React Native and ReactJS are similar in that they both use the React library, but React Native is used for building mobile applications while ReactJS is used for building web applications. The main differences are that React Native uses native components instead of web components and has different APIs for accessing native device functionality.
Here are the key differences between ReactJS and React Native:
- Components: ReactJS uses web components, while React Native uses native components. This means that the components used in React Native look and feel more like a traditional mobile app than a web app.
- APIs: ReactJS has a DOM (Document Object Model) to interact with the web page, while React Native uses different APIs to access native device functionality, such as camera or accelerometer.
- Performance: React Native applications have better performance compared to ReactJS because they use native components and native APIs, which are optimized for the specific platform.
- Development Environment: ReactJS can be developed in any text editor, while React Native requires an integrated development environment (IDE) to be set up and configured, such as Xcode for iOS and Android Studio for Android.
- Style: ReactJS uses CSS for styling, while React Native uses a styling system similar to CSS called StyleSheet.
- Debugging: ReactJS has a more straightforward debugging process compared to React Native, which requires the use of tools like React Native Debugger or the React Native CLI.
- Deployment: ReactJS applications can be deployed on any web server, while React Native applications must be compiled and packaged for each specific platform.