AppWerft · April 19, 2016 13:53
diff --git a/gistfile1.txt b/gistfile1.txt
 I have only briefly explored ReactNative and I’m probably biased by my years of Titanium experience. But, I didn’t really like RN. I haven’t looked in a few months so maybe some of this has changed, but here are my thoughts:

 * A lot of the published components aren’t exposing the actual native widgets, but web-like simulations. For example, the Android tab controller is not exposed in any of the modules I saw. There are many simulations using div-like buttons (with some of them — ack! -- having the tabs being on the bottom). I think this will lead to a lot of “uncanny valley” apps that won’t feel or act native. Maybe users don’t care. But I do.
 * As with Titanium, you mostly deal with modules which wrap and expose native code. Unless you’re a native developer, you’re relying on others to write, share, and support these. I’m guessing that like we’ve seen with Titanium, a lot of modules will be published then go unsupported and stale.
 * I just can’t get into the idea of mixing my markup into my code. I did that when I was a self-taught newbie slinging spaghetti PHP. Why would I want to go back to that?
 * RN really messes with your head in terms of mark up and styling. I think they try too hard to make it web-like. But, I guess they’re trying to appeal to web developers, not native developers.
 * At this point, RN is changing so fast, and upgrades are not always smooth. So, you need to plan on rewriting your apps as RN evolves. Maybe that’s not a bad thing. But I’d rather write new apps than rewrite my existing apps.

 Live code swapping without republishing to the app store is fantastic. RN’s hot reload during development is a lot better than LiveView/TiShadow. And RN’s debugging tools are definitely a lot better than Titanium’s (which aren’t even available to OS users). So, it’s not without some really great benefits.

 Overall, it seems like a great tool for those coming from the web world, or those used to working with PhoneGap/Cordova style app wrappers. I’m less sure it’s the right tool for me. YMMV.
	I have only briefly explored ReactNative and I’m probably biased by my years of Titanium experience. But, I didn’t really like RN. I haven’t looked in a few months so maybe some of this has changed, but here are my thoughts:

	* A lot of the published components aren’t exposing the actual native widgets, but web-like simulations. For example, the Android tab controller is not exposed in any of the modules I saw. There are many simulations using div-like buttons (with some of them — ack! -- having the tabs being on the bottom). I think this will lead to a lot of “uncanny valley” apps that won’t feel or act native. Maybe users don’t care. But I do.
	* As with Titanium, you mostly deal with modules which wrap and expose native code. Unless you’re a native developer, you’re relying on others to write, share, and support these. I’m guessing that like we’ve seen with Titanium, a lot of modules will be published then go unsupported and stale.
	* I just can’t get into the idea of mixing my markup into my code. I did that when I was a self-taught newbie slinging spaghetti PHP. Why would I want to go back to that?
	* RN really messes with your head in terms of mark up and styling. I think they try too hard to make it web-like. But, I guess they’re trying to appeal to web developers, not native developers.
	* At this point, RN is changing so fast, and upgrades are not always smooth. So, you need to plan on rewriting your apps as RN evolves. Maybe that’s not a bad thing. But I’d rather write new apps than rewrite my existing apps.

	Live code swapping without republishing to the app store is fantastic. RN’s hot reload during development is a lot better than LiveView/TiShadow. And RN’s debugging tools are definitely a lot better than Titanium’s (which aren’t even available to OS users). So, it’s not without some really great benefits.

	Overall, it seems like a great tool for those coming from the web world, or those used to working with PhoneGap/Cordova style app wrappers. I’m less sure it’s the right tool for me. YMMV.