Advantages and disadvantages of React Native for mobile app development

Cross-platform development has become another great way to fully develop mobile applications. Following the traditional mobile enhancement method, you create a different Android and iOS apps. Cross-platform upgrades allow you to reduce costs and save time by using the same code in both forums. The React Native framework is a growing mobile solution and is considered the future of the development of various mobile applications. In this article, we summarize the benefits of using React Native in mobile app development for different platforms and tell you if it is not a good option.

React Native is an open-source framework that allows you to build a mobile application with JavaScript only. Introduced by Jordan Walke, Facebook software developer, as a new technology for easy development and a better user experience. The main difference between this framework is that React Native applications operate as native applications. While mobile app development using React Native apps is much quicker and slightly costly.

Let’s take a look at some of the benefits and challenges of using React Native to improve mobile applications.

Advantages of React Native

#1 Community matters

React Native is an open-source platform. This means that all documents related to this technology are open to the public and are available to the public in the React Native community. There are significant benefits to using community-based technology. For example, if you are experiencing any problem related to React Native app development, you can get help from community professionals or find information online.

Another advantage of working with an open-source platform is the recognition of the writing code. Engineers can share their knowledge and create portfolios, which encourages them to write better code. For example, after learning something new while working with React Native, an engineer can share his or her knowledge with the GitHub Indigenous Community, get feedback, and engage with other members.

In addition to the GitHub community, React Native is also heavily supported by Facebook. Facebook engineers have set up a special forum for long conversations where other engineers can share best practices and solutions. Additionally, there is a Reactiflux discussion if you need to get a quick answer to any question.

#2 Reusable code & pre-built components

This is an assembly of the numerous advantage of React Native. With the use of this framework, developers do not need to build a separate mobile application for each platform, as about 90 percent of React Native code can be reused between iOS and Android.

For companies and organizations considering building a mobile app, React Native is a complete solution that can reduce time and cost by half. In addition, if a company already has a web application written in React, a large portion of this code can be reused in building a mobile app.

An open-source library of pre-built components in React Native greatly accelerates the process of mobile app development. Someone may have already written the code for some of the functions that you need to use in your app and that you can use for free.

#3 Simplified UI

React Native is about mobile UI. When we compare this framework with AngularJS or MeteorJS, we find that it looks more like a JavaScript library than a framework.

It’s important to create a sequence of actions when building a mobile app, and React Native makes the usage command perfect. In addition, the user interface designed with React Native is highly responsive, reduces loading time, and provides a smooth feel.

#4 Third-party plugin support

The React Native framework is still developing, so it may lack certain components in the main framework. To fill this void, React Native offers two types of third-party plugins: native modules and JavaScript modules.

For example, if you need to add Google Maps or Google Calendar to the basic functionality of your app, React Native lets you connect any plugin with the native or third-party module. Among the most prominent external company plugins in React Native is React Native Selectmen, React Native Vector Icons, React Native Router Flux, React Native Gifted Spinner, React Native Modalbox, and React Native Drawer.

#5 Modular architecture

The modular layout is a software design that separates program performance into several independent and flexible blocks called modules. There are a few advantages to this process: it provides flexibility within the development team as developers can evaluate each other’s projects if necessary and make it much easier to produce updates. React Native intuitive modular architecture greatly assists engineers by providing the ability to quickly and easily update applications. It is also possible to reuse modules that work with both the web and mobile APIs.

#6 Live and hot reloading

Live and hot reloads are not the same features in the development of the React Native app. Let us first explain the differences between the two options.

Live uploads read and include the file where the changes were made by the developer and provide a new file to the template, which automatically reloads the application from scratch.

Hot reloads are based on Hot Module Replacement (HMR) and are launched after the first reload option. It includes the same sequence of actions, but when you press Ctrl + S to save the changes, the HMR archive puts the updated files in the required location while the application is running. One of the great benefits of hot reloading is the ability to make changes to the source code to be seen without the need to reassemble the application. If a software developer has two windows open (one with a code and one with an application screen), for example, he can see the effect on the app screen immediately after applying code changes. Let’s take a look at how this option works in the video below.

