10 Nagging React Native Questions Answered

Updated Feb 27, 2024 • 8 min read

React Native still evokes many questions. Quora is a good place to find some answers concerning this topic. So taking into consideration our love for RN and our desire to help others, we decided to answer 10 most nagging questions. Here you can find small pieces of RN knowledge summarized in this handy post.

1. So how does React Native really work?

React Native, as a JavaScript code library, lets developers build native mobile apps using only JavaScript. This framework enables you to build an application for multiple platforms. Its main advantage is that you can reuse some parts of code when building a mobile app (iOS and Android). It helps you save some money and time. Another advantage is that you can have one developer instead of two maintain about your app. Read more

2. Which are the best sites to learn React Native?

If you’re not yet familiar with React.js, it’s good to start with Kent C. Dodds The Beginner’s guide to React on egghead.io or similar courses up on Codecademy, which is a great source to start learning. Once you become familiar with the fundamentals, react-native training is a good source for RN-specific knowledge. Apart from that, on Netguru’s blog we have some articles which may help you develop your knowledge about React Native. Read more

3. But why some developers do feel that Flutter is better than React Native?

Above all, Flutter is something new on the market. It is highly promoted by Google, so it has very good support. We can also imagine that this modern solution will become more and more popular. In general Flutter, as a reactive framework, has excellent performance and is easy to learn, lets you build applications which look like native ones, uses hot reloading, has a lot of shared code, and supports material design. Read more

4. What is the importance of the React Native?

One of the most important things about React Native is that you can reuse the code that you built for different operating systems (iOS, Android). It means working in one framework for multiple platforms. It’s a fast growing framework, too - last year we predicted that soon it will be possible to use React Native without touching native code, and today it’s more true than ever. Read more

5. Should we consider stoping using React Native in mid-2018?

Absolutely not. Regarding the latest tendencies, we can only expect React Native to grow. This is mainly because of its relationship with Facebook, which provides React Native with regular updates and strong support. It is also very possible that soon we are going to be able to use RN on yet another platform and reuse the code on it, as happened before with Android. Read more

6. What can a React Native developer opt to achieve career-wise?

React Native is really unique in that it links different worlds and technologies together. This means that learning and becoming proficient in React Native development opens you to career opportunities both in native mobile app development and web development in React.js. If you want to be a successful React Native developer, keep up to date with the latest information, such as all the newest functions of the framework, which will widen your horizons and knowledge about React Native. Read more

7.What are the advantages and disadvantages of building a mobile app in ReactJS/PhoneGap rather than using React Native?

The first thing worth mentioning is that PhoneGap was a very good solution a few years ago. Nowadays, with how technology has changed, it is no longer suitable for the users’ needs. PhoneGap apps are hybrid websites embedded in mobile apps through a “WebView”. You could accomplish a similar thing using ReactJS, even in combination with PhoneGap, but in both cases access to native and device-specific functionalities is severely limited. Read more

8. How popular is the Expo SDK (React Native)? Is it worth learning it? If yes, why?

Expo is a great starting point. You can easily configure and launch a basic app and learn more about React Native. Building apps without Expo gives you more flexibility in development, reduces dependencies, and allows you to integrate with mobile devices in a better way. In terms of popularity, Expo is definitely a popular solution for beginners. However, if you want to become a serious RN developer, you should build RN apps without Expo (at least for now). Read more

9. What is the main difference between React, ReactDOM and React Native?

Both React Native and ReactDOM are custom renderers (ReactDOM for web, React Native for iOS and Android). React is a layer on top of these renderers that allows you to write declarative, composable components. React Native uses React to transform your Javascript and JSX to make them work on both iOS and Android. It is fast to build, has regular updates, a huge community, and great support (thanks to its relationship with Facebook). Read more

10. In what situations should you use React Native instead of Android or iOS? In what cases should you not?

We appreciated React Native especially during projects which were quite simple so far. We had to fetch some data and show it on the screen. And even though the design is different on both platforms, it is not a problem for React Native. In some cases you can see that some functionalities are not available in React Native, but then you just use a special tool: Native Modules. Read more

Do you have another question? Leave a comment or ping us at growth@netguru.com