Difference Between React and React Native
Overview
Facebook created React and React Native, which have rapidly grown in popularity. React is a JavaScript library used to create single-page web applications, also referred to as ReactJs. React Native is a framework for creating mobile apps that are based on React JS. You can create native mobile applications by using reusable components, too.
What is React Js?
Single-page web apps (where the code is written inside a single fragement that is App.js) can be created using the free and open-source JavaScript library known as React or ReactJs. It is one of the most used libraries for creating the UI (front end) for web and mobile applications. It was created and supported by Facebook in 2011, and it has grown in popularity since then.
React enables developers to create mobile and web apps that are fast, adaptable, and intuitive. Additionally, it allows the developers to automate the design.
Developers working with ReactJs can quickly add libraries or plugins to their applications. They can also create quick, scalable, and easy web applications.
By utilizing React JS development services, you can fulfill the needs of your clients by providing them with static websites, single-page apps, and progressive web apps.
- A static web page is sent to the web browser of the user exactly as it is saved, as opposed to dynamic web pages, that are developed by a web app.
- A single-page application is a web-based application that communicates with users by dynamically updating the existing web page with new information from the web server rather than using the standard procedure of having a web browser load completely new pages.
- A progressive web application (PWA), sometimes known as a progressive web app, is a kind of application software that is delivered via the web and is created using standard web technologies which include HTML, CSS, Js, and WebAssembly.
Advantages of React JS
- ReactJS is a lot simpler to understand and use than other programming languages. Any developer with experience in JavaScript can grab React with ease and begin building web applications.
- It's now simpler to develop dynamic web applications. It was challenging to develop a dynamic web application primarily with HTML, which necessitates complex programming, but React JS solves that problem and made it simpler. It offers more functionality with less coding.
- ReactJS web applications are composed of several reusable components, each with its logic and controls. You can reuse these components whenever you need them. Reusable code makes it simpler to create and update your apps.
- The virtual DOM in ReactJS makes it perform better. The React Virtual DOM is a representation of the DOM found in web browsers, and it exists entirely in memory. As a result, when we wrote a React component, it was not written directly to the DOM. Instead, we create virtual components which React will transform into the DOM, resulting in faster and smoother performance.
- ReactJS offers a set of useful tools that help developers understand and complete their work more quickly.
- Traditional JavaScript frameworks struggle to handle SEO. This issue is resolved by ReactJS, which makes it easier for developers to be navigated on different search engines. This is because ReactJS applications can execute on the server, and also the virtual DOM will render and return to the browser as a standard web page.
- Component-based architecture, which Reactjs introduced, requires the reusability of components and thus significantly reduces development time. Its component-based architecture combines small components of a broader user interface into independent, self-sustaining micro-systems.
Limitations of React
- The main problem for any developer is that the React library is constantly changing, which slows down app development. However, React updates are now mainly used to update libraries and other components, which makes the code a little less reliable.
- ReactJS just covers the app's UI Layers and nothing more. Therefore, more technologies must still be chosen to have a full toolkit for project development.
- It frequently becomes necessary to download an additional react-enabled library, which adds to the expense and wait time. For instance, it is essential to download the Carbon components with React if the developer uses the Carbon framework for the user interface.
- Reactjs has a complicated data navigation system. For example, unlike the other JS Scripting tools, Reactjs does not provide parallel data handling. In Reactjs, to move from one Div to another, the user must first navigate to its parent node, then to its topmost parent node, then finally to the second level of the tree node.
What is React Native?
React Native is a JavaScript-based open-source framework that was created by Facebook to satisfy the growing mobile demands. React Native is a hybrid mobile app framework that allows you to create mobile applications with a single codebase. With the help of this JavaScript framework, you can create mobile applications that run seamlessly on iOS and Android.
The sentence above will likely surprise a lot of you. Right?
Can we now create a mobile app that runs on both iOS and Android OS using a single framework? Yes, you can!
You can create cross-platform applications with React Native for Windows, Android, and iOS. In actuality, React Native makes use of React JS's basic abstraction. However, only the library's components are unique. Despite having a similar core nature, the difference between React JS and React Native is significant. You can create a native application with React Native development that functions perfectly on both the iOS and Android platforms.
Advantages of React Native
- It offers the "Learn once, write everywhere" feature. It functions on iOS and Android-powered mobile devices.
- The React Native code is compiled into native code, enabling it for both operating systems and ensuring that it works identically on both platforms.
- JavaScript: Native mobile apps are developed with JavaScript expertise.
- In terms of community we can find any answer we need from the ReactJS and React Native communities.
- Hot reloading allows you to quickly see the effects of small changes you make to your app's code while it is still in development. The business logic's reflection is live and refreshed on screen if it is modified.
Limitations of React Native
- React Native is a newcomer to the Android and iOS programming languages, and it is still in the early stages of development, which can have a bad effect on the apps.
- React Native is difficult to learn, especially for someone new to the world of app development.
- React Native is an open-source framework and JavaScript library, which leaves a security robustness gap. React Native is not recommended by experts when building banking and financial apps with extremely private data.
- Even for high-tech devices and gadgets, initializing the runtime in React Native takes a long time.
Difference Between React and React Native
S.No | ReactJS | React Native |
---|---|---|
1 | ReactJS was first released in 2013. | The first version of React Native was released in 2015. |
2 | It is used in the creation of web applications. | It is used in the creation of mobile applications. |
3 | It can be used on all platforms. | It does not work on any platform. To be implemented across all platforms necessitates more effort. |
4 | For animations, it makes use of a JavaScript library and CSS. | It has built-in libraries for animation. |
5 | React-router is used to navigate between web pages. | For navigating mobile applications, it has a built-in Navigator library. |
6 | HTML tags are used. | HTML tags are not used. |
7 | It can make use of code components, which helps you save a lot more time. | Reusing React Native UI modules & components enables native rendering in hybrid apps. |
8 | It has a high level of security. | Compared to ReactJS, it offers less security. |
9 | The browser code is rendered in this via the Virtual DOM. | React Native renders code using its API for mobile applications. |
Which One do Prefer?
Reactjs and React Native are crucial pillars for app and online development, and because of their adaptable functionalities and an expanding ecosystem of libraries, both are gaining popularity by the day.
While Reactjs is essentially a JavaScript library and React Native is the whole framework, the former forms the core of the latter and the two operate well together.
React Native is perfect for giving your mobile apps a native feel, just as Reactjs is ideal for building applications with high functionality and highly complex calculations.
Reactjs and React Native have restrictions, much like every other tool or framework in the development world. Because of this, it is wise to list the advantages and disadvantages of both Reactjs and React Native before making a choice based on your needs and desired results.
Conclusion
- React is a JavaScript library used to create single-page web applications.
- React Native is a framework for creating mobile apps that are based on React JS.
- React utilizes the Virtual DOM to produce amazing UX, whereas React Native makes use of APIs to produce Ui components that can be utilized on both Android and iOS devices.
- Reactjs is the greatest choice when it comes to creating a high-performing, dynamic, and responsive user interface for web applications while React Native is the best choice when it comes to providing mobile apps with a fully native experience.