React JS vs React Native: Which One to Choose?

What is ReactJS?

React, sometimes known as ReactJS, is a well-known open-source JavaScript web development framework that makes creating user interfaces (UIs) for web apps more accessible. Facebook carefully designed the open-source JavaScript package ReactJS to make the complex process of creating interactive user interfaces seamless.

JavaScript and XML are combined to create JSX, which is used to build ReactJS. JavaScript renders the elements on your website after they are constructed using JSX. React is rapidly becoming one of the most well-liked and sought-after JavaScript libraries despite having a challenging learning curve for an inexperienced developer.

Advantages of ReactJS

ReactJS has revolutionized web development with its component-based architecture and virtual DOM. The advantages of ReactJS are:

1. Flexibility and Scalability

One of React’s advantages is the flexibility to use It as much or as little as you choose. For instance, you can use a single React component on a page or React to design your entire website. React offers the adaptability to change requirements without requiring extensive reworking. This scalability guarantees the application can expand with the company by supporting new features and rising user demand.

2. Saves Time

ReactJS is easy to use and provides interaction for any UI layout. Additionally, it saves customers and developers time by enabling the quick and high-quality construction and rendering of applications. When developing a new application, developers can save a great deal of time and effort by quickly incorporating pre-built design elements that complement the overall style of the program.

3. Virtual DOM

ReactJS uses Virtual DOM, a cross-platform API programming interface for Web development, to improve performance. Using a framework like ReactDOM, an ideal, or “virtual,” version of a user interface is stored in memory and synchronized with the “real” DOM. Because each element is a node that contains an object, React’s virtual DOM suggests a “virtual” version of a user interface that is stored in memory and synchronized with the browser’s DOM through React’s ReactDOM package.

4. SEO-Friendly

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is essential for entrepreneurs in the fiercely competitive digital space. Through server-side rendering before client delivery, ReactJS enhances SEO performance. In addition to improving user experience, faster load times raise the possibility of higher search engine rankings, boosting a website’s organic traffic.

5. JavaScript Libraries

ReactJS simplifies the entire code development process for the target project with its strong JavaScript and HTML grammar mix. The JS library provides remarkable capabilities, like breaking down HTML elements into their component pieces and changing the project into an understandable format.

Disadvantages of ReactJS

While ReactJS offers considerable support and striking benefits for developers, a few disadvantages of ReactJS are:

• ReactJS’s documentation frequently lags behind its rapid development, forcing developers to rely on different sites.
• Because ReactJS progresses quickly, developers must continuously learn new skills and refresh existing knowledge, which can slow development speed.
• Due to its view layer limitations, ReactJS primarily focuses on managing the user interface (UI) portions of projects. Still, it only offers some tools required to develop a full-scale project.
• ReactJS uses JSX, which might be intimidating to particular developers and could make learning more difficult.
• React is primarily a UI library; it doesn’t have a suggested or standard method for creating applications.

Now that you’ve explored one part of the React JS vs React Native​ comparison let’s move on to the next.

What is React Native?

React Native offers the fundamental structure of an application, much like a home’s framework. Instead of creating the program from scratch, developers can modify it to fit their requirements. React Native is an open-source framework that is free for the public. It includes resources such as libraries, reference materials, and pre-built components.

React Native programming powers some of the most popular mobile apps in the world, including Facebook, Skype, and Instagram. Using the same codebase, the framework enables you to develop applications for multiple platforms.

Advantages of React Native

React Native has emerged as a leading framework for developing cross-platform mobile applications. Here are some of the critical advantages of React Native:

1. Open Source

React Native is an open-source framework, meaning the entire developer community can review all documentation related to this technology for free and contribute at any time. Because React Native is open source, anybody can view, alter, and enhance its code. Additionally, it implies that developers can take advantage of the current React Native framework-compatible frameworks and tools.

2. Hot Reloading Feature

React Native actively supports both Hot Reloading and Live Reloading despite their differences. Live reloading allows coder modifications to be read and compiled. Additionally, it gives the simulator a fresh file, which causes it to read the application from the beginning automatically. Hot Reloading’s main benefit is its ability to approve source code modifications, allowing the developer to inspect the code, even if he chooses not to rebuild the application.

3. Third-Party Plugins

Some components are missing from the React Native basic framework. It ensures developers have access to third-party plugins, such as native and JavaScript modules, to compensate for that deficiency. Third-party plugins are pre-made software elements that developers may quickly incorporate into their programs to offer particular functionality or features without starting from scratch. Third-party plugins make it easy to create apps with React Native that display well on all screen sizes, including tablets and phones.

