Hello, readers! If you are reading this article, it may mean only two things: you’re here by accident or you are really embarrassed with the choice between ReactJS vs React Native. Are they the berries from the same field or totally different products? Can the code created in ReactJS be used in the React Native? Which one is better suitable for various purposes? In this article we will read about Reactjs vs React native and what is the difference and which one is better.
At first, let me explain a brief history of both of them in order to help you understand the way they were launched at the very beginning.
It is an interesting fact that ReactJS and React Native are now the central power of the hundreds of the most famous and most commonly used mobile applications and web pages like Facebook, Tesla, BBC, Reddit and many others. How were they created? It’s a curious history.
ReactJS came into existence in 2011. It was the time when Facebook was expanding its features and was implementing exciting new functions. But the problem was that these features were really slowing down the whole work of the app. Constant updates and changes made the developers find the solution to this issue as every day brought thousands of new users and the bugs dragged the success very much.
Their actual model of the app was splendid, but the user interface remained an issue. So, they’ve decided to make a revolution.
One of the Facebook engineers Jordan Walke created a so-called prototype of the modern ReactJS Development. It’s name was FaxJS and it was made with the use of XHP, which is an HTML component library for PHP.
So, firstly it was applied to Facebook’s timeline and it was a real boom. Followed by this example, Instagram also started to use ReactJS to its timeline a year later.
In 2012, the founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg said that he thought that the biggest mistake they made was betting too much on HTML as opposed to native.
This was an impulse to the development of the other product – React Native. From that moment the world of software development became a witness of the birth of the two really dynamic and impressive technologies.
ReactJS and React Native: an individual functionality comparison guide
It must be said that it’s rather not right to compare them fully as they are supplementing each other. It’s similar to comparing Monet and Manet. Both had much in common and both painted their masterpieces in the impressionism style, but still Manet was closer to realism.
What is ReactJS in general?
ReactJS is actually a library written in JavaScript language. Library is usually considered to be a building block for apps and websites that can determine specific operations and that can be reused many times. When the software developers want to implement some changes into the functionality, they have an amazing opportunity just to change a particular block without rewriting the whole code again.
● The power of simplicity
While being quite simple in its structure, you can build feature-rich and high-performing applications with an excellent user interface. What makes the apps created with the help of ReactJS interactive and truly dynamic is that it is not necessary to refresh the page every time because it happens instantly. Probably, the simplest example of the way it works is that the news feed in Facebook is updating while users are using the messenger.
● SEO friendly
What is more you need to know is that ReactJS offers a capability of the server-side rendering and in such a way it gives a real boost to the SEO that engages more organic traffic. It becomes faster to index and to cache the content because when a bot of Google visits a server, the content and images have already been rendered. In this case we can call it a win situation because the faster a webpage, the better a user experience for the end-users.
● Enormous ecosystem with a huge amount of different tools for the development
According to the statistics based on the Stack Overflow Trends and NPM Trends it is clear that ReactJS has tremendous community support. Being a library, it makes possible for the developers to add new tools, component libraries, extensions for those who edit the code, etc. Such an innovation can really save much time and resources.
These advantages are making ReactJS unique and famous in the world of software indeed.
What is React Native in general?
Unlike ReactJS, React Native is a framework. In simple words, it is supposed to be a skeleton that holds the whole architecture of the application. To be more exactly, it is a cross-platform framework that needs to use ReactJS for creating websites and apps. It is able to make apps that can be run on different platforms like Android, iOS, Windows.
React Native acts reciprocally towards ReactJS. It can be explained in such a way that ReactJS bases its components under React Native, and React Native, in turn, implements elements with ReactJS.
● Ability to generate a specific code due to the particular platform
It is considered to be the main advantage of React Native that it can generate the particular code for the particular platform. It is developed in such a way that when you are in the process of creating the app, it can automatically determine which of the platforms it is being run on. The result is the acceptable code for the right platform.
● Simplified developing process for the front-end developers
Front-end developers are lucky to use React Native because since most of the codes in it are written in JavaScript, it has become easier to create an app fast.
Good news for the programmers who are only beginners – you can be in too. Quite an easy learning curve allows to create apps without requiring a lot of knowledge and much effort. Just be creative and let your imagination out – React Native will help to materialize any of your ideas.
● Hot Reloading feature saves time
The Hot Reloading feature is a function that makes it possible to reload a mobile app automatically. This kind of functionality speeds up the development and saves a lot of time.
● A big number of ready UI libraries
In the huge React Native ecosystem there are supplementary component UI libraries that developers can use for creating stable and smooth UI experience.
How do they actually work?
I’ll try to demonstrate the inner filling of both ReactJS and React Native to give you a better understanding of how they work.
ReactJS
Any website by its essence is an HTML document. However, when we enter a website, we usually do not see just lines of code because a browser interprets HTML and shows us the content, style and structure in a form of a webpage. The second thing that browsers transforms the representation of HTML-syntax into a Document Object Model or just a DOM. Basically, a DOM is a programming interface of an HTML-document that represents such a document as a tree-like model.
React creates a virtual copy of DOM (so-called Virtual DOM) that makes it possible for a user to make changes so that it won’t have the effect on the rest of the interface. The process for ReactJS looks like this: a user makes an input -> the changes are reflected in the data models of components of a Virtual DOM -> the UI gets updated. So what is ReactJS good for? As the user’s input doesn’t directly change the component in a Real DOM but only its abstract copy, ReactJS makes it possible to build a highly-dynamic UI for the apps.
React Native
When we talk about applications created with React Native, the process of development is similar to the process described above. Using the ReactJS libraries as the foundation, instead of caching updates in the Virtual DOM of the browser, it appeals to the programming interfaces of iOS or Android and renders its components.
So, the main question is needed to be answered:
Which one is better: ReactJS or React Native?
Well, to be honest, I would rather choose React Native. My choice can be argued with the fact that this is not just a library, but the completed framework with a flexible development environment. Though ReactJS is a really good one for making high-functional and first-class apps, React Native can breathe a native feeling to them.
Still, you should try both technologies and base your choice on your personal experience. As everything in the world they both have their pros and cons, have their own limitations in usability and there are no concrete recommendations which one you should definitely use. Follow your inner feelings and comfort while using whether ReactJS or React Native.
