CREOLISED CODE by Open Window

CREOLISED CODE

ACADEMIC ESSAY

CHRISTIAN KRAHTZ

221198

27 OCTOBER 2024

CREOLISED CODE

In this essay, I will examine a project I previously developed using React Native, highlighting how React Native functions as a creolized language or framework. Developers like myself use it to create unified applications accessible to all mobile users, ensuring inclusivity across platforms. Reflecting on my past experiences in mobile application development, I found it challenging to keep track of which language was required for each platform. The introduction of a creolised language, like React Native, made it possible for me to write code that both Android and iOS understand, significantly simplifying development. This experience not only reshaped my approach but also underscored how cross-platform frameworks like React Native can fundamentally alter the software development landscape, encouraging inclusivity, efficiency, and creativity.

In this essay, I will introduce you to a project I created and explore how creolization impacted its development, as demonstrated in my mobile application, Source Code (CWKrahtz, 2024). Creolization, as I understand it, occurs when two distinct groups come together due to diaspora, forming a new culture, language, or group while preserving aspects of the original cultures. Charles Stewart (2016), in Creolization: History, Ethnography, Theory , views creolization as a dynamic, ongoing process of cultural blending and transformation. He suggests that creolization is not limited to specific historical contexts, such as those found in colonial societies, but is a broader, continuous phenomenon that occurs wherever different cultural groups interact.

Stewart’s concept of cultural blending resonates deeply within the technical landscape of modern development. The blend of Android and iOS frameworks within React Native is not merely a technical synthesis but an ideological shift that emphasises global inclusivity. This inclusivity allows developers from varying backgrounds and with diverse technical skills to create applications that reach all users, regardless of their platform. As the technical

community becomes more globalised, frameworks like React Native exemplify the way diverse influences create new norms. Stewart’s theory provides a lens to understand this shift, as it underlines the significance of cultural fusion in the creation of tools and languages that are inherently inclusive and accessible.

Similarly, Édouard Glissant expands on the concept of creolization in Poetics of Relation (Glissant, 1997), viewing it as an unpredictable process that doesn’t result in fixed identities or systems. Glissant emphasises a “rhizomatic” approach, where interactions result in ever-expanding connections, moving away from rigid frameworks and toward flexible, dynamic structures. React Native operates as a “rhizome,” continuously evolving through contributions from developers with diverse coding experiences, platform expertise, and cultural perspectives. These contributions reflect Glissant’s vision of an interconnected, evolving system, similar to a tree’s root system that grows in various directions, forming new connections. Glissant’s ideas support the notion that React Native is a creolized language, as it incorporates both iOS and Android elements to create a versatile, hybrid framework.

A practical example of this flexibility in my project Source Code is the seamless integration of platform-specific functionality without duplicating code. Developing a quiz challenge app, I needed functionality for notifications, media access, and storage—each requiring native access to the device’s OS. React Native allowed me to write this code once, which then adapted seamlessly to the unique needs of iOS and Android, representing Glissant’s “rhizome” concept. As the code interacts with the device’s native components, it continuously adapts and grows in complexity, just as Glissant describes the ongoing expansion of cultural connections.

Another perspective is presented by Gloria Anzaldúa in Borderlands/La Frontera (Anzaldúa, 1987), where she explores the concept of “mestizaje,” or the blending of different cultures at intersections. Anzaldúa’s work emphasises the experience of living at the boundaries of

multiple cultures, balancing and blending influences in a dynamic way. This perspective can be directly linked to the development experience with React Native, which allows developers to work within the “borderlands” of iOS and Android. Developers working in React Native are in a constant state of hybridity, navigating between two ecosystems that traditionally would not overlap. Just as Anzaldúa emphasises the significance of embracing these cultural intersections to create new identities, developers using React Native blend elements from both platforms to create innovative applications.

In developing Source Code, I encountered this concept firsthand as I aimed to create a universally accessible app. Before React Native, creating an app for multiple platforms required separate codebases and unique development tools, fragmenting the user experience. React Native provided me with a unified framework, letting me create seamless experiences across both iOS and Android and, more importantly, granting me freedom from platform-bound limitations. Just as Anzaldúa describes the liberating aspects of hybridity, React Native allows developers to move beyond the traditional boundaries of platform-specific limitations to create a single, cohesive product.

