What is the best JavaScript framework for mobile and desktop applications in 2021?

This article is reproduced from the public account "Reading Core Technique" (ID: AI_Discovery)

When we hear the word JavaScript, “web development” immediately pops into our mind, because JavaScript has been the most widely used language for web application development for a long time, and frameworks such as Angular, React, and Vue are also very famous at present.

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Although JavaScript dominates the web development space, it has to take a backseat to Java, C#, and C++ in mobile and desktop application development. However, many people may not realize that JavaScript has also had an impact on mobile and desktop application development.

In this article, we will discuss some of the major JavaScript frameworks and their pros and cons for mobile and desktop app development.

1. Electron

Electron is a desktop application development framework launched in 2013. Electron allows developers to develop applications using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, which is very similar to the web development stack. In addition, Electron is a combination of Node.js and Chromium, which enables you to run any web application and Node application using Electron.

Image source: https://2019.stateofjs.com/mobile-desktop/electron/

Advantages of Electron:

• Chromium renders the UI like developer tools to unlock more features
• Functionality similar to web applications
• Can be developed using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
• You can focus on core application development, and Electron takes care of all the tedious initialization steps
• Multi-platform support
• Using npm modules

Disadvantages of Electron:

• Chromium requires a lot of space
• Security Question
• Cross-platform issues with native dependencies

2. React Native

React Native is one of the most commonly used mobile development platforms. React native was launched in 2015 and quickly became popular among JavaScript developers, who previously had to learn languages ​​like Java to develop mobile apps. This ability to develop mobile apps using JavaScript also attracted many web developers to start their mobile development journey using React native.

Image source: https://2019.stateofjs.com/mobile-desktop/reactnative/

JavaScript and JSX are the main components of ReactNative, and being able to use most of the code on Android and IOS platforms is the main reason behind its massive adoption. React Native has many advantages, and I have listed a few important ones as follows:

• Large ecosystem of packages and libraries
• Shorter development time
• Continuous updates powered by Facebook
• Multi-platform support
• Hot Reload
• Open Source
• Supports creation of simplified user interfaces
• Large community and documentation

The disadvantages of React Native are:

• Requires native knowledge to some extent
• There may be performance issues compared to pure native apps
• Security Question

3. Ionic

Ionic is another open source Javascript-based mobile development framework that is closely related to Angular. Launched in 2013, Ionic’s golden age came with the rise of Angular.

Similar to Electron, Ionic also includes HTML 5 SDK, which enables the development of native applications using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Ionic focuses on building innovative and user-friendly applications to meet application needs. But sadly, with the massive promotion of React Native, the number of Ionic users is decreasing.

Image source: https://2019.stateofjs.com/mobile-desktop/ionic/

The advantages of Ionic are:

• Cross-platform support
• Can be developed using common web development techniques
• Contains preset components and themes
• Easy to learn
• Built-in command line interface
• The latest version supports React and Vue

The disadvantages of Ionic are:

• Not suitable for high performance applications
• Hot reload is not available
• Security Question
• Lack of stable plugins
• Common random failures during build

In addition to the frameworks mentioned above, there are many others, such as native apps, Cordova, and Expo, which can also be used to develop mobile and desktop applications. The following figure shows the statistics of the 2019 State of JavaScript survey.

Image source: https://2019.stateofjs.com/mobile-desktop/

It can be clearly seen that Electron and React Native are at the top, while Ionic is far below native apps and Expo. However, the reason for choosing Ionic is that it is based on Angular. If you are familiar with Angular, Ionic will be easier to learn.

However, there are also many frameworks that are not based on JavaScript, such as Flutter, which are growing rapidly in the mobile app development competition. I think it will be difficult for these JavaScript frameworks to keep up with them in the future. If you are interested in developing mobile and desktop applications using JavaScript, Electron and React Native are good choices for you.