What is React Native?

What is React Native?

React Native – one framework to rule them all

React Native has been successfully adopted by hundreds of businesses worldwide, including Uber, Microsoft, and Facebook, and is used across a whole range of industries.

However, before you decide to go all-in with React Native, it’s crucial that you understand how it works, and decide if it’s the best fit for your project.

What are its top advantages and biggest drawbacks? How is it different from other cross-development platforms?nAnd last but not least – what do your developers need to be aware of before they embark on the React Native journey?

In the following article, we’ll answer these and other questions – all so you can make an educated choice and see if React Native is ideal for your business.

What is React Native?

React Native (also known as RN) is a popular JavaScript-based mobile app framework that allows you to build natively-rendered mobile apps for iOS and Android. The framework lets you create an application for various platforms by using the same codebase.

React Native was first released by Facebook as an open-source project in 2015. In just a couple of years, it became one of the top solutions used for mobile development. React Native development is used to power some of the world’s leading mobile apps, including Instagram, Facebook, and Skype. We discuss these and other examples of React Native-powered apps further in this post.

There are several reasons behind React Native’s global success.

Firstly, by using React Native, companies can create code just once and use it to power both their iOS and Android apps. This translates to huge time and resource savings.

Secondly, React Native was built based on React – a JavaScript library, which was already hugely popular when the mobile framework was released. We discuss the differences between React and React Native in detail further in this section.

Thirdly, the framework empowered frontend developers, who could previously only work with web-based technologies, to create robust, production-ready apps for mobile platforms.

Interestingly, as with many revolutionary inventions, React Native was developed as a response to…a big technological mistake.

The history of React Native

When Facebook first decided to make its service available on mobile devices, instead of building out a native app like many top tech players at the time, they decided to run with a mobile webpage based on HTML5. However, the solution didn’t stand the test of time, leaving much room for UI and performance improvements. In fact, in 2012, Mark Zuckerberg admitted that “the biggest mistake we made as a company was betting too much on HTML as opposed to native.”

Soon after, in 2013, Facebook developer Jordan Walke made a groundbreaking discovery – he found a method of generating UI elements for iOS apps by using JavaScript. This sparked a fire, and a special Hackathon was organized to further discover how much mobile development could be done using (so far, traditionally web-based) JavaScript solutions.

That’s how React Native came to life. Initially developed just for iOS, Facebook quickly followed it up with Android support, before taking the framework public in 2015.

Just three years later, React Native was already the second biggest project on GitHub, as measured by the number of contributors. In 2019, it stood strong and came sixth, with over 9,100 contributors.

React vs. React Native

In the most simple terms, React Native isn’t a ‘newer’ version of React, although React Native does use it.

React (also known as ReactJS) is a JavaScript library used for building the frontend of a website. Similarly to React Native, it was also developed by the Facebook engineering team.

Meanwhile, React Native – which is powered by React – lets developers use a set of UI components to quickly compile and launch iOS and Android apps.

Both React and React Native use a mixture of JavaScript and a special markup language, JSX. However, the syntax used to render elements in JSX components differs between React and React Native. Additionally, React uses some HTML and CSS, whereas React Native allows the use of native mobile user interface elements.

Here’s an example of code from a Stack Overflow discussion:

“React JSX renders HTML-like components like <h1>, <p>, etc. [Meanwhile] react-native renders native app view components like <View> ,<Text>, <Image>, <ScrollView>, so you can’t directly reuse your UI component code unless you rework/replace all the elements.”

Hence, while the two frameworks are related to one another, they’re used for different purposes. Knowledge of React won’t be enough for iOS and Android mobile app development.

Before we proceed to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of React Native, let’s first take a look at what cross-platform development is all about.

What is cross-platform development?

Cross-platform development is the practice of building software that is compatible with more than one type of hardware platform. A cross-platform application can run on Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS, or just two of them. A good example of a cross-platform application is a web browser or Adobe Flash that performs the same, irrespective of the computer or mobile device you run it on.

Cross-platform is considered the holy grail of software development – you can build your codebase once and then run it on any platform, as opposed to software built natively for a specific platform. Developers are able to use the tools they’re proficient in, like JavaScript or C#, to build platforms they’re foreign to. Software owners are also keen on it as product development, in terms of time to market and costs, is cut in half. What are some of the characteristics of cross-platform development?

Wider audience

You don’t have to decide which audience to target, i.e., iOS or Android users, as cross-platform software runs on both, which gives you access to a wider user base.

Platform consistency

There are some navigation and design differences between iOS and Android, which – in cross-platform development – are dealt with by default, thanks to the shared codebase. This helps with creating a consistent app brand identity on both platforms with less effort than if built on native.

Reusable code

This is one of the greatest advantages of cross-platform development – you can build just one codebase for both Android and iOS at the same time. Native app development requires writing code separately and frequently needs two different software developers to perform the job – one for iOS and one for Android.

Quicker development

Since only one codebase is required to handle iOS and Android, and everything is in one place, product development is much quicker. Cross-platform applications are built as single projects, even though they support different devices, and a large amount of code can be reused between platforms.

Reduced costs

Building cross-platform applications can be 30% cheaper than building native apps, all thanks to the ability to reuse code and faster development, which directly impacts the cost.

What you’ve read so far might lead you to think that cross-platform development is flawless – it’s not, it has some disadvantages. Let us get into them right now.

Requires more expertise to ensure high performance

It is a common myth that cross-platform apps perform worse than their native counterparts. For instance, both Flutter and React Native aim to run at 60 frames per second. In most cases, cross-platform applications can perform to the same standard as native apps provided that the developers have enough skill and expertise.

Harder code design

Since cross-platform apps must be responsive to various devices and platforms, it makes coding more complex. This results in more work for developers who have to include exceptions for different devices and platforms to account for the differences – especially when it comes to more complex features.

Long feature release time

With every new feature release for Android or iOS, it takes a while to update both apps to support the new feature. Native apps are provided with the updates quicker.

While we’re on cross-platform development, it’s worth having a quick look at some of the cross-platform frameworks.

