The principle of implementing reactjs components was invented by Facebook developers. In 2011, the technology was used to launch a chat that worked on all pages and did not interact with other interface elements. The React JS library was made freely available in 2013. Due to the increase in the share of mobile users, in 2015, the React Native framework was created, on which the architecture of cross-platform mobile applications for Android and iOS is built.
Today, React is the most popular JavaScript library in the world, and the tool’s popularity is constantly growing. The technology allows the user to interact with the interface without reloading the page – to like, fill out forms, view geolocation, pay for purchases online, add items to the cart, write messages, and much more. The instant response of the interface to user actions contributes to a significant improvement in behavioral factors.
How does it work?
Each web page is a “tree” with branches of HTML and CSS objects – it is called the Document Object Model (DOM). The technology allows you to overlay on the Document Object Model only certain components that the user works with, while leaving the rest of the elements unchanged. Any of these components can be updated without reloading the entire page.
One of the ways reactjs is used is in single-page applications based on SPA (Single Page Application) technology. The same elements remain in place, and only individual React JS components are pulled up when user actions are performed. For example, if each page has the same header, there is no need to waste resources on drawing it. This significantly improves the performance of the application and makes the interface more responsive.
Developing mobile apps with React Native
The React Native framework is used to develop applications on the Android and iOS cross-platform. It is a serious competitor to Flutter – both platforms occupy a significant share of the mobile development market. The development of React Native is actively supported by Facebook and has a large community of developers around the world. Thanks to this powerful support, issues are resolved as accurately and promptly as possible, and every year the technology is gaining momentum and gaining more and more opportunities.
React Native is based on ReactJS, but it does not use WebView, so there is no DOM API. There is also no HTML and CSS, but there are some platform components in JSX and CSS-like polyfills. React Native contains a JavaScript API over native components. This means that native components have a connection (binding) with JavaScript components in ReactJS. The native and JavaScript bundle are connected through a bridge using the JavaScript API. If you take a superficial look, this is the entire architecture of the technology.
React Native is used to develop cross-platform applications that can function equally on multiple platforms. They work as Native Apps – fully native programs that take into account the peculiarities of iOS and Android systems.