4. Requires Minimal Resources

With the help of the React Native framework, developers can produce apps more quickly and effectively. It already contains a lot of parts and can be utilized for a variety of purposes. As a result, developing an app takes less time and effort. The ability to develop apps for other platforms, including iOS and Android, is another benefit of React Native.

5. Single Code

The React Native framework eliminates the requirement for developers to write separate code for the iOS and Android operating systems. JavaScript, which works on both platforms, is used. This unique ability to reuse code can increase productivity and facilitate a much quicker and simpler app development process.

Disadvantages of React Native

For a thorough React JS vs React Native​ comparison, it is essential to explore the disadvantages of React Native as well:

• Because React Native’s coding is not in the native tongue, developers who encounter problems with the device may find it challenging to fix problems. This kind of error will complicate things, and there will be nothing to address the developers in this issue.
• Modern technology advances rapidly, and each new device model adds a few capabilities. However, integrating them into platforms like React Native is not as quick as it should be. React Native supports these functionalities; however, it takes a while, or you will need native support to use that feature.
• Even though developers of React Native applications must be proficient in JavaScript, certain functionalities require an in-depth understanding of the platform’s fundamentals. This implies that the usual developers may find it challenging to fix any odd events that arise. Even with the wonderful help of the local libraries, a developer who can handle Native difficulties is still needed.
• JavaScript and the native platform have multiple layers of interaction, making debugging React Native apps more challenging than debugging fully native code. Because native crashes don’t always appear in JavaScript logs, it might be difficult to track them down without specialized tools like Xcode or Android Studio.
• React Native performs well for most applications but falls short of fully native apps for demanding activities like machine learning, gaming, and real-time data processing. This is because, particularly when utilizing the JavaScript bridge, it cannot use native features such as direct access to device-specific optimizations.

Key Similarities Between React Native and ReactJS

ReactJS and React Native are quite similar in the following ways:

Virtual DOM

They both employ a reconciliation procedure known as the “virtual DOM.” This procedure compares one tree to another to identify which areas of the user interface require updating. As a result, they both offer quick refreshes, which let you observe real-time UI updates.

JSX 

Both libraries use JSX, a JavaScript syntax extension that lets programmers define the user interface more declaratively. They also support React hooks, like useState, useEffect, and others. In addition to improving the developer experience, this compatibility guarantees you can keep your coding style constant across all your projects. Additionally, it enables a consistent state management strategy for both libraries, which can expedite development procedures and enhance the readability of code. 

Components

The component-based architecture used by React and React Native is essentially the same. The components function using the same lifecycle methods in both environments, guaranteeing a uniform approach to their creation, updating, and destruction across the application’s life cycle. Because of these fundamental similarities, developers may easily work with either framework’s components and apply their knowledge and abilities to both frameworks.

Libraries

Many basic modules used by React and React Native are similar, making switching between the two frameworks straightforward. This means developers can keep the application state uniformly across both platforms by utilizing well-known state management libraries like Redux and MobX. Developers can also use popular libraries like Axios or the built-in Fetch API for data fetching. React JS vs React Native is not a big deal as it offers a reliable way to handle HTTP requests, so your apps can efficiently manage and retrieve data whether you’re using React or React Native.

State and Properties

The two frameworks support consistency across the two libraries by managing state and properties similarly. Props are characteristics or traits sent down to a component from its parent component. In contrast, a component’s state is controlled internally within that specific component itself.

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Major Differences Between ReactJS and React Native

Learn the key difference between React Native and React JS below:

Properties

React renders the user interface; other libraries let you incorporate additional features into your apps. Since React Native is a complete framework for mobile applications, it offers extra APIs and components designed specifically for mobile development, like those for managing touch gestures and providing access to device-specific functions like location or camera APIs.

Navigation

React Native has its own React Navigation package; however, React Router is usually used for web navigation in React. This is because React usually employs URL-based navigation, in which the current URL route determines which components are rendered. React Native vs. React JS describes the native mobile app experience using stack-based navigation.

Language

Unlike React, which usually uses classic CSS or CSS-in-JS libraries for styling, React Native uses a JavaScript object-based styling system. A more dynamic and component-specific styling outlook is made possible in the React vs React Native approach differently. React Native is used by developers using the style prop to apply different styles to particular components directly. ReactJS, on the other hand, provides an alternative styling system in which styles are often applied via class names provided in external stylesheets or CSS modules. 