  • React Native – developed and presented to the world by Facebook in 2015, it works just like React, but allows you to build apps for both mobile and desktop. The beauty of it is that you can code in JavaScript without having to master any specific coding languages a platform might require like Java, Swift, or Objective-C. React Native is focused on building a great user experience for mobile devices, which makes it a suitable option for apps that require high responsiveness and intuitive use.
  • Flutter – released in 2017 by Google, it can be used beyond cross-platform mobile development. Flutter is perfect for experimenting with new features and fixing small bugs thanks to its fast refresh feature. It lets developers instantly verify the changes made by the most current updates without the need to restart the app after editing the source code.
  • Xamarin– developed by Microsoft, this free and open-source solution allows 75-90% of the code to be shared between different systems. It’s written in C#, which requires developers to know the language – although it’s more stable, it’s also harder to pick up than JavaScript. Interestingly, Microsoft has made a turn towards RN in recent years. As of 2019, there were 38 Microsoft-developed iOS and Android apps that leveraged React Native.

If you’re interested in learning more about cross-platform frameworks, then have a look at this article.

How does React Native work?

Now that we’ve discussed cross-platform development, let’s take a look at the mechanics of React Native, and how it’s different from anything we’ve seen before.

Don’t worry if you’re not a technical person – we’re going to explain this in layman’s terms.

As mentioned earlier, React Native is written with a mixture of JavaScript and JXL, a special markup code resemblant of XML. The framework has the ability to communicate with both realms – JavaScript-based threads and existent, native app threads.

How does this communication work? React Native uses a so-called “bridge”. While JavaScript and Native threads are written in completely different languages, it’s the bridge feature that makes bidirectional communication possible.

This means that – if you already have a native iOS or Android app – you can still use its components or shift to React Native development.

What makes React Native unique?

The difference between React Native and other cross-platform development solutions (for example, Cordova and PhoneGap) is that React Native doesn’t render WebViews in its code. It runs on actual, native views and components. This is one of the reasons for React Native’s spectacular success.

Examples of apps built with React Native

Now that you know what React Native is and how it works, it’s time to have a look at the products built with it. Here is our selection of popular React Native apps.

Facebook

Facebook is one of the most popular React Native apps, and it’s no surprise we’re mentioning it first, as it gave birth to this programming language and is the main force behind its development.

Facebook aimed to bring all the web development benefits to mobile, like quick iterations and having a single product development team, and this is how React Native came to life. The company used it to develop its own Ads Manager app in iOS and Android – both versions were created by the same dev team.

Skype 

Skype is another good example of a React Native mobile app. In 2017, Skype announced that it was building a completely new app based on React Native. This brought a lot of excitement from its users, as the older version suffered from a few issues.

The new app was completely redesigned, from the icons to the new messaging interface, which now has three conversation sections: find, chat, and capture. Microsoft, which owns Skype, decided to use React Native not only in the mobile app but also in the desktop version of the platform.

Instagram 

Instagram decided to integrate React Native into its existing native app, starting with the Push notification view that originated as the WebView. Luckily, it wasn’t necessary to build the navigation infrastructure, as the UI was simple enough to cope without one. Using React Native allowed product teams to improve developer velocity by 85-99%.

Walmart

Another interesting React Native example? Walmart’s iOS and Android apps. The American grocer has been known for making bold technological decisions – and one of them was rewriting its mobile apps entirely into React Native.

Previously, some parts of the Walmart app featured embedded web views, which – as Walmart Labs pointed out – fell below “the standard that both we and our customers demand.”

After shifting to React Native, the performance of both iOS and Android apps improved immensely – to a nearly native level. Ninety-five percent of the codebase is shared for Android and iOS; furthermore, there’s a single team that manages and develops both apps.

Here are some other benefits that Walmart noticed after introducing React Native:

  • A short time to market.
  • Both platforms can be updated on the same day.
  • As React Native is written in JavaScript, it’s easy to onboard other teams.
  • The UI of iOS and Android apps is platform-specific, giving the apps a native feel and a smooth UX.

It’s best to sum up Walmart’s opinion of React Native in their own words:

“From startups to Fortune 500 companies, if you’re considering taking on a new mobile project, consider using React Native — we know you won’t regret it.”

SoundCloud Pulse

SoundCloud decided to turn to React Native for the development of SoundCloud Pulse, an app for music creators.

While they initially intended to develop two separate native apps (and start off with iOS), they found it hard to recruit a team of iOS engineers. They were also worried that developing two separate apps would mean they wouldn’t be able to synchronize releases for iOS and Android.

They thus decided to take React Native for a test drive and developed a prototype of the service using the cross-platform mobile app framework. SoundCloud engineers were amazed by the tempo – prototype screens were already coded by the end of the first week. They also found it easy to bridge their existing native libraries to React Native. This positive experience convinced SoundCloud to use the framework for its upcoming app.

Eventually, JavaScript developers worked with SoundCloud’s current iOS developers to ensure proper knowledge sharing.

SoundCloud lauds React Native for its speed, better access to developers (which was challenging when they considered native mobile development), cost savings, and a thriving open-source community.

They admit that they hit the jackpot with React Native and will be using it for future projects.

Shine

Shine is another great example of a React Native app. It helps its users deal with daily stress through meditation, inspiring articles, and more.

When Shine’s creators first decided to turn their idea into an app and bring it to the US market, they bet on iOS (which, at the time, constituted roughly half of the American mobile device market). They planned, however, to bring Shine to Android users if their iOS app gained popularity. That’s where React Native came into play.

Shine debuted in the App Store in late 2017 and was named one of the best apps of 2018 by Apple. You can read more about how Shine developed its React Native app in Netguru’s interview with Shine’s CTO.

UberEats 

UberEats is another application that is based on React Native development. It differs from the Uber app in that it includes three parties instead of just two – restaurants, delivery partners, and diners.

This required building a special dashboard that would also account for restaurants. The original dashboard built specifically for the web restricted the ability to communicate important information to restaurants. It also lacked access to the native device functionalities like sound notifications, which negatively impacted the user experience.

