Best purpose-built tools and backends for React-Native developers

Developed by Facebook in 2015, React Native soon registered its presence in the development ecosystem of many IT entities and developers to deliver improved mobile experience using JavaScript Libraries.

What is React Native?

React Native is a React-based JavaScript framework that allows developers to write real mobile applications for Android and iOS that is natively rendering. For the uninformed, React is a JavaScript library of Facebook to build user interfaces. React native focuses on mobile platforms instead of the browser. It results in an improved mobile user experience. 

Some of our readers might find it difficult to digest the above paragraph. For them, here is a quick summary- React native empowers web developers to produce mobile applications using JavaScript library that is relatively easy and most developers. React native eases the process of react native app development. It is architected to help developers tap their maximum potential by erasing many technical barriers in platforms, devices, etc.

While it offers several advantages for both clients and developers, React Native is not free from its pack of challenges. However, the good thing is that many React Native tools can help you overcome these challenges by providing you purpose-specific capabilities. In this tutorial, we will present some of the tools to help you build powerful apps with React Native.

React Native development in India 

React Native development did not limit itself to a specific geographic location but soon expanded across the globe. Along with developed nations, the React Native also penetrated developing markets like India, thanks to the availability of talent and opportunities. One of the India-based developers’ major issues is finding reliable Backend as a service to React-native in India.

Most Indian developers have a hard time creating a navigation in the React Native ecosystem. The complexity can be ironed out by using the right solutions, and you have a huge list to choose from. However, choosing the right tool for you can be an uphill task. So we have compiled a list of purpose-built react-native tools that help react native developers create excellent iOS and Android apps with less difficulty. Let’s begin with the best Backend as a service to react-native in India:

Back4app

Back4app is a low-code backend hosted on the cloud. It offers a wide range of mission-critical features like real-time database, version control, team collaboration, and efficient real-time database (LiveQuery), and more. This efficient Baas for react-native developers is specially architected and equipped to meet all the major and minor needs of React native developers to produce professionally competent apps with sophisticated functionalities.

Salient Features

• High scalability and availability
• Push Notification
• Developer friendly Cloud Code Integration
• Quick set up
• Fair price tiers
• Options of shared and dedicated hosting
• Purpose-built wizard to facilitate and speed up the data migration process
• Improved backend application management
• App migration process.
• Easy and quick data movement
• Utilizes Parse server API
• Easy to be mastered by open source Parse server users 
• Relieves users from server related hassles
• Easy management options for different versions of Parse server
• REST and GraphQL APIs
• Hosting scalability
• Compatible with Open-Source Technology

Firebase

Due to varied and versatile capabilities, Firebase has an expansive definition. For the sake of brevity, however, Firebase is a reliable Baas for react-native.

Talking in the context of this content, it is among the preferred choice of React Native developers due to the ease of use, high security, relatively lower technical barriers, and good mid level scalability. Being network resilient it is a favorite choice for developers.

Salient Features

• Pre-designed API
• Inbuilt data node level security
• Excellent storage based on Google Cloud Storage
• Solid infrastructure

GraphCool

Built on the top of GraphQL, the GraphCool is a serverless BaaS framework with powerful building blocks to facilitate the development of data-centric and modern GraphQL APIs. Its other features and capabilities involve.

GraphCool has now become an open-source resource that frees it from proprietary limitations and enhances cross-level competency. With platform agnostic capabilities, you are empowered to choose from a broader menu of compatible resources. Moreover, you would also observe a remarkable increase in the execution speed that reduces market time while reducing efforts and guesswork.

Salient Features

• Highly-managed infrastructure
• Developers collaboration features
• Excellent Backup efficiencies
• Large assortment of dynamic building components catering to all the basic and advanced requirements
• Powerful permission system
• GraphQL subscription API

Couchbase Lite

 This open-source NoSQL database facilitates the data synchronization and persistence in your React native app. Couchbase Lite works uniformly well on both iOS and Android device applications.

Salient features

• Supports query-writing with SQL based semantics
• Full-Text Search queries on locally stored documents
• Storage option for document attachments (blobs) like images, PDF files, etc.

