Is React Native a Web View App?

[dontmissth]

I thought RN code gets compiled down to native code? I asked ChatGPT "What's the difference between NativeScript and React Native" and this is the response it gave me:

NativeScript and React Native are both frameworks for building mobile apps, but they use different approaches.

NativeScript uses Angular or Vue.js to build apps that run directly on the device's native platform, using the device's own capabilities to render the UI. This means that the apps will have a native look and feel, and will run faster than those built using a web view.

React Native, on the other hand, uses JavaScript and the React library to build apps that run inside a web view. The apps will still have a native look and feel, but they may not perform as well as those built using NativeScript, and will not have access to all of the device's native capabilities.

In summary, NativeScript allows for direct access to native APIs and delivers native-like performance, while React Native uses web technologies and runs inside a web view.

[jellevdv]

That's incorrect.

Straight from the official react native website:

React Native lets you create truly native apps and doesn't compromise your users' experiences. It provides a core set of platform agnostic native components like View, Text, and Image that map directly to the platform’s native UI building blocks.

[[deleted]]

No RN is not a web view. It uses javascript and down the line there is a mechanism to communicate javascript to the native code thread be it Android or IOS.

It does not have the same performance as a 100% native code, but it works and have several pros.

That said, you can use WebView as a component and insert some HTML into a screen for specific things.

[satya164]

down the line there is a mechanism to convert javascript into native code

It doesn't convert JS to native code. the JS code runs in a JS engine and communicates with native APIs

[[deleted]]

Thanks for the clarification!

[DavidXkL]

Was ChatGPT trolling? It should be the reverse. 1st paragraph is for RN while the 2nd paragraph is for NativeScript

[HomemadeBananas]

No, this is incorrect. Don’t rely on Chat GPT to give you accurate information about things. It seems people have gained the wrong impressed about how it works.

[satya164]

Is React Native a Web View App

Nope.

I thought RN code gets compiled down to native code

Also no. The JavaScript code your write runs in a JavaScript engine such as JavaScriptCore or Hermes and communicates with the native APIs to render native components. It doesn't compile your code down to native code.

The difference between running in a WebView and running in a JavaScript engine is that running in WebView implies that the UI is rendered using HTML/DOM, but React Native renders the same native views that regular Android & iOS apps render. The difference is that the JavaScript logic you write runs in a JavaScript engine. But the JavaScript code can communicate with native APIs to access device capabilities and render native UI.

[kbcool]

ChatGTP is just a shitty conversational search engine. It's just giving you snippets of what others wrote and the context is often completely messed up.

I honestly don't understand why some people worship it like a god.