The team already had a lot of experience programming in React, but not enough exposure to Android and iOS, so selecting React Native was a natural choice. UberEats uses a large tech stack, and React Native constitutes only a small part of it. However, the developers are pleased with what it can offer, and they’re certain it has the capacity to meet their needs as the marketplace grows.

“While React Native still only constitutes a small portion of the UberEATS engineering ecosystem, our experience using it to rebuild Restaurant Dashboard has been very positive. Since its implementation last year, the revamped Restaurant Dashboard has become a standard tool for nearly every restaurant on UberEATS.” – Chris Lewis, a software engineer on the Uber Eats Prediction team.

Pinterest

Pinterest engineers admit that they’ve kept an eye on React Native and been interested in discovering its possibilities ever since the framework’s debut in 2015.

At the time, they already offered users a web app powered by Gestalt, Pinterest’s open-source set of React UI components. Since both Gestalt and React Native was based on React, Pinterest engineers expected that development wouldn’t be a complex and arduous process. While they never intended to replace their Gestalt app entirely with React Native, they wanted to check if it could be integrated smoothly into their current tech stack.

In order to test out React Native’s possibilities, they decided to build a prototype of a critical onboarding feature – the Topic Picker.

The implementation of the prototype in iOS took ten days, and for Android – an additional two days. The engineers estimated that they were able to save over a week of standard implementation time. Apart from velocity, they were also satisfied with iOS and Android performance.

As a result, Pinterest decided to include React Native permanently into its tech stack as an additional mobile development framework. Since its introduction, it has been used to power not only the Topic Picker but also Pinterest’s Business Signup sequence.

Benefits of React Native

We’ve discussed the products built using React Native, so let’s move on to the advantages of React Native development and why you should choose it as a solution to build your mobile app.

Code reusability – cross-platform development 

Being able to reuse code is the biggest advantage of React Native, and it indicates that apps can run effectively on multiple platforms – which is something that CEOs and Product Owners truly appreciate. They can integrate 90% of the native framework for reusing the code for both operational systems.

Engineers at Discord say, “we tried React Native the day it was released for Android. We were surprised by how easily and quickly we were able to make our comprehensive iOS app run on Android — took only two days and it is built!”

Another great piece of news is that it’s possible to use the web application code for mobile app development if they’re both using React Native. It also speeds up development time as it includes pre-developed components, which are included in the open-source library.

Large developer community 

React Native is an open-source JavaScript platform that allows developers to contribute their knowledge to the framework’s development, which is freely accessible to all.

If any developer experiences a problem while developing an app, then they can turn to the community for support (as of mid-2020, there are nearly 50,000 active contributors to the React Native tag in Stack Overflow).

There will always be someone who’ll be able to help them resolve their issues – this also has a positive impact on improving coding skills.

Cost efficiency 

Another advantage of React Native development is greater cost efficiency. As mentioned earlier, this is because developers are able to use the same code to build applications for iOS and Android.

It means you don’t have to hire two separate iOS and Android dev teams to finalize your project; a small team is enough to build it. The cost of developing apps in React Native is much lower than apps built using languages that don’t allow for cross-platform development.

Fast refresh

Fast refresh allows developers to run the app while updating it to new versions and modifying the UI. Changes are visible immediately, and the developer is spared from rebuilding the entire app.

This leads to two significant benefits: time savings – as programmers save time on compilation and increased productivity – since they don’t lose any state while incorporating changes into the app.

Simple UI

React Native development uses React JavaScript to build the app’s interface, which makes it more responsive and faster with reduced load time, resulting in an overall better user experience. Thanks to the reactive UI and component-based approach, the framework is perfect for building apps with both simple and complex designs.

Fast applications 

Some claim that React Native code might have a detrimental effect on an app’s performance. Even though JavaScript won’t run as fast as native code, this difference is unnoticeable to the human eye. To further prove it, we decided to run a test comparing two versions of a simple application written in React Native and Swift – both achieved similar performance results.

Future-proof 

Considering the pace at which the framework took over the market and its simple approach to resolving development problems, the future of React Native for cross-platform apps looks bright. Even though it has a few disadvantages, which we’ll discuss in the next section, its speed and convenience of development compensate for them.

With all this in mind, let’s now take a look at why React Native potentially might not be a great fit for you.

React Native: Risks and Drawbacks

Here are the top four potential drawbacks you need to be aware of before you decide on developing a React Native app.

Lack of some custom modules

While React Native has been around for several years now, some custom modules either leave room for improvement or are entirely missing. This means that you might need to run three separate codebases (for React Native, iOS, and Android) instead of just one.
That being said, it’s not a common occurrence. Unless you’re developing your app from scratch or trying to hack an existing one, you likely won’t come across these issues.

Compatibility & debugging issues

While it may come as a surprise – after all, React Native is used by top tech players – it’s still in the beta phase. Your developers might come across various issues with package compatibility or debugging tools. If your developers aren’t proficient in React Native, this might negatively impact your development as they spend time on lengthy troubleshooting.

Scalability

Most of the time, React Native will work very well for you even if your app eventually grows into a highly-sophisticated, complex solution. After all, companies like Facebook and Skype have found much success with the framework and have been using it consistently for many years. That being said, some companies have decided to back out from using React Native.

Airbnb, for instance, decided to use the framework for its mobile app back when the company was just an emerging startup. Over time, however, React Native proved to be unfit for the company’s growth plans, and Airbnb resorted to developing two native apps. With the current advancements in RN, and with the right software architecture choices, scalability issues can easily be prevented.

Native developers’ help needed

Remember the “bridging” feature we mentioned earlier in this post? As it showed, React Native bridges JavaScript with native mobile code. This means that if you put a developer who doesn’t have knowledge of native mobile development in charge, they will have a hard time incorporating native code into the RN codebase. As a result, you’ll need some assistance from Android or iOS developers to guide them through the process. If you’re a small company, you might not want to hire native mobile developers, as this generates additional costs.

One way of tackling this is by engaging a software consultancy to give you a helping hand with the native iOS and Android elements.

