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CodePush vs Expo: What are the differences?
CodePush vs Expo
CodePush and Expo are both tools used for mobile app development, but they have key differences that set them apart from each other.
Deployment process: CodePush allows for faster app updates by pushing code updates directly to the user's device, avoiding the need for App Store or Google Play updates. Expo, on the other hand, requires a build and submission process to the app stores for updates to be available to users.
Native access: CodePush allows developers to access native APIs directly in their JS code, providing more flexibility and control over the app's functionality. Expo, on the other hand, provides a set of pre-built APIs that abstract away the native code, limiting the access to certain native functionalities.
Size and performance: CodePush only pushes updates to the relevant parts of the app, resulting in smaller update sizes and faster download times. Expo, however, requires users to download the entire app with each update, resulting in larger update sizes and potentially slower performance.
Developing environment: CodePush integrates with popular development tools like Visual Studio Code, allowing developers to use their preferred tools for app development. Expo has its own development environment, which includes features like live-reloading and device simulators, providing a more streamlined development experience.
Offline support: CodePush supports offline functionality, allowing users to use the app even without an internet connection. Expo, on the other hand, does not have built-in offline support and requires an internet connection for the app to function properly.
Supported platforms: CodePush supports both iOS and Android platforms, offering a cross-platform solution. Expo also supports both platforms, but it has limitations when it comes to certain native functionalities, making it more suitable for simpler applications.
In summary, CodePush is a powerful tool for code updates, providing flexibility, smaller updates, and native access. Expo, on the other hand, offers a streamlined development experience with its own environment and pre-built APIs but lacks some native functionalities and offline support.
Hello guys, I am new here. So, if I posted without specific guidelines, please ignore.
Basically, I am an iOS developer and developing native apps for the last three years. Recently, I started learning React Native to develop apps for both platforms. If anyone out there knows any useful resources that will become a better react native developer.
#newbie
Well, the first resource I would recommend you is my upcoming book by Packt Publishing, "Professional React Native", but it's due late January next year :) . Now jokes aside (the book's real by the way :) ), the easiest way to build a iOS/Android/Web app with React Native is to do: npm install -g expo-cli expo init some-project cd some-project expo eject
You might have heard of Expo, but trust me, stay away from it. Expo highest value is that it's an already pre-configured 3 platforms environment, but if you don't eject then you're vendor-locked to what Expo has to offer in iOS and Android, which is very poor compared to going full React Native on these platforms, they can't even handle Google Sign In properly and by the way, even if your app is 10 lines of code your app size will be over 40 MB if you don't eject, yep it's that bad, plus the performance is regular and the loading times slow, not to mention that you're stuck with their build service which the free tier makes you wait for hours for a free build slot. It's important to note that when ejecting you don't lose the Web, you simply do expo start --web to start your dev environment and expo build:web to build a static website that you can serve with any web server. Regarding state management, don't bother with "lifting state up" philosophies mixed with Context API to manage your state, lifting state is a great pattern and helps your codebase, Context is great to avoid prop-drilling, but NEVER mix them to achieve app-wide state management, for that, simply go for Redux or MobX, the hype is all about Redux, but I consider MobX far better in many aspects. However, as you're getting new into this I would recommend you start with Redux AND PLEASE grab yourself npm install @manaflair/redux-batch so that you can batch updates and don't bring your app to a crawl. Forget that "connect HOC" thing with React-Redux, don't bother for a second with it, go with Hooks and useSelector and useDispatch and the likes, it will make your code SO much cleaner and smaller. Adopt clean and new Hooks philosophy, avoid writing class components as much as possible and write function components augmented with Hooks.
Pros of CodePush
- Only JS changes will be reflected1
Pros of Expo
- Free15
- Hot Reload13
- Easy to learn9
- Common ios and android app setup9
- Open Source6
- Streamlined6
- Builds into a React Native app5
- PWA supported2
- Plugins for web use with Next.js1