Learning Curve

ReactJS has a more gradual learning curve when it comes to web development. As a developer, it will come naturally to you if you already know how to use front-end languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Developing mobile apps with React Native tends to require more expertise and familiarity with the intricacies of mobile development. This means that, while ReactJS can be easier to grasp initially for web projects, React Native does demand additional skills and understanding to navigate the complexities of creating a seamless mobile user experience.

Technology

Whenever a developer modifies a web application, ReactJS modifies the virtual DOM. After comparing it with the updated virtual DOM, minimal adjustments are made to the real DOM.

React Native renders mobile components using native APIs and a virtual DOM-like approach. To handle its UI elements, it keeps a virtual DOM-like structure and syncs and interacts with native UI elements offered by the Android or iOS platform rather than aiming for a web browser’s DOM.

When to Choose ReactJS over React Native?

If the debate is about React JS vs React Native, here’s when to choose ReactJS and why:

Unmanageable Code

React’s popularity is partly attributed to its ability to assist engineering teams in maintaining an orderly and structured codebase. Although it had its benefits, jQuery, the most widely used toolkit before React, especially for large-scale applications, could have been better at keeping codebases structured and ordered, especially for large-scale projects with numerous components, states, data flows, etc.

Unresponsive Pages

ReactJS significantly enhances performance, improving responsiveness and speeding up page loads. Pages load more quickly when the virtual DOM is used since updating an application takes less processing time. In addition to the performance benefits the virtual DOM offers, you can use additional techniques and resources React offers to improve page responsiveness.

Frontend UI 

For developers who want to create a front-end user interface that requires a lot of user interaction, React is a great option. Connecting all of those interactive components to the underlying business logic can rapidly become a difficult and time-consuming operation when you are entrusted with creating them. As a result, your development workflow may need to be more effective and enjoyable. React handles all the lower-level algorithms and complexities, so you must concentrate on the interface’s view model. Doing this allows you to create and manage a dynamic and responsive user experience without being mired in implementation specifics.

When to Choose React Native over ReactJS?

The circumstances of using React Native over ReactJS are:

Develop Mobile Apps

Most people agree that the main things that set React naturally apart from its rivals are improved performance and a more genuine, natural feel for applications. React Native works differently by rendering native components directly, whereas Ionic uses Apache Cordova as an intermediary to translate online apps into mobile content. 

Because of this fundamental distinction, React Native offers a more unified and integrated user experience for mobile solutions. Users frequently discover that apps created with React Native operate faster and more responsively, performing more like apps custom-built for particular mobile platforms. As a result, developers who place a high value on providing smooth interaction and excellent usability in their mobile applications are increasingly choosing React Native.

Native Feel

React Native provides a native app experience, mobile device performance optimization, and access to platform-specific components. It uses native UI building components to achieve a native-like feel and performance.

Native code can be integrated by React native mobile application development businesses to attain effective performance. Because of this, React Native may be used for various applications, from straightforward to more intricate. To create smarter apps, developers use machine learning in React native app development.

Look and Feel Specific to a Platform

The days of creating cross-platform mobile apps with WebView components are long gone. The architectural blocks that React native app developers employ have made this possible. These building elements comprise reusable native components, which typically compile native apps. Furthermore, React Native is connected to the components used to develop iOS and Android apps. It enables the platform to achieve its particular look and feel.

Conclusion

There are distinct advantages and disadvantages to ReactJS and React Native. While React Native is best suited for developing mobile apps, ReactJS is best for creating websites.

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FAQs

1. Can I use ReactJS and React Native together?

Yes, it is possible to share code between React and React Native, whether you choose to use Redux or not. By utilizing the features of each framework, you can efficiently manage and apply shared logic, guaranteeing a smoother development process.

2. Is React Native suitable for building large-scale apps?

Yes, React Native is ideal for large-scale projects. This can save time and money for React Native developers because they can utilize the same code base to create multiple apps for both platforms.

3. How much harder is it to learn ReactJS than React Native?

While React Native is simpler to understand with a basic understanding of React and JavaScript, React has quite a steep learning curve because it requires knowledge of libraries.

4. Is React Native frontend or backend?

React Native is primarily a framework for front-end programming.

5. Should I learn node js or React Native?

ReactJS and NodeJS are important for web developers. ReactJS offers quick rendering, virtual DOM, and the development of dynamic and interactive user interfaces and reusable components. Node JS simplifies creating web back-ends and scalable servers with a single programming language. 

6. Is coding in React and React Native the same?

Coding in React and React Native are quite different, but the syntax and code patterns are similar.