Alternatives for React Native

Now that you have a good understanding of what React Native is, it’s worth taking a look at some of its alternatives.

Flutter

We already mentioned Flutter earlier in this article, where we compared it to React Native.

Iconic

Iconic is a complete open-source SDK designed for hybrid mobile development, introduced in 2013 by Drifty. It uses technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, as well as platforms like PhoneGap and Cordova, to create a native-like experience.

Iconic is built on top of Angular, and therefore if you’re familiar with it, it’ll be easy for you to pick up Iconic. It’s packed with numerous built-in components, which speed up development, making it smoother and easier. Additionally, it’s a good option for fast prototyping as it offers a hybrid approach to product development.

In terms of performance, it’s slower than React Native as it uses WebView, but the good news is, that you can test the code on any browser.

Apache Cordova 

Apache Cordova is a mobile application development framework originally introduced by Nitobi. It allows developers to build mobile apps using CSS3, HTML5, and JavaScript and not rely on the platform-specific APIs included in Android, iOS, or Windows Phone. Just like Iconic, Apache Cordova also uses WebView, which creates some limitations.

For example, iOS apps that run inside the default WebView engine run more slowly than the same app in the Safari mobile browser. What’s more, as JavaScript is single-threaded, having too many things going on in the application code might lead to problems, like slow animations and reduced app responsiveness.

According to Johannes Stein, freelance software engineer – “By using Cordova, you can quickly turn your existing single page application into a mobile application for different platforms, at the cost of interactions not necessarily having the native feeling to their specific platform.”

PhoneGap

PhoneGap is a distribution of Apache Cordova, meaning that it’s powered by Cordova but has some extra tools you can use, which are provided by Adobe.

“It promises you an <easy life> as a mobile app developer, enabling you to use any JavaScript library and framework that you’re comfortable working with.” – Engineers at Optasy.

PhoneGap is easy to work with, which makes it developer-friendly. They have a lot of frameworks and libraries at their disposal. It’s based on the “write once, run on every platform” motto, so you can take advantage of cross-platform development.

Just select your favorite web technology and your app will run on all available platforms, without the need to build separate versions for each one.

Unfortunately, apps built with PhoneGap might suffer from poorer user experience, as web technology was created for, well, the web, not mobile apps. This makes handling animations problematic. Also, you’re risking experiencing the same issues that web apps experience, which include browser-specific bugs.

If you’re interested in learning more about React Native alternatives, here’s an interesting comparative video by Academind:

PhoneGap is a distribution of Apache Cordova, meaning that it’s powered by Cordova but has some extra tools you can use, which are provided by Adobe. “It promises you an “easy life” as a mobile app developer, enabling you to use any JavaScript library and framework that you’re comfortable working with.” – Engineers at Optasy.

PhoneGap is easy to work with, which makes it developer-friendly. They have a lot of frameworks and libraries at their disposal. It’s based on the “write once, run on every platform” motto, so you can take advantage of cross-platform development. Just select your favorite web technology and your app will run on all available platforms, without the need to build separate versions for each one.

Unfortunately, apps built with PhoneGap might suffer from poorer user experience, as web technology was created for, well, the web, not mobile apps. This makes handling animations problematic. Also, you’re risking experiencing the same issues that web apps experience, which include browser-specific bugs.

If you’re interested in learning more about React Native alternatives, here’s an interesting comparative video by Academind:

React Native – Differences in Development for Android and iOS

Coming back to React Native, I’m sure you’re also wondering – how does React Native development differ for Android and iOS? After all, from a user point of view, both environments have their share of differences (with UI being the most apparent).

Here are the four key areas where things work a little difference between the platforms.

Operating system

When you work on your React Native app, we recommend that you use a macOS device as opposed to Windows. Why?

Because the latter doesn’t let you test your iOS app efficiently. You can run your tests solely for your Android app, and there’s just one official testing tool – Android Studio. At the time of writing this post, there are no official iOS testing tools available for Windows.

The reason for this is that Windows cannot run XCode, a development environment created by Apple for iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS.

So, while you can certainly build your React Native app on both operating systems, only macOS gives you a way to check if both of your Android and iOS React Native apps are working properly.

Native elements

As Android and iOS apps look and function differently, they also have different components. This means that – when you’re using your React Native library – you might see a different end result for iOS and Android, even though you’re using the same component. This leads us to…

Specific styles

iOS and Android have different styles for React Native elements. A great example is shadowing. Take a look at the screen below – notice that the green element on the Android device (right) doesn’t have the shadow seen on the iOS screenshot (left):

This doesn’t mean that two styles were applied in React Native – quite the contrary. The shadow is styled once with JavaScript, and the elements are automatically displayed in a platform-specific manner.

However, what if you specifically wanted to apply the shadow to Android? You’d have to work around these default settings. Shadowing is just one example where you’d need to rely on manual configuration. Other UI elements that differ between iOS and Android include certain fonts, status bar, and GIF images (which aren’t automatically supported on Android).

Despite the differences we’ve just singled out between iOS and Android development, our recommendation for running with React Native still stands strong. While you might need to manually configure certain aspects of the UI or link between libraries, you’ll be saving tons of time otherwise spent on developing two separate solutions.

React Native vs. Flutter

React Native and Flutter – are two cross-platform frameworks developed by well-known tech giants; Facebook and Google. Both are on the list of the most loved frameworks, with Flutter being more favored by developers than React Native.

You might think that since Flutter is the preferred option for programmers, it might also be the best option for building your app. Before jumping to any conclusions, let’s see how these two frameworks compare.

Development

Flutter is easy to get started with – all you need to do is download the Flutter package, unzip it, and create an environment variable that points to a folder inside your unzipped folder. It operates based on widgets, which come in abundance, but unfortunately, aren’t adaptive. This means that you’ll have to create platform-specific widgets manually.

React Native uses components that can be found in its various libraries. Even though their number isn’t as large as in Flutter’s case, they’re adaptive, meaning they’ll recognize the platform they run on – iOS or Android – and render the compositions appropriate for that platform.

