What is the React Native Framework & how does it function?

Posted by Parija Rangnekar On Filed under React Native No Comments
What is the React Native Framework & how does it function?
React native app development
React Native is one of the most preferred frameworks for cross-platform app development and has been adopted by several industry giants including Facebook, Instagram, Skype Microsoft, Tesla, Shopify, Walmart, and UberEats. This framework was created by the Facebook team to address the limitations of React.js.
The Facebook-developed SDK React was a viable option for building web apps. However, when Facebook adopted a mobile-first strategy, web apps needed to be rendered to the mobile platform. This task was indeed challenging! At first, the Facebook engineers employed HTML5 to render apps on the mobile web, but this strategy failed. Thereafter, they embedded the WebView within a mobile-native container. This approach too wasn’t workable due to the absence of necessary attributes like gestures & touch events, a keyboard API, and image management capacities.
Then, they realized the need to build native apps for delivering an impeccable UX. But, the idea to build Native apps for Android and iOS separately involved roadblocks – an imperative coding process, separate codebases for different platforms, and a slow iteration process as each app’s prototype needed Playstore’s prior approval.
Finally, Facebook conducted an internal hackathon, and React Native, an improved version of React, was coined. The React Native framework was launched in 2015 as the one-stop solution for mobile app development and made open-source in the same year. Let’s explore more about the framework and its functioning!

React Native: An Overview

React Native is a JavaScript-based mobile app development framework that is used for crafting natively-rendered mobile applications for the Android and iOS operating systems. The unique selling point of React Native lies in the fact that developers can build apps for both platforms simultaneously using a single codebase. The framework uses platform-specific modules and APIs by compiling the JS code to native components. So, the React Native developers can use native components like Text, View, and Images as building blocks for creating new components.

How does React Native differ from React?

React Native is based on React for the web, the Facebook-developed JS library used for developing UIs. But, while React targets the browser, React Native targets mobile app platforms. As such, mobile app developers enjoy the convenience of using a known JavaScript library for creating mobile apps with a native-like look and feel.
React Native uses Text primitive in place of span primitive used for the web. This Text results in a native TextView for Android apps and a native iOS UIView for iOS apps. For this reason, despite using JavaScript for app development, the end application is not a web app embedded within the shell of a mobile app, rather it is a mobile app which is real native
React Native apps are created using JSX, a combination of JavaScript and XML-esque markup, just like React apps. The difference is that React Native uses a “bridge” under the hood for invoking native-rendering APIs. Here, Objective-C/Swift APIs are used for rendering UI components on iOS apps while Java/Kotlin APIs are used in the case of Android apps. Simply put, the bridge translates JS code into platform-specific components. As a result, the app renders real mobile UI components instead of web views; imparting the look and feel of a mobile app. Moreover, React Native exposes the JS interfaces for the platform APIs; this enables apps to access smartphone device features like a user’s current location, camera, etc.

How do React Native Apps function? hhh

A React Native app is segregated into three different parts –native code, JavaScript code, and the bridge. The bridge interprets JS code for executing it in native platforms and enables asynchronous communication between Native elements and the JS code.

Significant threads involved in the functioning of a React Native application

React native app development services
Main (Native) thread: The main thread, also called the Native thread, is used for UI rendering in iOS and Android applications. It manages the task of displaying UI elements and processes users’ gestures.
JavaScript thread: The JS thread basically deals with the app’s business logic and defines the structure as well as the UI functions. The functions of the JS thread include executing the JS code within a separate JS engine, making API calls, processing touch events, etc.
Shadow thread (Shadow Tree): This thread generates shadow nodes and acts as a mathematical engine that uses algorithms to transform layout updates into accurate data and UI events into the correctly serialized payload.
Native module thread: Whenever an application requires access to the platform API, the process takes place in the native module thread.
Customs Native Module thread: Such threads are used for accelerating an app’s performance when custom modules are used. For instance, React Native handles animations using a separate native thread so that this task is offloaded from the JS thread.
Out of the aforesaid threads, the most important threads that help a React Native app to function are the Native thread and the JS thread. Interestingly, there is no direct communication between these two threads and so, they do not block each other.

Functioning of a React Native App: Crucial Steps

Check out how a React Native app works!
Step # 1
When an app launches, the Native thread loads the app and spawns the JavaScript thread for executing the JS code. The Native thread hears UI events such as touch, press, etc., and passes on these events to the JS thread through the React Native bridge.
Step # 2
JavaScript loads and the JS thread sends information to the shadow thread on what has to be rendered on the screen. The shadow thread then calculates layouts using algorithms and decides on how the view positions should be computed. The shadow thread then passes on the layout parameters to the main thread for rendering the view.)
Step # 3
The Main thread collects UI events and sends them to the shadow thread. Events are converted into serialized payloads and sent to the JS thread.
Step # 4
The JavaScript thread now processes the payloads and then updates the UI or calls native methods.
React native development company
Step # 2, step # 3, and step # 4 get repeated continually every time JavaScript’s event loop is iterated.
After every event loop in the JS thread gets completed, the native side receives batched updates to native views; these are then executed in the Native thread. Remember, the batched updates should be sent by the JS thread to the Native thread before the deadline for the rendering of the next frame, to keep up the app performance. A slow JS thread due to complicated processing in the JS event loop hampers the UI. The only exception wherein a slow JS thread doesn’t affect performance is in scenarios when native views take place entirely in the Native thread.

