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   📖 Part I: Foundations of Cross-Platform Mobile Development

🟢 Part I: Foundations of Cross-Platform Mobile Development

This first part of the book builds the essential foundation for understanding mobile app development with React Native and Expo. Before diving into scaffolding your first project, it’s important to establish the right mindset for mobile development, clarify how React Native bridges JavaScript with native platforms, and understand the ecosystem Expo provides to simplify the development workflow.

Chapter 1: Why Mobile Feels Different from Web

This chapter explores the crucial mindset shift developers must make when transitioning from web to mobile. While React Native lets you reuse your JavaScript and React skills, the environment is fundamentally different—mobile apps run on constrained devices, follow platform-specific guidelines, and must integrate with native APIs. We also introduce how React Native acts as the bridge between your familiar React code and the native UI components rendered on iOS and Android. Finally, we outline the unique role Expo plays in lowering the barrier to entry for mobile developers.

Key points covered:

  • The mindset shift from building for the web to building for mobile.
  • How React Native bridges JavaScript with native UI rendering.
  • Expo’s role in making development approachable and efficient.

Chapter 2: The Expo Ecosystem

In this chapter, we dive into the world of Expo itself. Expo provides not only an SDK with prebuilt modules but also a bundling and runtime system that removes the need for complex native setup at the early stages of development. We explore the Metro bundler, the differences between running your project in Expo Go, a Dev Client, or a Production build, and when to use each approach.

Key points covered:

  • Overview of Expo SDK and its prebuilt modules.
  • Explanation of Metro bundler and its role in development.
  • Differences between Expo Go, Dev Client, and Production builds.

By the end of Part I, readers will have a clear understanding of the mental shift required for mobile development, how React Native and Expo complement each other, and what tools are available in the Expo ecosystem. This knowledge sets the stage for starting your first project with confidence in Part II.