Introducing React Native [video] • Hacker News Board

Re: Introducing React Native [video]

#11

Post by jessep » Thu, Jan 29, 2015, 4:18 AM UTC

Touche wrote: post #5

If I'm one of Reacts competitors I'm ecstatic that they're abandoning the web. It reminds me of when Angular wastes energy on angular.dart because of a Google mandate. Didn't help them much.

"Abandoning the web" seems a bit strong here. One difference between angular+dart and react+native is this:

angular_devs ∩ dart_devs ~= 0 (relative to angular_devs) react_devs ∩ mobile_devs ~= react_devs

Almost everyone who uses react also has to do mobile development, and would like a simpler way to do it. This solves a real and widespread need.

Re: Introducing React Native [video]

#12

Post by owenwil » Thu, Jan 29, 2015, 4:18 AM UTC

This is amazing - wonder when we can get our hands on it.

Re: Introducing React Native [video]

#13

Post by zwily » Thu, Jan 29, 2015, 4:19 AM UTC

Touche wrote: post #9

nkozyra wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where was the web abandoned?

React is no longer a web library, so today.

It's not? I must have missed that announcement.

Re: Introducing React Native [video]

#14

Post by sgrove » Thu, Jan 29, 2015, 4:19 AM UTC

Touche wrote: post #9

nkozyra wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where was the web abandoned?

React is no longer a web library, so today.

React has been carefully designed to encompass better UI patterns regardless of the underlying platform. There are some very thoughtful and capable people working on it. Worth reading Jordan's thoughts here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8962171

Re: Introducing React Native [video]

#15

Post by nkozyra » Thu, Jan 29, 2015, 4:19 AM UTC

Touche wrote: post #9

nkozyra wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where was the web abandoned?

React is no longer a web library, so today.

Expansion != abandonment. In fact, were I a "competitor," I would be concerned about the philosophical buy-in that said expansion could induce.

Re: Introducing React Native [video]

#16

Post by cleverjake » Thu, Jan 29, 2015, 4:19 AM UTC

Touche wrote: post #9

nkozyra wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where was the web abandoned?

React is no longer a web library, so today.

I think you misunderstood. they are adding a non web library, not leaving the web.

Re: Introducing React Native [video]

#17

Post by evv » Thu, Jan 29, 2015, 4:21 AM UTC

slashnull wrote: post #8

Sorry, dumb question, don't feel like watching the video: What platforms are targetted? Out of, say, iOS, Android, Linux/X11 desktop, Windows desktop, WinRT, OSX?

This is Eric, from the React Native team.

We're starting with iOS and Android, which will keep us busy for the foreseeable future. That said, we will open source soon, and we'd be happy to accept help targeting other platforms!

Re: Introducing React Native [video]

#18

Post by jeswin » Thu, Jan 29, 2015, 4:22 AM UTC

Touche wrote: post #5

If I'm one of Reacts competitors I'm ecstatic that they're abandoning the web. It reminds me of when Angular wastes energy on angular.dart because of a Google mandate. Didn't help them much.

The benefits of using Dart are debatable. There are however no such doubts on the utility of native mobile apps. The lack of adoption of Dart is due to the lack of interest within the broader JS community; the same community which is going to be excited about React supporting native apps. This immediately improves the targets to which they can deploy with skills they already have.

Re: Introducing React Native [video]

#19

Post by solarexplorer » Thu, Jan 29, 2015, 4:24 AM UTC

jdub wrote: post #4

solarexplorer wrote: post #3

Am I getting this right: they use something like Display Postscript[1] instead of the virtual DOM? Are we back in the 80ties? [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Display_PostScript

No, React Native translates a declarative API into imperative calls. Just like React does in the browser (after going through the Virtual DOM as, essentially, an optimisation).

Yes, just like the DPS interpreter translates (high-level) DPS into (low-level) pixels. Looks pretty similar to me. (but then I am not overly familiar with DPS or ReactJS)

EDIT: To clarify, I am sure that the current UIKit also tries to do optimize rendering. They probably do some kind of internal batching, etc. But they have no (public) data format like DPS or a virtual DOM that is generated, optimized and rendered. I don't think that DPS is all that different.

Re: Introducing React Native [video]

#20

Post by drcode » Thu, Jan 29, 2015, 4:29 AM UTC

Touche wrote: post #5

If I'm one of Reacts competitors I'm ecstatic that they're abandoning the web. It reminds me of when Angular wastes energy on angular.dart because of a Google mandate. Didn't help them much.

Instead of "abandoning the web" I'd call it a "post browser" framework. What we're seeing here is the first piece in the next-gen internet world that doesn't require a web browser.