Ecosystem

React Native is ahead of Flutter when it comes to the ecosystem. It’s been around for longer and is supported by hundreds of packages. It actually has five times more packages than Flutter, which has over 1,450 packages at its disposal.

Performance

In terms of performance, Flutter will always be slightly better than React Native due to architectural differences. The latter solution uses an asynchronous bridge, which can, at times, cause performance issues.

Flutter, on the other hand, makes it easy for developers to reuse the existing code. The C++ engine which Flutter runs on performs well and might give Flutter a slight advantage over React Native, which uses UI components compiled to their native equivalents. Additionally, it has the JavaScript layer, which makes it a bit slower than Flutter.

User interface

When it comes to the user interface, React Native is the winner. It’s more dynamic, which enhances the user experience. Flutter works well with proprietary widget sets, which are great for getting a customized UI design. React Native is based on UI native components, but RN developers can also choose from several ready-to-use, polished UI kits. These include react-native-paper and native-base.

Stability

In order to evaluate the frameworks’ stability, we need to take a look at a few areas: their maturity, how big the developer community is, and which companies use them.

As already mentioned, React Native was first developed in 2013 as an internal Facebook project, and then released to the public in 2015. Flutter is a slightly younger framework – it first saw light as an experimental Google project (then known as ‘Sky’) in 2015. However, it wasn’t released until late-2018.

Both frameworks have thriving communities. As of mid-2020, React Native and Flutter’s main threads on Stack Overflow were followed by 48,600 and 24,700 watchers, respectively. The numbers look good on GitHub, too, with 2,100 contributors for React Native, and 600 for Flutter. The number of unresolved issues on GitHub also speaks in favor of React Native – with only around 700 for RN, as compared to 7,000 for Flutter.

However, while the numbers speak in favor of React Native as far as the volume is concerned, as mentioned at the beginning of this section, Flutter is the more loved option. “More loved” indicates the percentage of developers who are currently using the framework and have expressed interest in using it in the future.

This leads to the conclusion that we can expect a high level of engagement in maintaining and developing the framework by the Flutter community.

Customer Base

As you saw earlier in this article, React Native has tens of top tech players in its team – from Facebook, Instagram, and Walmart to SoundCloud and Skype. However, let’s not forget by whom Flutter was developed! As a Google-bred framework, it powers not just many Google services (like Google Ads), but also the Asian tech giant, Alibaba.

Architecture

React Native’s architecture can be built around two patterns – Flux (created by Facebook) and Redux (developed by the React Native community). Flux is based on unidirectional data flow, which means that each piece receives data from one place and outputs changes to another. Redux adopts Flux architecture, so it is based on the same app-building method. Both of these approaches come down to keeping your application data in one place, referred to as a ‘store’.
Flutter is based on an object-oriented language called Dart (also developed by Google). Dart can compile both JavaScript and native code. Its architecture is based on reactive programming (the same paradigm that Facebook’s web library React – which powers React Native – is built-in).

There are a couple of approaches to Flutter’s architecture – one is the BLoC pattern (short for Business Logic Component), introduced by Google in 2018.

Documentation

In this category, Flutter is the definite winner. The framework comes with a toolkit that supports developers throughout the app development process. Also, Flutter’s documentation is considered to be both comprehensive and neatly organized. If your developers were to experience any difficulties using documentation, the Flutter community would surely give them a helping hand.

To make it clear, React Native also features extensive documentation and an active community. There are also plenty of tutorials for new users. However, the setup isn’t as easy as in the case of Flutter. If it’s your developers’ first take on cross-platform development, setting up Flutter might be easier for them.

React Native – your go-to framework for cross-platform development

React Native is a great solution for creating apps that will work smoothly irrespective of the platform or system they run on. It’s a framework loved by businesses and developers alike. It allows you to save a lot of work hours, resulting in a faster development process, and it is also cost-efficient. It gives you access to a larger audience at once – as one app can be used by both Android and iOS users, the launch can be synchronized, and companies with a smaller budget for development don’t have to choose a single platform only.

Many fantastic products were built using React Native, including Skype, Facebook, Pinterest, and UberEats, which further proves it’s a framework worth considering for app development. While a native iOS and Android solution is still the best option for projects requiring a seamless UI experience and top-notch performance, React Native is a great option if your budget is limited and where a satisfactory user experience is sufficient.

React Native is a great option if your project doesn’t require a complicated interface, access to native functions (e.g., media players), and when you want to develop for one platform only. Last but not least, React Native is a good choice if your budget is limited.

 

What is the MEAN Stack?

What is the MEAN Stack?

What is the MEAN Stack?

Developers have always valued the ability to build their applications on integrated stacks of foundational technology. By using a set of standardized building blocks, they can spend more time working on applications that differentiate the business, rather than gluing lots of separate components together.

 What is the MEAN Stack?

The MEAN stack is a JavaScript-based framework for developing web applications. MEAN is named after MongoDB, Express, Angular, and Node, the four key technologies that make up the layers of the stack.

  • MongoDB – document database
  • Express(.js) – Node.js web framework
  • Angular(.js) – a client-side JavaScript framework
  • Node(.js) – the premier JavaScript web server

There are variations to the MEAN stack such as MERN (replacing Angular.js with React.js) and MEVN (using Vue.js). The MEAN stack is one of the most popular technology concepts for building web applications.

How Does the MEAN Stack Work?

MEAN Stack Architecture

The MEAN architecture is designed to make building web applications in JavaScript and handling JSON incredibly easy.

MEAN Stack Components

Angular.js Front End

At the very top of the MEAN stack is Angular.js, the self-styled “A JavaScript MVW Framework” (MVW stands for “Model View and Whatever”).

Angular.js allows you to extend your HTML tags with metadata in order to create dynamic, interactive web experiences much more powerfully than, say, building them yourself with static HTML and JavaScript (or jQuery).

Angular has all of the bells and whistles you’d expect from a front-end JavaScript framework, including form validation, localization, and communication with your back-end service.

Express.js and Node.js Server Tier

The next level down is Express.js, running on a Node.js server. Express.js calls itself a “fast, unopinionated, minimalist web framework for Node.js,” and that is indeed exactly what it is.

