworks. React and React Native are good examples of this. They are two of the most popular frameworks for developing web and mobile applications.
In this article, you’ll learn more about the difference between React and React Native, how these frameworks work and what the possibilities are for exchanging code between React and React Native.
React: Web apps development
Facebook published the JavaScript framework React in 2011. Today, it is one of the most popular frameworks for building web apps. A framework is an online library of JavaScript code. Developers can use components from this library to put together a Web app.
So unlike React Native, this framework is not used to develop mobile applications, but to create Progressive Web Apps (PWA). A web app is basically a website designed to also function as a mobile app. You don’t have to download these apps before you can use them. Users can, however, easily add them to your home screen as can “real” apps.
The choice of developing a web app or just a mobile app depends on several factors. Consider the application of the final product, the available budget and the final audience. In this article, learn more about the differences between developing a Progressive Web App and a native app.
React Native: Hybrid app development
In 2015, Facebook developed the framework React Native. This framework uses React and is used to create mobile applications. During app development, there is normally a choice between native or hybrid app development.
A native app is developed specifically for the operating system of either iPhones or Android phone and therefore does not work on other devices.
Hybrid apps offer a godsend in making the app available across devices. Hybrid apps only need to be developed once, after which they can be used on both Android and iOS phones and tablets.
React Native can be used as a framework to develop hybrid apps that feel like native apps. This way, an app can be developed for multiple mobile platforms from one set of source code. This saves developers time and thus reduces the investment required.
The difference between React and React Native
The biggest difference between React and React Native is in the end product that what the framework is developed for. React is designed for building web apps, while React Native is designed for building mobile applications. Because the technology behind web apps and mobile apps is different, both have different functionalities.
Another important difference between the frameworks React and React Native can be found in the techniques the frameworks use. Whereas React uses HTML and CSS for styling the interface, React Native uses Flexbox. Designed specifically for building mobile interfaces, Flexbox offers developers a flexible way to manage the layout of mobile aps.
| React | React Native |
|---|---|
| Develops Web Apps | Develops mobile applications |
| Uses web techniques (HTML and CSS) | Uses app techniques Flexbox |
Code sharing between web apps and mobile apps
The big advantage of React and React Native is that parts of the source code can be shared between platforms. In this way, a developer can use parts of the user interface as components for both Web apps and mobile applications.
This eliminates the need for developers to recreate them for each platform, reducing development time. In addition, this benefits consistency across platforms.
Besides component sharing, there are more ways developers can save time when developing via React and React Native. Another example of this can be found in the use of React Hooks.
Hooks provide the ability to add state and lifecycle methods to functional components in React. By using Hooks, developers can use the same state and lifecycle methods on both web and mobile platforms. This also makes developing for different platforms faster and more efficient.
Develop apps and web apps more efficiently
The capabilities offered by React and React Native make developing mobile products faster and easier. The frameworks are still growing in popularity and functionalities are constantly being tinkered with. We can expect innovative updates in the near future.
Brthrs keeps a close eye on these innovations and applies new capabilities immediately when developing web apps and mobile applications. We would be happy to tell you more about the possibilities these frameworks offer for your application. Feel free to contact us for more information or read more about app development.
