React Desktop vs React Native Desktop: What are the differences?

Introduction

React Desktop and React Native Desktop are frameworks that allow developers to build desktop applications using React. While both frameworks share similarities, there are key differences that set them apart. In this article, we will explore six important differences between React Desktop and React Native Desktop.

1. Compilation and Execution Environment: React Desktop is designed to run on Electron, a framework that allows for building cross-platform desktop apps using web technologies. It provides a Chromium-based rendering engine and Node.js runtime, allowing for the use of DOM APIs and Node.js modules. On the other hand, React Native Desktop is designed to run on top of React Native, which provides a bridge to native components and APIs. It uses platform-native rendering engines and does not have direct access to DOM APIs or Node.js modules.

2. UI Components: React Desktop primarily uses UI components that resemble traditional desktop application interfaces. It provides components like windows, menus, toolbars, and file dialogs that are familiar to desktop users. React Native Desktop, on the other hand, provides UI components that follow the design patterns and styles of mobile applications. These components include buttons, text inputs, scroll views, and navigation drawers that are commonly found in mobile interfaces.

3. Styling and Theming: React Desktop allows for extensive styling and theming of its UI components using CSS. It supports standard CSS properties and selectors, allowing developers to apply custom styles to individual components. React Native Desktop, on the other hand, uses a combination of CSS and React Native's styling system. It provides a subset of CSS properties and introduces a styled-components library for styling components using JavaScript.

4. Platform-specific APIs: React Native Desktop provides access to a wide range of platform-specific APIs through its bridge to native components. These APIs allow developers to interact with system functions, hardware features, and third-party libraries. React Desktop, on the other hand, relies on web-based APIs and the Node.js runtime to interact with the underlying operating system. It can access file systems, network APIs, and other web-related features that are available in Electron.

5. Development Workflow: React Desktop follows a development workflow that is similar to web development. Developers can use familiar tools like code editors, package managers, and debugging tools to build and test their applications. React Native Desktop, on the other hand, requires additional setup for running and debugging applications on specific platforms. Developers need to install platform-specific development tools and libraries to build, run, and test their applications.

6. Performance and Efficiency: React Desktop applications, being powered by Electron, have a larger footprint compared to React Native Desktop applications. Electron-based applications require more system resources and have a higher memory usage, which can impact performance on lower-spec machines. React Native Desktop applications, on the other hand, have better performance and efficiency since they leverage platform-native rendering engines and APIs, resulting in a more lightweight and optimized experience.

In Summary, React Desktop and React Native Desktop differ in their compilation and execution environment, UI components, styling and theming approach, access to platform-specific APIs, development workflow, and performance/efficiency.