What is React Native and how does it work?

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**React Native** is a framework by Meta (Facebook) for building **native mobile apps** (iOS and Android) using **React and JavaScript**. Its distinctive approach is rendering **real native UI components** (not a webview), letting web/React developers build native apps from largely shared code. ## What React Native is ```text React Native = build NATIVE mobile apps with React + JavaScript/TypeScript: → ONE codebase (mostly) for iOS AND Android → uses REACT (components, JSX, hooks, state) — familiar to web React developers → renders REAL NATIVE UI components (not a webview / not HTML) → native look & feel → by Meta; widely used (Instagram, Discord, Shopify, etc.) ``` ## How it works: JavaScript driving native UI ```text → You write React components in JavaScript → React Native maps them to REAL NATIVE views (a → a native UIView/ViewGroup; → native text) — NOT web/HTML elements → JS runs and communicates with the native side (historically via a "bridge"; the new architecture uses JSI for direct, faster communication) → The result is a genuinely native app, written in React/JS ``` ## Key characteristics ```text ✓ NATIVE components → native performance and look/feel (vs webview-based frameworks) ✓ REACT model → components, JSX, hooks, state, props (web React skills transfer) ✓ Cross-platform → share most code across iOS/Android (some platform-specific code) ✓ FAST REFRESH → see changes instantly (like hot reload); large npm ecosystem ✓ Access native features via native modules / Expo ``` ## Why it matters Understanding what React Native is and how it works is foundational for React Native development and valuable for understanding the cross-platform landscape. React Native is a major framework for building **native mobile apps with React and JavaScript** from a largely shared codebase — addressing the significant need to avoid building separate iOS and Android apps, while letting the large pool of **web/React developers** apply their existing skills (components, JSX, hooks, state) to mobile, a key advantage. The defining characteristic — that React Native renders **real native UI components** (mapping React components to actual native views, not a webview or HTML) — is important to understand because it gives apps **native performance and look/feel**, distinguishing React Native from webview-based approaches and making it a genuine native-app solution. Understanding **how it works** (JavaScript running and driving native UI, communicating with the native side via the bridge historically or the faster JSI in the new architecture) clarifies its hybrid nature. Understanding **key characteristics** — native components (native feel/performance), the familiar React model (transferable web skills), cross-platform code sharing, Fast Refresh (instant updates), the large npm ecosystem, and native feature access — conveys why React Native is widely adopted (used by Instagram, Discord, Shopify, and many others). Since React Native is a major cross-platform framework (especially appealing to React/web developers) and understanding its nature (React + JS, native components, cross-platform) and how it works (driving real native UI) is foundational for React Native work and for understanding cross-platform options, understanding what React Native is and how it works is essential, foundational knowledge — the starting point for React Native development and important context for understanding how it fits among cross-platform technologies, a widely-used approach especially valuable for leveraging React skills to build native mobile apps.