A SXSW 2016 Interactive Workshop
##Workshop Materials
(Check out our video introduction to this workshop.)
Web apps have come a long way (as our colleague has aptly demonstrated), but native apps still allow you to do some really cool things that you just can’t do on the web. Like using bluetooth to control physical devices around you.
React revolutionized how we though about building user interfaces on the web, and React Native is poised to do the same for native app development.
Using React Native, we can build native applications using the JavaScript language, development workflow, and toolkit you already know and love.
In this session, we’ll guide you through the development of your very first iOS app using just your existing knowledge of JavaScript.
First we’ll discuss the fundamentals of React Native. What is it? How does it work?
Next we’ll provide a quick primer on building user interfaces with React.
Then, together, we’ll build our very own iOS app. We'll cover everything, from setup, to built-in iOS UI elements, to styling, all the way to how to extend React Native when you need to tap directly into native iOS APIs.
This workshop is all about building. Since we'll be building an iOS application, each participant must arrive with a suitable iOS development environment (a Mac computer with Xcode installed).
This is an advanced workshop. A solid foundation of JavaScript development experience is required to get the most out of the session. Specific experience with React or React Native, however, is not necessary.
Lawson and Nate are co-founders and directors of the client-side app SIG (special interest group) at Viget. They've built dozens of web applications for clients around the world ranging from Y-Combinator partners to Fortune 500s to stealth start ups (and a few just for ourselves). Most recently the pair has been working together on a native iOS companion app to still-secret connected athletic training device (of course using React Native).
Boulder, CO
Lawson works as a software engineer for Viget building apps for clients in Ruby and JavaScript. The breadth of his work at Viget spans a wide gamut from an investment portal for a private equity firm, to core development on a top blogging platform, to API development for a major identity verification service. In addition to his consultant engineering work at Viget, Lawson serves as tech director and chief engineer to a 4-year NIH grant for the extension of his research building educational software tools at the Duke University School of Medicine. Lawson has over 5 years of experience creating software for the web, more recently adopting a strong focus on client-side and native applications, co-directing the client-side app engineering interest group at Viget. Away from the office, Lawson works with non-profits such as the Duke Center for Science Education and the KIPP Foundation, developing software to improve K-12 education.
Lawson has over 5 years of experience creating software for the web, and has expert knowledge of Ruby and JavaScript. As a consultant engineer, Lawson has the unique opportunity to plan, build, and deliver a wide variety of apps from scratch on a regular basis, allowing for the constant adoption of the latest technologies, and the development of a broadly applicable skill set. Most recently, Lawson and his colleauges at Viget have been most interested in client-side projects using the React UI library and React Native. Through open-source contributions and client work, he has achieved a high degree of mastery with both libraries. His background in traditional JavaScript web development (and not mobile app development) makes him particularly well-suited to guide others with similar web dev backgrounds through the construction of their first native apps.
Durham, NC
Nate Hunzaker is a JavaScript engineer at Viget, a full-service web agency. There he spends his time writing web applications, interactive data visualizations, and playing with (and contributing to) the latest open-source web technologies.
Over the past 5 years, Nate has developed considerable expertise writing web applications with JavaScript. His familiarity with the React library is nearly unparalleled. Nate is a React core contributor, and has authored several additional open-source JavaScript libraries for building applications with React, including the popular implementation of the Flux architecture, Microcosm. Nate’s background in traditional JavaScript development, coupled with his intricate knowledge of all things React, makes him an ideal instructor for this React Native workshop.
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