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React Native is now open source

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Re: React Native is now open source

#221

Post by oyvindkinsey »

dcre wrote: post #196
WalterGR wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they focused on running said HTML/Javascript within a performance limited WebView and not the other way around. Could you explain that? I'm not familiar with phone development and I'm having difficulty figuring out what "the other way around" is.

With React Native, instead of writing HTML/CSS and running it on a crappy browser embedded in an app, you write code that looks like HTML/CSS (it's actually JSX)[1][2] and it is translated to native code. [1] https://facebook.github.io/react/docs/displaying-data.html [2] https://facebook.github.io/react/docs/jsx-in-depth.html

It's not translated. The JS runs to create a declarative description of what the ui should look like, which is reduced to a diff representing the changes that needs to be made to the native ui. These change commands are then marshalled to native code which simply implements the changes (add this thing, move this thing, remove this thing).

Re: React Native is now open source

#222

Post by teamhappy »

jsprogrammer wrote: post #184
teamhappy wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't that implicit patent grant be in every other BSD-style license as well? As far as I understand it, the patent grand terminates when you end up in court with Facebook and then you're effectively distributing software that may or may not be covered by patents you don't own/have a license for.

No, being in court with Facebook is only one place where the termination can happen: >anyone that makes any claim (including by filing any lawsuit, assertion or other action) Even just stating that a Facebook patent is invalid terminates your license. >any right in any patent claim of Facebook is invalid or unenforceable Even just stating your belief that software patents are invalid or unenforceable terminates your…

> Even just stating your belief that software patents are invalid or unenforceable terminates your license.

I guess that's the interesting part. Sources would be really helpful.

Re: React Native is now open source

#223

Post by magicalist »

azakai wrote: post #198
magicalist wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it would certainly make patent lawsuits impossible between them Or they sue each other anyways and it takes another 5-10 years to figure that situation out, hobbling any OS development under those licenses while there are very clear and widely used and accepted patent grants available. There's a reason the FSF recommends Apache 2.0 if you aren't going to go GPL.

I get that Apache and GPL are well-established (perhaps not GPL3 yet though?), and that encourages stability to use them. But this new patent license is stronger. If it would make the industry safer from patent armageddon in the long term, it might be worth the effort to popularize yet another license.

The reason is not just that Apache is well established, it's that it's sane in its extent.

Let's say 10 years from now Facebook decides to go on the warpath over fairly bogus patents. The EFF puts the headline patent on their Most Bogus patent busting list and then puts out the cry for "who is with us?"

No company using any Facebook open source code answers.

How does that make the industry safer?

Re: React Native is now open source

#224

Post by anfedorov »

matthewmacleod wrote: post #107
anfedorov wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you nitpicking legal semantics (including something in one agreement or another), or saying it's possible to legally use React-Native while suing Facebook for completely unrelated patent infringement?

The latter. It is absolutely possible to legally use React while going ahead and suing Facebook. You do not lose your license to React by suing Facebook. What you do lose is an explicit grant of additional patent rights - the grant given in the PATENTS file. Note that there is no specification therein regarding what patents might be covered; it's completely possible that none of Facebook's patents have anything to do…

OK, so I can legally use React-Native in my app while suing Facebook for unrelated patent infringement. I also can claim the patent they are suing me for infringing is invalid while continuing to use React-Native.

Would it be practically advisable to do so?

Re: React Native is now open source

#225

Post by xanderjanz »

zellyn wrote: post #7

The first thing I do now on each Facebook open-source reveal, is to check the PATENTS file for the toxic second paragraph, to see if they've changed it. Sadly, no. I can't imagine being able to use this at any decent-sized company with lawyers. :-( https://github.com/facebook/react-native/blob/master/PATENTS See for example the discussions at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9111849 (eg. https://news.ycombinator.…

I asked the FB Engineers that were manning the Open Source booth at F8 today about this. They assured me that it wasn't a threat, or any change in ideology on their end as open source contributors. That they were also concerned with the community, and that their lawyers were looking into it currently. Not really an answer, but at least they awknowleged the criticisms.

Re: React Native is now open source

#226

Post by brokencode »

sheraz wrote: post #150

Cool to see this. By my count we now have, in no particular order: - React Native from Facebook ( https://github.com/facebook/react-native ) - Appcelerator's Titanium and Alloy Frameworks ( http://appcelerator.com ) - Telerik's Native Script ( http://telerik.com/nativescript ) - Xamarin ( http://xamarin.com ) As I understand it, all three of these frameworks have a JS (or C#) runtime that is compiled along with the a…

I would love to see a comparison between some of these different frameworks. HN is abuzz about React Native, but is it really that much different than the others? In particular, do the others attempt to be declarative like React Native? Is the performance comparable?

The main advantage I see is that it's open source and free (with some patent caveats).

Re: React Native is now open source

#227

Post by allworknoplay »

xanderjanz wrote: post #225
zellyn wrote: post #7

The first thing I do now on each Facebook open-source reveal, is to check the PATENTS file for the toxic second paragraph, to see if they've changed it. Sadly, no. I can't imagine being able to use this at any decent-sized company with lawyers. :-( https://github.com/facebook/react-native/blob/master/PATENTS See for example the discussions at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9111849 (eg. https://news.ycombinator.…

I asked the FB Engineers that were manning the Open Source booth at F8 today about this. They assured me that it wasn't a threat, or any change in ideology on their end as open source contributors. That they were also concerned with the community, and that their lawyers were looking into it currently. Not really an answer, but at least they awknowleged the criticisms.

Yeah, it'll be nice when the license actually reflects this. Until then I wouldn't build my business on it, ever.

Re: React Native is now open source

#228

Post by nwienert »

dustingetz wrote: post #215
nwienert wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there's a lot of proof that it does work, given there's 300,000 Ionic apps, tons in production. I downvoted you not because I don't agree that Native will be compelling but because I hate to see all this hate that's come out against hybrid apps in general that's even been propagated by React Native devs. Webviews will get there. WKWebView is already a huge step forward. I think Native is great, but it's not a…

Webviews have been "getting there" for like 5 years now

They've only existed for 8. We the rest of eternity. I get downvoted but I'm just refuting your unbased claims with facts.

Re: React Native is now open source

#229

Post by nutate »

neilk wrote: post #133
Fishkins wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yahoo and Netflix are using React, right? Do you (or anyone) know why they consider the license acceptable, but Google wouldn't?

Mutually assured destruction. If Facebook sued Yahoo, Yahoo could sue Facebook right back. I'm not really sure what Facebook thinks they are gaining with this clause. They aren't going to stop patent trolls, because they are non-practicing entities. Maybe they want to guard against someone making improvements to React and then suing Facebook if they do something similar later.

Pre Mayer Yahoo did sue Facebook over patents. They settled. As far as I could see the fact that the only big patent fight fb has been in ended with a company with a boatload of lawyers being cool with these terms should bode well for anyone else. If you have patents they shouldn't rely explicitly on open source library x y z, but I am not a lawyer either.
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