Approaching the digital era, most people use mobile devices, leading to developers leveling up their game. Building a mobile application can range from being simple to complex. That is why mobile developers need to prioritize their coding language’s capacity – if it can take care of the complexity of the mobile app processes and its capacity to cater to many possible users.
Open-source mobile development tools are often the saving grace for developers looking to save money when they want to start a project. React Native is only one of many existing in the market that gets the job done without asking too much. Developed by Facebook, this mobile application framework has received a lot of popularity within these past few years, pushing many people to support the entire tool.
Developing an application using native coding languages such as Java and C# could be costly and consume time. Now that most applications should be converted to mobile, many companies seek to create mobile applications as quickly as possible. It is where React Native comes in. An accurate and secure framework for mobile applications.
Why is it the right tool for mobile app development?
Pros:
1. Fast-app development. React development has ready components for text, image, keyboard input, progress bar, scrollable lists, animations, links, etc. This feature speeds up app development. React also features “Hot Reloading” that reloads the app after updates without messing up the code.
React Native also endorses time-saving as it allows developers to have more freedom when it comes to modifying their codes. One important thing to highlight is its removal of recompiling whenever a modification is made.
Android and iOS development are also objectively faster because of their single code base feature. It also allows the project to be more open to maintenance, decreasing the possibilities or bugs and error to the back end, saving more time for both developers and users.
It also features an extensive list of development tools to take care of the other app components, weights-off of a developer’s shoulders. These tools are:
- Redux for handling an app’s state
- Awesome React Native for a list of demos and components
- Nuclide for writing code
- Yoga for layout building
- Sentry for crash and error monitoring, and;
- Other React Developer tools
2. Cross-platform development. Another best feature to React Native is its code reusability. You only code once and can use it everywhere. This unique feature can save a developer’s time and a client’s money. Even with its cross-platform development feature, the developer should still make appropriate adjustments to the platform it will be used.
3. Credible and reliable. This coding language has been proven and tested by large companies through time. Popular mobile applications such as Facebook, Instagram, Skype, Tesla, and Airbnb are only a few. Its reliability is tested by the capacity to cater to the number of users at a time.
4. Great UI sets. React Native has pre-built declarative components that allow a developer to create eye-catching designs. It can also be developed with your personalized components with its tool TouchableNativeFeedback and TouchableOpacity. Aside from having a greatly designed UI, it also helps that React enables a responsive one, meaning that users can easily navigate throughout the application without experiencing delays and downtimes.
5. Strong Community Support. Developing mobile apps can be tedious, especially for those with only a few experiences. It is hugely popular among mobile app developers, hence having many people to ask questions to. The strong community support in React development allows mobile app developers to access updates and upgrades as references quickly. Given that it is an open-source framework, a simple Google search can point you into useful databases and learning materials essential for developing better and stable applications.
6. Quick to update. React uses JavaScript extensively, which allows developers to send updates to the user’s applications directly. With this feature, users can immediately utilize the updated versions of the app, quickly avoiding the older version’s issues. Dispatching updates are significant for good user experience, and all developers want their audiences to be happy when using their developed applications.
Coding languages are not perfect. With its pros comes its cons. However, developers can improve their possible cons by practicing problem-solving skills.
Cons:
1. Large app size. With many components, it can be too large and slow. However, developers could reduce the app size by minimizing the number of components and libraries used. Developers could also consider compressing videos and images to lower the size of the application.
2. Memory leakage in Android apps. The developer could avoid leakage problems by using scrolling lists like FlatList, VirtualList, and SectionList. It’s always the ListView that has issues with memory leakage. Developers should also consider choosing components that have excellent performance.
3. Not approachable for beginner developers. React Native is primarily based on the React programming language. It uses a JavaScript library, which means that learning to code for this framework is a lot harder than other tools that use far easier libraries and programming languages. The bottom line is, you need to have a strong knowledge of Web technologies to take advantage of React Native’s useful features.
4. Stability issues. Since React is still on its infancy, there are very strong chances of the tool becoming unstable once it gets to work. But the good thing is that there are more updates to come shortly, and reported errors would be addressed accordingly. Since React Native is an open-source tool, more people would be able to use it, allowing for more errors and bugs to be discovered in the shortest time possible.
5. Component shortage. The market for both Android and iOS applications are known to be demanding, and with ever-evolving trends, developers need to cope steadily and hastily. However, React has a problem of having a shortage in components, meaning developers need to exert more effort and develop their own to proceed with the project.
The performance of React services suggests that its pros outweigh its cons. It is always crucial that the developers are well-versed in the language and will continue seeking help from a strong community.