How does the React Native Bridge ensure smooth interaction amongst the threads?

The React Native Bridge allows asynchronous communication between the threads so that one thread doesn’t block the other. Moreover, the messages are batched – messages are transferred between threads in an optimized way. Furthermore, the bridge serializes messages so that two threads cannot share the same data or operate using the same data.

How to set up the React Native App Development Environment?

Here’s how to set up the environment to create a React Native app with the help of Expo.
  • Install Node.js, get Expo’s command-line tool, and then put the command npm install Expo-cli –global. Once the Expo cli tool gets installed type expo init todo-app.
  • Now a screen will be displayed and you need to select the option “blank” for a blank app. Include the workflow features of Expo as well. Then, enter your app’s name, press enter, and continue the setting-up process.
  • Navigate to the new project created for starting the app with the command npm start and for stopping the app you need to press Cntrl + C. The developers’ server will run and a new tab having the Expo manager screen gets opened in the web browser.
The app can be previewed by either running it on an Android emulator or by installing the Expo app on your mobile phone and running the app on the device by scanning the QR code. Thereafter, you need to install a text editor like Atom, Sublime, Visual Studio Code, etc. Now you’ve got all the necessary tools to create a React Native app.

Final Verdict:

React Native is a profitable option to pick if you need to build a mobile app that targets Android as well as the iOS operating systems. Cross-platform development with React Native speeds up your development and reduces development costs. Hence, this framework is best for entrepreneurs who intend to build a quick app prototype for validating the app idea.
Need technical assistance and expert guidance on React Native app development? Contact Biz4Solutions, a highly experienced React Native development company in USA and India, offering world-class services to clients across the globe.

The Role of Mobile Healthcare Apps in Redefining the Future of the Healthcare Industry!

Posted by Parija Rangnekar On Filed under Healthcare No Comments
The Role of Mobile Healthcare Apps in Redefining the Future of the Healthcare Industry!
Mobile healthcare app development
The concept of healthcare digitalization is not new! The healthcare industry had started replacing traditional methodologies with advanced software and emerging digital trends for a long time. Lately, the adoption of the “mobile health” approach has accelerated this ongoing transformation phase and has paved way for myriad novel opportunities in healthcare. The term mHealth or mobile healthcare has gained traction over the past couple of years and is expected to disrupt the entire healthcare system in the near future. mHealth apps have proved their prowess during the Covid19 pandemic by offering exceptional remote healthcare services.
The adoption rate of mHealth applications is rising in leaps and bounds. Take a look at these interesting stats on the mHealth app industry. According to the renowned market research portal Fact.MR, “mHealth app sales generated revenue of 36.7 Billion USD in the year 2021. During the period of 2022-2032, the sales of medical apps are expected to rise at a CAGR of 14.3%. The report also stated that the healthcare apps segment is going to turn into the highest revenue generation category in the coming years.”
Let’s explore the revolutionary power of mobile healthcare and its potential to define the future of the healthcare sector.

Mobile Healthcare Technology and its Importance

Mobile health or mHealth technology is the practice of delivering patient care and public health services using mobile communication devices and wireless technology. Generally, devices like smartphones, wearables, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), tablets, patient monitors, communications satellites, etc. are utilized to facilitate healthcare, medical information collection & storage, and medical research.
mHealth technology has emerged as a sub-category of eHealth, the yesteryear trend in healthcare, and has been successful in entirely digitalizing medical operations. mHealth apps collect the clinical health data of patients as well as community medical data in real-time. This data is then shared across authorized users – patients, doctors, and research scholars.
Mobile health applications help in carrying out activities like monitoring patients’ vital signs in real-time, remote diagnoses & treatment, telemedicine services, collecting remote data, tracking epidemic outbreaks, creating custom meal plans/ workout regimes, training/collaboration of medical workers, etc.

Key Factors driving the growth of mHealth Industry?

Extensive Smartphone & Internet Usage

The adoption rate of smartphones and the internet is skyrocketing and so, there’s been a rapid surge in the usage of mobile apps. Even consumers living in remote locations enjoy access to these facilities. As such, today, consumers expect a smartphone app for every product and service they need. mHealth apps have made it possible to access healthcare services with a few finger clicks on their smartphone regardless of the location.

Chronic Disease Management

Patients with chronic diseases require regular health check-ups and their health vitals need to be monitored frequently. mHealth apps ease out this task as patients’ vitals can be remotely monitored using wearables like smartwatches, smart bands, smart glasses, etc.

