Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Retrofit VS Realm React Native

Compare Retrofit VS Realm React Native and see what are their differences

Retrofit logo Retrofit

Retrofit is a type-safe HTTP client for Android and Java.

Realm React Native logo Realm React Native

The fastest database for cross platform mobile apps
  • Retrofit Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-19
  • Realm React Native Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-23

Retrofit features and specs

  • Easy to Use
    Retrofit provides a simple and intuitive API for making HTTP requests, making it easy to integrate with your Android applications.
  • Type-Safe HTTP Calls
    With Retrofit, HTTP requests are made using method calls, and responses are automatically converted to Java objects. This type safety helps reduce errors in making network calls.
  • Flexible and Extensible
    Retrofit supports a variety of converters (like Gson, Jackson, Moshi, Protobuf), adapters (like RxJava, Kotlin Coroutines), and other customizations, making it highly adaptable to various needs.
  • Annotation-Based Configuration
    Annotations like @GET, @POST, and @Query make defining APIs more declarative and concise, reducing boilerplate code.
  • Built-In Support for Pagination
    Retrofit's integration with libraries like Paging makes it straightforward to implement paginated data loading.
  • Integration with OkHttp
    Retrofit seamlessly integrates with OkHttp, which provides caching, connection pooling, and HTTP/2 support, thus enhancing performance and reliability.

Possible disadvantages of Retrofit

  • Learning Curve
    While easy to use, it has some initial learning overhead, especially for developers not familiar with annotation-based configuration and asynchronous programming.
  • Verbose Error Handling
    Error handling in Retrofit can be verbose and repetitive if not done correctly, requiring custom solutions for efficient handling of common HTTP errors.
  • Larger APK Size
    Including both Retrofit and its dependencies, such as OkHttp and various converters, can increase the size of your APK, which might be a concern for developers optimizing for smaller app sizes.
  • Complex Configuration for Advanced Use Cases
    For more complex scenarios like custom request/response logging, interceptors, and parsers, configuration can become cumbersome and less straightforward.
  • Default Lack of Built-In Caching
    While OkHttp supports caching, Retrofit does not provide built-in caching out of the box. This requires additional configuration to implement client-side caching effectively.
  • No Built-In WebSocket Support
    Retrofit is mainly designed for RESTful APIs and does not natively support WebSocket communication, requiring additional libraries for such use cases.

Realm React Native features and specs

  • Offline First
    Realm React Native enables offline-first experiences, allowing applications to function without network connectivity by storing data locally on the device.
  • Data Synchronization
    Built-in synchronization with MongoDB Atlas ensures that local data is automatically synchronized with the server, reducing the need for custom sync logic in the app.
  • Performance
    Realm offers high-performance data handling by using a custom database engine that is optimized for mobile devices, allowing quick access to and manipulation of data.
  • Ease of Use
    The API is designed to be intuitive and easy to use, making it accessible for developers to implement database operations without excessive complexity.
  • Real-time Updates
    Provides real-time data updates, ensuring that any changes in the database are immediately reflected in the application UI.

Possible disadvantages of Realm React Native

  • Learning Curve
    Developers new to Realm may face a learning curve compared to more traditional databases, as it introduces unique data models and patterns.
  • Limited Support for Complex Queries
    While Realm supports basic queries efficiently, handling complex queries may be less straightforward than with a traditional relational database.
  • Dependency on Specific Ecosystem
    Using Realm tightly integrates an application with MongoDB's ecosystem, potentially complicating migration to other databases or systems.
  • File Size
    Realm's file size can grow significantly, especially with large datasets, which may be a concern for apps with limited storage space.
  • Open Source Limitations
    Realm is open-source but certain advanced features are tied to MongoDB Atlas, requiring consideration of potential costs and limitations in free-tier usage.

Retrofit videos

Sep.30 Patch Analysis and Yuudachi Retrofit Review

More videos:

  • Review - Ring Retrofit Alarm Kit Review - Setup and Installation
  • Review - Retrofit Hookah (Optima) Review - EPISODE 9 (RHS)

Realm React Native videos

No Realm React Native videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Retrofit and Realm React Native)
Development Tools
78 78%
22% 22
Databases
0 0%
100% 100
Javascript UI Libraries
100 100%
0% 0
NoSQL Databases
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Retrofit should be more popular than Realm React Native. It has been mentiond 29 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Retrofit mentions (29)

  • Energy-Efficient Schema-Driven Development with Spring WebMVC/WebFlux
    At first, I thought it was just a knockoff of Retrofit (sorry...), but it turns out you can also use it as a controller interface. The *Exchange annotations in the earlier example come from this HTTP Interface. - Source: dev.to / 16 days ago
  • Using Retrofit Interceptors to check network connection in Android and testing it
    From this point on, I will assume, you have a basic understanding of Retrofit. To get the most out of this tutorial I would actually suggest you have a retrofit client already implemented in your application. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Lets make a Twitch Android app. Part 1. App access tokens
    Now you might think that in order to make the request we are going to use Retrofit but in reality we are going to be sending out an implicit intent like so:. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Using OAuth2.0 and Retrofit to talk to the GitHub api on Android
    This particular blog post will be us building on the information from the previous blog post and using the authorization code from the GitHub OAuth API in combination with Retrofit. To finally get a access token, which allows us to make requests to the API on a behalf of a user. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Show HN: Turn Your APIs into Swift Protocols
    Hey HN! If you're a fan of Swift you may have noticed that with WWDC 2023 came the (beta) release of macros. They're super powerful and expressive! I've been wishing Swift had a [Retrofit](https://square.github.io/retrofit/) style API definition library for years, and with macros it seemed like this was now possible. I'd like to show you all Papyrus, a library that turns your APIs into type-safe Swift protocols.... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
View more

Realm React Native mentions (5)

  • Using Expo and Realm with expo-dev-client
    The Realm React Native SDK has a hermes branch that is indeed compatible with Hermes. So, it'll work with react-native-reanimated v2 but not with Expo, due to the React Native version the Expo SDK is pinned to. - Source: dev.to / about 3 years ago
  • Getting started with Realm for React Native Using Expo Template, Enhanced
    Simple Expo React Native application to quickly get started with React Native RealmDb API, based on the starter template that is provided by Realm. I added a few things, specifically working with relationships in RealmDB since it was really what I was looking for before I started to create the video. - Source: dev.to / about 3 years ago
  • Build an Offline-First React Native Mobile App with Expo and Realm
    To add our Realm library to the project we’ll type in the Terminal:. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
  • Local database for RN
    Realm maybe the thing you’re looking for, https://docs.mongodb.com/realm/sdk/react-native/. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Observing Realm database transactions with React Native
    Realm’s React Native SDK is an incredibly powerful tool that takes advantage of the NoSQL database developed by MongoDB. Realm can be used for offline first mobile apps or as a general purpose database for traditional mobile applications. One of the biggest advantages of using Realm for data storage is that it’s Objects are “live” by default; meaning that transactions and the state associated with a given Object... - Source: dev.to / almost 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Retrofit and Realm React Native, you can also consider the following products

jQuery - The Write Less, Do More, JavaScript Library.

React Native - A framework for building native apps with React

ObjectBox - ObjectBox empower edge computing with an edge device database and synchronization solution for Mobile & IoT. Store and sync data from edge to cloud.

Babel - Babel is a compiler for writing next generation JavaScript.

React Native Seed - Starting point for your React Native project

Composer - Composer is a tool for dependency management in PHP.