Facebook announces React Native
Having already open sourced React last year, Facebook has now launched React Native, a JS library that is rethinking how we write applications using one-way data flow, immutable data structures and the full potential of JavaScript.
The latest programming innovation from Facebook HQ comes in the form of React Native – the next step in the evolution of native apps. The news was shared at React.js Conf, where Facebook programmer Tom Occhino’s keynote reviewed the past and present of React in 2015.
The creators of React have made it clear that this isn’t just another MVC framework. React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces and encourages the creation of reusable UI components which present data that changes over time.
Pete Hunt of React summed up the higher level details on Hacker News, listing the following specs:
- JavaScript engine on a background thread
- Communicates via batched, async messaging protocol to a native (Objective C or Android) server running on the main thread (basically create_view(), update_view(), destroy_view(), on_event() etc)
- Plug-in for React that speaks that protocol
- Tools to make cross-platform development a bit easier (standard text component, cross-platform flexbox layout system)
- Designed to take advantage of native platform views, NOT be the next Java Swing
The social media buzz around the announcement is palpable. You can find some pretty positive reactions when surfing Twitter:
The best thing about React Native is non obvious. Four words: No compilation, instant refresh. What to do with all that free time?
— Shane O’Sullivan (@chofter) January 28, 2015
If you’re a ReactJS developer, today you are now a native app developer! #reactjsconf — Jordan (@jordwalke) January 28, 2015
Facebook also plan to make the technology available as open source, which is an appealing development. We also know that the Facebook Groups app has been built with React Native. The news should prove to be exciting for many developers, as React Native isn’t just a wrapper around JavaScript, but is truly native.
I say with confidence as a former UIKit author: React’s model for the UI layer is vastly better than UIKit’s. React Native is a *huge* deal.
— Andy Matuschak (@andy_matuschak) January 28, 2015
Tom Occhino’s keynote can be watched in full on YouTube below.