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Expo vs Ionic React: What are the differences?
Introduction
In this Markdown code, we will discuss the key differences between Expo and Ionic React, comparing them in various aspects to understand their unique features and functionalities.
Development Environment: Expo provides a managed development environment, which means that we can access various services and libraries without worrying about the configurations and native installations. On the other hand, Ionic React offers a more traditional development approach where we have more control over the project configurations and dependencies.
Native Component Usage: Expo has a limited set of pre-built native components available, and while it does allow for some customizations, it may not cover all the functionalities required for complex native features. Ionic React, in contrast, offers a wide range of native-like components out-of-the-box, providing more flexibility and options for building sophisticated mobile applications.
Build and Deployment: Expo provides a simplified build and deployment process, allowing developers to build their app with just a few clicks and easily deploy it to app stores. Ionic React, however, requires a more manual build and deployment process, as it relies on the native mobile development tools like Android Studio and Xcode.
Access to Native SDKs and APIs: Expo abstracts away direct access to native SDKs and APIs, which restricts the ability to use certain device-specific functionalities or interact with lower-level system components. Ionic React, on the other hand, provides more flexibility in accessing native SDKs and APIs, allowing for a broader range of integrations and customizations.
Offline Support: Expo supports offline development and debugging, allowing developers to work on their projects without an active internet connection. Ionic React, on the other hand, may require an active internet connection for some development and debugging tasks, as it relies on certain cloud-based build services and live reload functionalities.
Ecosystem and Community: Expo has a strong and growing ecosystem, with a dedicated community and a marketplace for various add-ons and extensions. Ionic React also has a well-established ecosystem and community, with a rich set of plugins and libraries available for integration and customization.
In summary, Expo provides a simpler and more managed development environment, while Ionic React offers more flexibility and control over the project configurations and native integrations. The choice between the two depends on the specific requirements, complexity of the project, and the level of customization needed.
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 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
Pros of Ionic React
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Cons of Expo
Cons of Ionic React
- Poor docs1