Express.js has powerful models for URL routing (matching an incoming URL with a server function), and handling HTTP requests and responses. By making XML HTTP requests (XHRs),r GETs, or POSTs from your Angular.js front end, you can connect to Express.js functions that power your application.

Those functions in turn use MongoDB’s Node.js drivers, either via callbacks or using Promises, to access and update data in your MongoDB database.

MongoDB Database Tier

If your application stores any data (user profiles, content, comments, uploads, events, etc.), then you’re going to want a database that’s just as easy to work with as Angular, Express, and Node.

That’s where MongoDB comes in: JSON documents created in your Angular.js front end can be sent to the Express.js server, where they can be processed and (assuming they’re valid) stored directly in MongoDB for later retrieval.

Again, if you want to easily get the best of MongoDB, you’ll want to look at MongoDB Atlas. This will allow you built-in full database security and cross-cloud scalability with the click of a button. More on that later on this page.

Advantages of the MEAN Stack

MEAN applications can be used in many ways with a cross-platform write once approach. While MEAN is particularly suited to real-time applications, particularly those running natively in the cloud and single-page (dynamic) web applications built in Angular.js, it can be used for other use cases such as:

  • Workflow management tools.
  • News aggregation sites.
  • Todo and calendar applications.
  • Interactive forums.

And much more.

Since all the components are based on JavaScript and JSON, the integration between the components of the stack is intuitive and straightforward.

Additionally, the E and A of MEAN (Express and Angular) are two of the most popular and well-supported JavaScript frameworks for back-end and front-end development, respectively. Express makes routing and managing HTTP requests and responses super easy, and includes great support for middleware to handle JSON endpoints and form posts. An angular is a powerful tool for building dynamic HTML pages that communicate with a back-end server.

Whether you’re building a high-throughput API, a simple web application, or a microservice, MEAN is the ideal stack for building Node.js applications.

All of the MEAN stack components are open source in nature and therefore allow a generous, free-of-charge opportunity for developers.

Disadvantages of the MEAN Stack

JavaScript is a great modern language, but it wasn’t initially designed to build back-end servers. Since the foundation of the MEAN stack is JavaScript, including the back-end server, it might come with concurrency and performance problems at scale due to its JavaScript nature.

Additionally, since the development opportunity is so rapid, business and server logic might suffer from poor isolation, making potential spaghetti code and bad practices a reality along the way.

Finally, although there are many guides and tutorials out there, they generally will not include concrete JS coding guidelines appropriate for this stack. Therefore, something that worked really well for one application might surface issues for another.

When Can the MEAN Stack be Used?

MEAN follows the traditional three-tier stack pattern, including the display tier (Angular.js), application tier (Express.js and Node.js), and database tier (MongoDB).

If you’re building a JavaScript application, particularly in Node.js, then you should give MEAN a serious look.

MongoDB stores data in a JSON-like format (BSON, a binary JSON extension), the MongoDB Query Language (MQL) is defined in JSON, and its command-line interface (CLI) is a JavaScript interpreter. Not only is MongoDB essentially a JavaScript/JSON data store, but it’s full of advanced features like indexing and querying deep into JSON documents, has powerful native Node.js drivers, and is designed for horizontal scale-out. It’s even easier to develop apps in the cloud using MongoDB Atlas, the cloud-native Database-as-a-Service from the creators of MongoDB.

Whether you’re building a high-throughput API, a simple web application, or a microservice, MEAN is the ideal stack for building Node.js applications.

Using MEAN Stack with MongoDB Atlas

The MongoDB Node.js driver makes working with MongoDB from inside a Node.js script simple and intuitive for developers—saving developers time and increasing their productivity.

Next, you’ll need a MongoDB database. The easiest way to get started with MongoDB is to create a free cluster in MongoDB Atlas, MongoDB’s fully-managed, multi-cloud document Database-as-a-Service.

Atlas databases are easily deployed and scaled, providing you with a consistent URI to connect. See the official MongoDB documentation on connecting to a cluster.

Along the way, Atlas connections come with built-in username/password and TLS end-to-end encryption by default. Additionally, it allows you to utilize advanced MongoDB security features such as certificate/IAM authentication, LDAP, Encryption-at-rest, and Auditing with the click of a button.

Moreover, an Atlas project can utilize the MongoDB Realm applications platform to easily integrate many authentication providers such as Google, Facebook, JWT, and custom authentication.

Scaling and Managing Atlas is very easy; its biggest benefit is that it supports and secures the MEAN stack’s most valuable layer: the data layer.

How Secure is the MEAN Stack?

We recommend using the MEAN stack with MongoDB Atlas since Atlas has built-in credentials, a firewall, and end-to-end encryption which is the best foundation for securing your MongoDB.

Additionally, the MEAN stack has a concrete three-tier separation which, if used with best practices and correct network isolation, should prevent your end-users from having access to the business logic and moreover to your database layer. Therefore, your application is by default designed to avoid malicious user interaction from putting your application at risk (Query injection, code manipulation, port spoofing, etc.).

 

How to Market Your Ecommerce App?

How to Market Your Ecommerce App?

  1. Generate Awareness before App Launch

Running an exhaustive marketing campaign before releasing the app is a great strategy. It will keep your customers curious and all excited. Take the market by storm with a solid marketing strategy. Announce it on your website, including the news in your newsletter, and post on social media – there are different ways you can make people aware of your app launch. You can even create a video with glimpses of the app’s screens.

Here is a pro tip. Avoid publicizing a specific launch date until the app is completely ready and glitch-free. Things may happen during the development process that is beyond your control. Promising an app launch and failing to meet it will make a negative impression on your brand.

We know it might be difficult to run marketing campaigns when you are busy focusing on your business. Engaging professional digital marketing services will fill this gap and reduce your hassles.

  1. Optimize App Listing

Google Play boasts of having 3.6 million apps while Apple App Store is the second-largest app store with about 2.7 million apps (source: App Radar). In such a competitive landscape, it’s challenging to drive visibility and installations without proper optimization practices in place.