Expo

Expo facilitates the react native app development for iOS and Android through React Native and JavaScript. This free toolchain comes with decent capabilities that make it a preferred choice to react to native developers based on open source technology. Some of the salient features are mentioned below:

Salient Features

• Comprehensive Documentation and community-based forum
• Powerful development tools
• Speeds up React Native Apps development process
• Native Mobile coding knowledge is not required
• No Android Studio or Xcode
• Instantly and Publish over the air facility
• Native APIs access baked right into the infrastructure

Atom

 Developed by GitHub the Atom is a powerful yet simple text editor that is almost platform agnostic. Created with Electron- a high-efficiency programming language, this open-source tool supports a fairly wide menu of platforms like Linux, OS X, and Windows. Some of the developer-friendly properties of this tool include:

Salient Features

• Allows for Cross-platform Editing
• Default package manager
• Autocompletion feature
• Multiple files can be browsed in a single window
• You can personalize themes to match your preferences
• Efficiently find and replace feature

Flow

The static typing option of flow makes this open-source coding tool for accelerating the coding process’s efficiency and speed. Developed by some of the best developers of Social media giant Facebook, this tool offers a reliable way to reduce time to market and increasing productivity.

Salient Features

• Type Inference
• Easy to customize JavaScript
• Quick and simplified Integration
• Real-time feedback

Visual Studio Code

 Visual Studio Code by Microsoft is another reliable code editor that streamlines the coding process and promotes a smooth development process. This open-source code editor is created on highly popular and reliable programming languages like JavaScript, Typescript, and CSS. It offers seamless compatibility with disparate platforms like Mac, Windows, and Linux. 

Salient Features

• Intellisense for facilitating Smart Coding
• Efficient Code debugging
• Default Git Command
• Key elements like Themes, Languages, etc can be scaled and customized extensively

ESLint

One of the major concerns during the development cycle of react native apps is identifying and rectifying the programming errors. With its powerful analytical capabilities, the ESLint precisely solves this issue by conducting a deep analysis of the source code and accurately detect the programming error. This open-source tool is powered by Node.js and employs JSX and JavaScript for the analytical process. It delivers uncompromised performance across diverse platforms like Linux, Mac, and Windows. It is loaded with various developer-friendly features including:

Salient Features

• Quick and concise documentation
• Transparent ecosystem
• Offers and supports multiple plugins (proprietary and third-party) to add more efficiency

React Navigation

React Navigation facilitates the routing and navigation process in the react-native ecosystem, thus saving the developers from technical hassles. For that purpose, it offers the option of inbuilt navigators like Tab, Stack, and Drawer. This JavaScript-based tool leverages the professional and execution capabilities of react native developer with some of its powerful features like:

Salient Features

• Android and iOS components
• JavaScript can be customized extensively
• Wider choice over Platforms

Redux

Redux adds a simplicity layer in the React Native Development process by uncomplicating and streamlining the key processes. This JavaScript-based free source facilitates live code editing and a powerful debugger that can effectively track and debug the issues. Here are a few major features of Redux:

Salient Features

• Simple Apps testing
• Produces efficient applications capable of performing any uniformly in disparate environments like the native client, server, etc/

Ignite

Ignite is a powerful toolchain for react native that provides reliable performance on both Android and iOS. Being an opensource CLI Ignite does not restrict your potential by limiting the resource options. This tool by Infinite Red offers the following features.

Salient Features

• Different examples of usage
• Extends creative freedom by providing themes with high customization options

NativeBase

This is another friendly tool that is created for uncomplicating the process of react native development. It offers you a powerful inventory of react-native e components to improve the React Native app development process with a high caliber. Some of its salient features include:

Salient Features

• Key UI Components with cross-platform capabilities
• Native Environment simplifies Native Applications development

Reactotron

This open-source desktop application by Infinite Red comes for free and loaded with open-source advantages like platform-agnostic, low-code development, and minimum dependencies. Other capabilities sit also allows you to monitor the app functioning in actual time thanks to its Real-time event tracking.

Salient Features

• Design Overlay
• Effective API Requests and Responses
• Prompt Benchmarks
• Messages for console.log
• Efficient Dispatch Actions

Conclusion

React Native is an open-source framework for developing mobile applications for macOS, iOS, Android and Android TV, UWP, Web, TvOS. There are many react native tools in the market that developers can use to develop their desired applications. In this blog post, we presented a list of some of the ideal tools with demonstrated capabilities. We also presented the key features of these tools to help people make an informed decision. The readers are advised to check the relevance of these tools with their current or regular development requirements before using any option.

Author

Jitendra Bhojwani is tech blogger and writer.

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