React Native allows you to build native iOS apps with Javascript, now open to all

Facebook announced today that its React Native library is now available on Github. The library allows you to build native iOS and Android applications with JavaScript and Facebook’s React library.

React Native compiles apps written in Javascript into native views, providing the platform-specific look and feel on iOS and Android devices that users are accustomed to. This isn’t a web wrapper like you might be accustomed to; it’s real, native code that’s as performant as a fully native app.

Facebook already uses React Native to build some of its main apps: Facebook Groups, for example, uses React Native to render many of its views from React’s Javascript into native code.

The company says that React and React Native allows you to learn a single language and write code for any platform easily and efficiently.

When it announced the library initially, many developers were excited about the ability to write code in React Native and see the results in a few seconds, without re-compiling their entire app.

React Native is available from today, for free on Facebook’s Github page. Android support is not included in this release but is expected to be forthcoming.

➤ React Native [Github]