Here is a checklist for app store optimization:

Pay attention to the app name and description. The name should be relevant to your app and easy to read. Including keywords in the app name and description may translate well. For instance, if your brand name is ABC and it is a food delivery app, you may use ABC – Food Delivery App for the app name. Make sure to limit your app name to 30 characters.

Keyword research is crucial for app store optimization. For this, you need to evaluate the main features of the app, synonyms describing its features, app category, commonly used terms for the app, and so on.

The app description should be clearly structured. Using bullet points will be a good idea. Ensure to limit the app descriptions to 4000 characters.

Earning positive reviews is a crucial part. Therefore, pay attention to the users’ feedback and improve your app. Focusing on reputation management will be a good idea.

  1. Promote Your App on Your Website

This is the easiest and one of the most effective ways to promote your app. Create a prominent banner on your site to promote your app. Clicking the banner should take the users to the app download page. This will cut through their hassles of opening the app store, searching with the app name, detecting your app amidst the rest and installing it.

In order to drive more installations, you may allure the visitors with attractive offers. For instance, you may offer 15% discounts if people purchase from mobile apps. Such incentives will encourage people to install your app.

  1. Leverage Paid Ads

Paid ads can greatly boost your marketing efforts. Here, you have to pay the search engine, social media, or third-party website for every click you earn. We will explore Google Display Ads and Facebook Ads below.

With Google Display Ads, you can reach out to people who are likely to be interested in your services or products. To run Google Display Ads, log in to your Google Ads account. Click on Campaigns then select New Campaign. Now, pick Display Network Only as your campaign type.

Also, since Facebook has a wide pool of users, running paid ads on this platform is effective for eCommerce businesses as it enables them to reach out to a huge audience.

With Facebook ads, you can classify and target the audience based on gender, age, country, culture, etc. In order to run Facebook ads, go to Ads Manager, select App Installs as the objective of the campaigns, fill out the criteria for the target audience, select a specific format section, and fill in the details of the ad (text, headline, CTA). That’s all, now you can run it.

  1. Adopt Email Marketing Strategy

Ecommerce businesses can be benefitted from email marketing. Sharing the news of new line of product launches, discount and sales notifications, order confirmations, order status, and product restocking – email marketing can help to convey various information to the customers. And such emails usually have high opening rates.

Your app marketing strategy can be integrated with email marketing. Simply add a line in your email informing the existence of your app and share a link so that people can easily install it. You can even share the benefits of installing the app, e.g., a 10% extra discount on ordering from the mobile app. Again, while sending a confirmation email, you may add this line: “track shipping status directly on the app”.

Usually, emails are sent to the consumers who have earlier purchased from your website. Therefore, they have a high chance to install the app and place the next order from the app.

  1. Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is predicted to grow 72.5% in 2022 (source: Tinuiti). Influencers are non-celebrity individuals who have a large follower base on social media, blogs, and YouTube. They can hugely impact purchasing decisions of the audience. That’s why they play a vital role in today’s marketing strategy.

Reach out to the influencers who operate in your niche and gain your audience’s trust through them. There are various tools available in the market to find out influencers. Discount codes, product giveaways, exclusive collections, and affiliate links are some of the common strategies you can adopt.

While these are some of the most effective marketing strategies for an eCommerce app, we encourage you to explore the dynamic arena of digital marketing and drive success for your business. Let us know which strategy you want to adopt next!

 

What is Laravel and why it is used?

What is Laravel and why it is used?

What is Laravel? Explain it like I’m five.

So you’ve kind of heard about Laravel. You’re maybe considering learning it, but there are just too many things to take into account. Tinker? Artisan? Composer? Why does everything sound like character classes in an RPG game?

This is by far no definitive guide, but if you’ve ever asked yourself “why should I bother with all this stuff”, read on for some of the most asked questions when starting out with Laravel.

What is Laravel and why it is used?

Laravel is an open-source PHP framework designed to make developing web apps easier and faster through built-in features. These features are part of what makes Laravel so widely used by web developers:

  • A modular packaging system with dependency management. This means you can easily add functionalities to your Laravel app without writing them from scratch. You can either create your own packages for code you routinely use or install ready-to-use packages through Composer.
  • A complete authentication system
  • Object-relational mapping. Eloquent ORM included with Laravel presents database tables as classes for easier data access and manipulation.
  • A command-line interface (CLI) that comes with dozens of pre-built commands (Artisan).
  • Automatic testing. Automated tests are provided as an integral part of Laravel.
  • A portable, virtual development environment. Homestead provides developers with all the tools necessary to develop Laravel straight out of the box.

Is Laravel frontend or backend?

The short answer is “backend”. The long one: Laravel is a server-side PHP framework; with it you can build full-stack apps, meaning apps with features typically requiring a backend, such as user accounts, exports, order management, etc.

Source: https://blog.toggl.com/lightbulb-cartoon-developers/

What is MVC in PHP Laravel?

MVC (Model-View-Controller) is an architectural pattern used to break down an app into three fundamental parts: data (Model), an interface to view and modify data (View), and operations that can be performed on the data (Controller).

Think of it as ordering a pizza. You call with a user request for Pepperoni pizza. As soon as your request is registered, the person who makes the pizza (the Controller) deconstructs it into a series of steps: grab the dough, fire up the oven, and sprinkle the grated cheese. The Controller can only use the limited resources it has at his disposal, this limited toolset being the Model: hands, oven, pizza tray, etc. Finally, you receive the pizza, which is a wonderful View.

This way of structuring an app is useful because it keeps things separated into logical areas. This makes your code more organized, less fragile, and easier to debug. Laravel implements MVC architecture as part of its design.

Can I learn Laravel without PHP?

Laravel is PHP at its core, so learning Laravel without having a good grasp of PHP is not very productive. You will not be able to create additional functionalities and you will be completely dependent on the one’s Laravel ships as part of the framework. The bottom line, you need PHP and OOP concepts to understand what’s going on under the hood and to use Laravel to its full potential.

Is Laravel easy to learn? What is the best way to learn Laravel?