#7 Declarative coding style

System planning means what the system should do rather than how it is done, as opposed to an important plan. Announcing code style makes React Native code extremely flexible and understandable to developers. It is also useful if the developer needs to jump on a new project and integrate quickly. Revealing style simplifies the code paradigm and coding process, resulting in easy-to-read code for both systems and developers. An engineer can simply look at the code and understand it because of the clever UI.

#8 Plenty of ready-made solutions and libraries

The React Native framework has an impressive list of ready-made solutions and libraries that greatly assist in mobile app development. Among a large number of React Native libraries, we list some of the most useful ones below.

For example, test libraries help software developers write coded and seamless code. The most popular and varied test tools are Jest, Enzyme, Chai, and Mocha.

To test a successful genre, there are tools like PropTypes and Flow, while ESLInt is a complete integration tool. Axios, react-native-firebase, and Apollo Client are used to set network traffic on React Native projects. For country officials, Reacts is one of the most widely used React Native libraries.

In addition, React Native interacts with JavaScript libraries.

When React Native isn’t a good solution

Apart from the fact that React Native has been successful in mobile app development, it has some drawbacks. Recently, Airbnb and Udacity shared their experience using React Native. And decided that this platform has many benefits but cannot be used effectively to build any type of mobile app.

#1 Immaturity

React Native is new, faster, and slightly older than iOS or Android. This can have a detrimental effect on systems. In general, React Native works well, but there are cases where its immaturity causes unexpected situations, which we will show you below:

The React Native framework is growing very fast and new updates are being released every week. Every new update has many changes, so developers need to update their apps regularly. Going over a few months without updating the app can have a detrimental effect. For example, Airbnb engineers faced a dilemma with React Native in the development of their 2017 mobile app. They found it impossible to use React Native version 0.43 to React Native version 0.49 as they use React 16 alpha and beta.
In some cases, engineers may not be able to limit the coding to React Native only. They may need to use additional native code for components not compatible with React Native.
There are some cases where parts of React Native work worse than traditional components. For example, with a long list. Users see these types of listings everywhere: tweets on Twitter, photos on Instagram, and Facebook posts are all in the list of apps. When these lists become too large and difficult, it becomes more difficult to use them with React Native. React Native has a FlatList library that can work with long lists but cannot be compared to the flexibility and maturity of traditional platforms such as UICollectionView (for iOS) and RecyclerView (for Android). Therefore using traditional platforms in such cases is considered highly productive.

#2 JavaScript tooling

JavaScript is a highly flexible and powerful programming language, but it is a weakly typed language. Some mobile engineers may suffer from a lack of security, which makes it difficult to measure. As a result, developers should accept other combinations such as TypeScript and Flow in existing infrastructure.

#3 Complex user interfaces

React Native is not a good option for mobile app development that requires a lot of interaction, animation, screen modification, or complex touch.

However, there is a React Native touch response system that uses the life cycle of every touch in the app. When it comes to screens with complex physical features.

#4 Initialization time

Even on high-end devices, it takes a few seconds to start operating time before React Native delivers for the first time. The reason is that the JavaScript string also requires time to get started.

#5 Open-source libraries

Getting to know a few platforms is a daunting task for a traveling engineer. And it requires considerable time and effort. React Native libraries with native bridges, such as videos and maps, need a good understanding of the three platforms to function effectively. If mobile engineers only know one or two platforms. It can lead to a lack of information needed to resolve conflicts between Android and iOS.

Wrapping up

Summarizing the pros and cons of using the React Native framework for mobile app development. We can say that it can benefit nearly 80 percent of businesses by saving a lot of time and money. React Native is the perfect solution for most use cases unless you have some platform issues. So, if you have goals of launching and founding a startup enterprise or even have an already-established enterprise and wish to go a significant effect on the global of the web, you should start searching for a recognized react native app development company.