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This is a really good write up and I love how they were cautious not to feed the ongoing fanboyism in for and against React Native folks. Say what you like but

by msoad 8y ago

This is a really good write up and I love how they were cautious not to feed the ongoing fanboyism in for and against React Native folks. Say what you like but this is a very mature move from a young engineering organization.

faitswulff 8y ago
I have to agree. It was really interesting that they highlighted that nearly 2/3rds of their engineers would use React Native again. I also assumed that the last part of the blog series was going to be mostly fluff / product announcements, but their efforts in server side rendered native screens and drastic reductions in build time are legitimate takeaways from devs who are used to development cycles at React-Native speeds.
- akmarinov 8y ago
  Server side rendered native screens just seem like fancy words for browser to me… I get that it’ll have native performance and responsiveness, but still maybe just touch up your website and call it a day?
  - faitswulff 8y ago
    Ah, my mistake, it should say "server-driven," which is more accurate. The view isn't actually rendered on the server, it just seems to be sent over in a declarative format, which the client then renders into a native view.
    - mpweiher 8y ago
      > sent over in a declarative format like HTML? > which the client then renders into a native view. A WebView?
      - scottmf 8y ago
        No
        scottmf 8y ago
        Sorry if the short response seemed rude. No is the answer to both of your questions. RN isn’t just “HTML in a webview” like PhoneGap or Cordova: elements are actually rendered as native UI components. E.g., a <Text> element becomes a native UILabel on iOS and a TextView on Android.
- philipwhiuk 8y ago
  You have to wonder how many of their 100 engineers are going to dislike having to become iOS/Android devs.
  - gpeal 8y ago
    The vast majority of the 100 always have been and are still Android and iOS devs. React Native never made up more than 10-20% of our mobile engineers and many of them came from Android or iOS backgrounds.
    - heyheyhey 8y ago
      How's FB's RN team reacted to Airbnb's decision to move away from RN?
  - matwood 8y ago
    For me, in order of enjoyable front end developer experience it would go iOS > web/js/react > Android.
electricslpnsld 8y ago
> Say what you like but this is a very mature move from a young engineering organization. Airbnb is ten years old at this point, I'm not sure that really counts as young!

by msoad 8y ago

faitswulff 8y ago

I have to agree. It was really interesting that they highlighted that nearly 2/3rds of their engineers would use React Native again. I also assumed that the last part of the blog series was going to be mostly fluff / product announcements, but their efforts in server side rendered native screens and drastic reductions in build time are legitimate takeaways from devs who are used to development cycles at React-Native speeds.

akmarinov 8y ago
Server side rendered native screens just seem like fancy words for browser to me… I get that it’ll have native performance and responsiveness, but still maybe just touch up your website and call it a day?
- faitswulff 8y ago
  Ah, my mistake, it should say "server-driven," which is more accurate. The view isn't actually rendered on the server, it just seems to be sent over in a declarative format, which the client then renders into a native view.
  - mpweiher 8y ago
    > sent over in a declarative format like HTML? > which the client then renders into a native view. A WebView?
    - scottmf 8y ago
      No
      - scottmf 8y ago
        Sorry if the short response seemed rude. No is the answer to both of your questions. RN isn’t just “HTML in a webview” like PhoneGap or Cordova: elements are actually rendered as native UI components. E.g., a <Text> element becomes a native UILabel on iOS and a TextView on Android.
philipwhiuk 8y ago
You have to wonder how many of their 100 engineers are going to dislike having to become iOS/Android devs.
- gpeal 8y ago
  The vast majority of the 100 always have been and are still Android and iOS devs. React Native never made up more than 10-20% of our mobile engineers and many of them came from Android or iOS backgrounds.
  - heyheyhey 8y ago
    How's FB's RN team reacted to Airbnb's decision to move away from RN?
- matwood 8y ago
  For me, in order of enjoyable front end developer experience it would go iOS > web/js/react > Android.

electricslpnsld 8y ago

> Say what you like but this is a very mature move from a young engineering organization. Airbnb is ten years old at this point, I'm not sure that really counts as young!