Laravel is considered to have a short learning curve, especially if you’re already familiar with PHP. Even when stuck, the community is really helpful and there are a plethora of resources to help you learn Laravel from scratch, from podcasts and videos to written tutorials.

A good way to learn Laravel is to read the documentation, follow some of the gurus online, such as Taylor OtwellJeffrey Way, and Freek Van der Herten, go through the tutorials out there and follow along. Finally, start building your own project and google things as you go.

Is Laravel a CMS?

Unlike CMSs like Drupal or WordPress, Laravel gives you full control over your application. In Laravel everything is done in code, unlike Drupal or Joomla, for example, where you can create functional websites without writing a single line of code or without even knowing what PHP is.

Simply put, a CMS is an app that comes with basic functionalities and is built on top of a framework. Laravel is a framework it’s used to build apps, including CMS platforms.

Now what?

While there’s no shortcut for learning anything, especially programming, there are ways of making it worthwhile. You don’t need to become a Laravel guru overnight. Don’t stress over learning every component by heart before you can start writing code. Experiment, try things out, and learn one new thing every day.

 

What Is the Latest iOS Version?

What Is the Latest iOS Version?

 

iOS is Apple’s mobile operating system that powers the iPhone and iPod Touch. Until 2019, it was also the operating system used by the iPad (which we’ll discuss shortly).

In case you’re not familiar, an operating system (OS) is a type of software that’s key to a computer working because it manages all aspects of a device. It provides a platform so the device’s hardware and software can interact, plus manages the many processes that run on your computer.

On your desktop computer, you probably run the Windows, macOS, or Linux operating system. For mobile devices, Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android are the most popular.

What Does iOS Mean?

The full meaning of iOS takes a bit more explanation. When the iPhone was introduced in 2007, its operating system was originally called “iPhone OS.” Despite the name, the iPod Touch (which launched later in 2007) also ran iPhone OS.

In 2010, Apple introduced the iPad, which ran the same OS. When the fourth version of the mobile OS launched later that year, Apple decided to rebrand the operating system’s name as “iOS,” since it wasn’t just the iPhone that used it anymore.

You might also be curious where the “i” branding comes from. Apple has used this across its product line since the iMac was introduced in 1998.

At the time, Steve Jobs said that “iMac comes from the marriage of the excitement of the internet with the simplicity of Macintosh.” Apple expounded on this with a slide showing that the “i” prefix also stands for the individualinstructinform, and inspire.

What AboutiPadOS?

Since 2010, the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad have all run iOS. However, over time, Apple developed some iPad-specific features that took advantage of the larger screen. These included a dock for apps on the home screen, drag and drop support, and picture-in-picture mode.

Thus, with the release of iOS 13 in 2019, the company changed the name of the tablet operating system to iPadOS. While it’s largely the same as iOS, iPadOS was split off to create a dedicated product for the growing list of tablet-specific features. Apple also started iPadOS at version 13 to match iOS’s version.

Have a look at our introduction to iPadOS to learn how to use it.

People still use the general term “iOS devices” to refer to Apple’s mobile lineup, so when you see this, you can think of both iPhone and iPad. If you’re familiar with one OS, you’ll understand 95% of how to use the other aside from a few unique functions.

What Is the Latest iOS Version?

At the time of writing, the latest version of iOS available to the public is iOS 15. More specifically, iOS 15.4.1 was released on March 31st, 2022. There are also newer versions of Apple software available in beta if you’re interested in trying the latest updates that are rough around the edges.

If you’re not familiar with the latest release yet, check out what’s new in iOS 15 for some of the coolest new features.

When Do New iOS Versions Come Out?

Generally, Apple announces the latest version of iOS at WWDC in June of each year. Because this is geared towards developers, only beta versions are available for testing at that time.

Later in the year, Apple usually releases the newest iOS version shortly after its yearly iPhone announcement event, which is typically held during the second week of September. Once the iOS update rolls out, anyone with a compatible device can download it for free.

As a result, you can expect iOS 16 to release sometime in September 2022.

Throughout the year, Apple also releases minor revisions to iOS. These are called “point releases” because they add a decimal point to the version number (such as iOS 15.3). These usually fix bugs, patch security flaws, and may add small feature revisions.

How to Update iOS on Your iPhone

Your iPhone will prompt you to download the latest iOS updates when they become available. You can also check for updates manually anytime by visiting Settings > General > Software Update. If you already have the latest update, this page will let you know what iOS version you have installed.

See our guide to updating your iPhone for more help. To keep your iPhone secure, it’s a good idea to install the latest updates in a timely manner. Otherwise, your device could be vulnerable to security threats.

What About Older Versions of iOS?

Apple uses simple number increments to distinguish iOS releases. The larger the number, the newer the OS release.

Historically, when Apple released a new major version of iOS, it dropped support for earlier versions. However, this has changed starting with the move from iOS 14 to iOS 15. When iOS 15 launched, Apple continued to offer iOS 14 updates and made updating to iOS 15 optional for a while. The company also supported devices on iOS 12, which couldn’t upgrade to the latest version, with security updates.

While it’s great to see Apple supporting older devices with the latest iOS releases for some time, and even providing updates for older versions, eventually the company has to leave obsolete devices behind. Scroll to the bottom of Apple’s iOS info page to see what devices the latest version is compatible with.

For iOS 15, the oldest devices on the list are the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, which were released in 2015. All devices compatible with iOS 13 could upgrade to iOS 14, which was true for upgrading iOS 14 to iOS 15 as well. We can use this to estimate how long an iPhone typically lasts.

If you have an older phone that’s stuck on iOS 12, or earlier, you should upgrade to a new device when you’re able. Apple won’t offer updates to old versions forever, so you should move to a modern device to keep your mobile life secure.

Making the Most of iOS

Now you know what iOS is when Apple distributes new versions, and how to stay updated. Like many Apple offerings, iOS is all about simplicity, so you don’t usually have to think much about what version you’re using.

If you’re new to Apple’s mobile phones, you should take the time to master iOS. Getting used to the Shortcuts app will supercharge how you interact with your device.