Emerging technologies

The utilization of emerging technologies like IoT, artificial intelligence, blockchain, machine learning, chatbots, and big data in healthcare have enabled mobile healthcare app developers to tailor apps with unimaginable capabilities. For instance, AI gathers meaningful insights from humongous data and facilitates medical analysis and clinical decision-making. ML algorithms yield precise and accurate outcomes when interacting with training data. This helps doctors gain handy insights into patient treatment methodologies. AI/ML technologies also prove highly beneficial in detecting cancer symptoms well in advance, assisting radiology functions, and even helping patients fight depression.
A new technology called DTx (Digital therapeutics) is being introduced into the healthcare industry landscape. DTx is clinically examined software that uses evidence-based technologies for enhancing patient outcomes. This technology delivers healthcare interventions to patients directly. So, if digital therapy tools are integrated into a mobile app, it will contribute immensely to treating patients, managing chronic medical conditions, and preventing the occurrence of diseases. DTx is expected to solve the problem of self-medication whenever individuals are unable to pay a visit to the doctor. This technology is expected to become the buzzword in healthcare in the near future.
Down the line, in the next few years, medical app development is expected to gift us with game-changing solutions for biopharmaceutical development, rare disease treatment/management, and cloud-powered solutions for digital drug discovery.

Advantages of mHealth Applications

Healthcare app development

Improved Medical Care

Healthcare mobile apps have empowered practitioners to provide better and more efficient care. Today, mobile apps have become an inseparable part of medical providers. These apps help practitioners to prescribe medication, view imaging & lab reports and also track patients’ recovery in real-time.
mHealth apps enable doctors to offer virtual diagnoses and treatment from any location, at any time. Moreover, healthcare diagnoses are much faster with minimal chances of errors. Furthermore, doctors and medical professionals receive timely notifications on their personal devices in case of emergencies along with all relevant information and hence it becomes possible to deliver prompt care during such situations.

Digital Interaction: A convenient Option for Patients

Using mobile apps, users can find and book an appointment with the desired practitioner with just a few clicks on their mobile devices, arrange for doctor consultations via video conferencing, and make payments using an integrated payment gateway.
The most popular feature of mHealth apps is digital doctor visits. Patients can reap the benefits of this function for receiving doctor consultations and also clarify queries related to generic healthcare and medication. Modern mHealth apps offer functionality that instantly translates queries into the language preferred by the patient, thereby resolving the possibility of language barriers.
Virtual healthcare interaction proves immensely advantageous to busy individuals, the elderly, and people residing in remote areas without any hospitals nearby as they can receive healthcare services with a few taps on their smartphones.

Assists in Clinical Reference

mHealth apps simplify the hassle-prone task of searching for clinical references as users can view the required information in the app itself. Such an app will allow users to digitally access the major reference documents concerning clinical references including ICD-9, ICD-10, and E&M Coding.

Additional Perks for Patients

Mobile healthcare app development comes with numerous additional perks for patients which were unthinkable in yesteryears. Today, patients using mHealth apps can maintain a digital wellness diary; receive the latest information on vaccines and drugs; view healthcare-related reviews and news digests; get reminders for medication, follow-ups, etc. Patients enjoy easier methods of appointment booking, maintain a diet & calorie control regime, and even can create a personal account linking it to their EMR (Electronic Medical Record).

Saves Time and Efforts for Medical Facility Staff

Owners of hospitals and private clinics can get a custom app developed that can be integrated with a centralized database. Such an app will allow each doctor to view the medical data and lab test results of patients and also make a new addition to the system whenever needed. A custom health app will improve collaboration between healthcare facility staff, automate workflows, minimize the need for manual documentation, and provide precise information. This way, mobile healthcare app development saves time and efforts of medical professionals, improves efficiency, and reduces the chances of costly mistakes.

Increased Profitability for Providers

Healthcare mobile app development has offered innovative apps that improve patient-doctor communication. Also, patients’ trust in the healthcare provider increases as patients can actively participate in their treatment, communicate with health professionals and medics via text messages, receive notifications on follow-ups and ePrescription refills, access digital treatment records, and view test outcomes without having to visit the medical facility.
Thus, mHealth apps allow providers to provide elevated patient experiences, establish a brand name, attract a regular patient inflow, and strengthen their customer base, without having to invest a fortune in infrastructure or hiring medical staff. This results in improved ROI and exponential growth.

In Conclusion:

Mobile healthcare apps are becoming an inseparable component of the healthcare industry as more healthcare and pharmacy service providers are moving toward a technology-infused approach to delivering patient-centric services. The future of mHealth apps looks promising as advancements in AR, AI, and Cloud are expected soon. App development in healthcare in USA is undoubtedly a lucrative investment option for entrepreneurs.
However, developing flawless medical apps is no cakewalk and requires loads of experience and expertise. Therefore, it’ll be a good idea to seek professional help from an experienced healthcare mobile app development firm to craft an amazing mHealth app that will successfully address users’ pain points.