Expo in React Native

1. What Is Expo in React Native
2. Expo CLI (expo-cli) in React Native
3. Expo Client in React Native
4. Difference Between Expo and React Native

Smartphones have become an inseparable part of our everyday life. Compared to other electronics we use every day, smartphone technology is relatively new.

Until a few years ago, it was impossible to create mobile applications without solid Java, C++, or C# knowledge. The development of React Native framework has changed that is no longer the case.

These days, it’s possible to create powerful smartphone applications using a JavaScript-based library, such as React Native.

Like the main React library, React Native is built around the concept of component reusability to facilitate the development of complex applications.

What Is Expo in React Native

React Native gives developers the ability to use native code whenever needed. It can be an advantage and disadvantage at the same time.

Using native code makes it difficult to collaborate with others and share your work. It takes much more energy to share the demo of a React Native project if it contains native code.

Expo is a set of tools created specifically to address this issue.

These tools are founded on one principle: to minimize or eliminate the use of native code in developing React Native apps. Expo aims to achieve this by offering a wide range of APIs exposed to JavaScript.

Expo offers two main tools; these are Expo CLI and Expo Client.

Expo CLI (expo-cli) in React Native

The expo-cli is a command-line application developers use to interact with and control expo tools.

Developers can use it to perform a wide range of tasks, such as:

1. Creating new projects.
2. Overseeing the actual development process.
3. Publishing the app.
4. Managing login credentials for the app store and play store.

Read the official documentation to learn more about the exact set of commands you can use.

Expo Client in React Native

A handy app for your phone. It lets you open your projects and see your work in progress, bypassing both XCode and Android Studio.

More importantly, you can use it to share your project with others. Authorized developers can also use expo clients to access published apps anytime they want.

Difference Between Expo and React Native

In short, React Native is the framework that allows developers to write Native code for mobile applications using JavaScript. Expo is a set of tools that facilitates development in React Native.

Expo is not a different framework but a set of guidelines and APIs that helps developers write code that is easy to maintain.

Advantages of React Native in React

1. Writing in React Native (without Expo) gives you, as a developer, more freedom, especially when writing native code.
2. You are allowed to include native code.

Disadvantages of React Native in React

1. Android Studio and XCode are essential for development.
2. You can only write iOS applications with an iMac.
3. You can test the project only if the smartphone is connected to the computer via USB.
4. More complicated process for importing custom fonts.
5. More complicated process for starting a project.
6. Sharing the application is only possible by sharing the entire application file.
7. Important APIs, such as Push-Notifications and Asset Manager, are not included automatically.

Advantages of Expo in React

1. Simpler process for setting up a project.
2. Easier to collaborate on projects.
3. Apps are easier to share.
4. Important APIs (such as Push Notifications and Asset Manager) are included.
5. If native code is essential to your application, you can include it after ejecting it to ExpoKit. However, some features will be lost.

Disadvantages of Expo in React

1. Discourages the developers from writing native code.
2. Discourages the developers from using libraries that include native code.
3. Because of the included libraries, the file size of a project is much bigger than with React Native.
4. Some important features (FaceDetector, ARKit) are only available in ExpoKit.
5. ExpoKit doesn’t include some of the most important features of Expo.
6. Debugging in ExpoKit is a prolonged process.