Wait, What Happens When My React Native Application Starts?
Nicolas Couvrat at ReactFest 2018
Developing in React Native we often forget that event an simple "hello world" uses almost 1 000 000 lines of code. A non negligible part of it is dedicated to organising its launch, from firing the JavaScript thread to maintaining a "bridge" between JavaScript and native code. While it might be fine not to worry about it for small applications, bigger developments can benefit from understanding what React Native does under the hood. For example, have you ever wondered what is the meaning behind the usual boilerplate when creating a native component? After a short overview of the launch phase and threading in React native, we will dive deeper and look at what exactly is hidden behind the "bridge", before discussing how it allows the creation of native modules usable both from native and JavaScript code.