The project itself is a React Native application designed for mobile devices, where users can create and participate in quiz challenges. React Native is a cross-platform development framework that allows developers to write a single codebase that functions on both Android and iOS. Before Meta introduced React Native in 2015 (React Native, n.d.), developers had to create separate codebases for Android and iOS. This led to a significant duplication of effort, as each platform’s distinct requirements—Objective-C or Swift for iOS and Java or Kotlin for Android—necessitated separate code to perform the same functions. React Native revolutionised this process, allowing developers to write a single codebase in JavaScript (facebook, 2019), which is then compiled into native code for both platforms. This approach not only reduces development time but also ensures that applications function consistently

across both platforms, which directly impacts user experience.

React Native achieves this by integrating elements from both Android and iOS development, effectively creating a new, hybrid coding style that bridges the gap between the two platforms. Paul Gilroy’s theory of “double consciousness,” introduced in The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness (Gilroy, 1993), resonates with the experience of React Native development. Gilroy describes double consciousness as the state of existing between two cultural identities. Similarly, React Native enables developers to navigate between the distinct ecosystems of iOS and Android, maintaining an awareness of both while creating something unified. This reflects Gilroy’s concept of hybridity, where elements from two worlds combine to form a cohesive, cross-platform development experience.

In my final year of studies, I was introduced to React Native, a framework that allowed me to apply Charles Stewart’s concept of creolization (Stewart, 2016). This framework integrates Android and iOS development processes into one, enabling me to create a unified application suitable for both platforms with a single set of code. Before React Native, I struggled with choosing between iOS and Android development, as each required its own unique toolset and codebase. This limitation not only increased development time but also restricted my ability to work seamlessly across platforms. Having access to a recognized language like React Native allowed me to create mobile applications that were accessible across devices and systems.

Another theoretical framework that aligns well with React Native is Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of “dialogism,” introduced in The Dialogic Imagination (Bakhtin, 1981). Dialogism, like creolization, involves the interaction of distinct voices or systems to create new forms and meanings. React Native functions as a dialogic framework, facilitating continuous interaction between Android and iOS. This interaction encourages a hybrid development style that doesn’t merely translate functions between platforms but generates new functionality by

blending elements from each. Just as Bakhtin’s dialogism emphasises the importance of intersecting languages in creating a richer discourse, React Native enables a similar process by merging JavaScript with native iOS and Android modules.

React Native’s dialogic nature allows developers to create applications that not only function on both platforms but also leverage unique features from each. In my project, Source Code, I utilised React Native to integrate distinct platform features seamlessly, enhancing the app’s performance and accessibility. This mirrors Bakhtin’s idea of dialogism, underscoring the importance of cross-platform communication in creating a richer, unified development experience. React Native’s dialog fosters a development approach that is not about creating identical functions for each platform but about adapting and enhancing features to create unique user experiences that reflect both systems.

Reflecting on my mobile application, Source Code, I realised that my experience with React Native mirrors the creolization process. By synthesising elements from both platforms, I fostered an environment that encouraged experimentation and adaptability, leading to a more efficient and creative development process. This experience not only aligns with the principles of creolization but also illustrates how merging distinct coding practices can lead to innovative solutions.

The blending of coding languages and styles has reshaped how I approach mobile app development, highlighting the value of flexibility and hybrid solutions. The adoption of crossplatform development, especially through frameworks like React Native, can be seen as a form of creolization within software development. Just as linguistic creolization merges different languages to form a new, stable language, cross-platform development combines the coding styles of iOS and Android to create a unified approach that retains the core principles of both. Ultimately, React Native’s inclusive framework transforms the mobile development industry by embracing hybridity, bridging platforms, and reflecting a centralised approach to coding.

REFERENCES

Anzaldúa, G. (1987). Borderlands/La frontera: The new mestiza. Aunt Lute Books.

CWKrahtz. (2024, May). source-code. GitHub. https://github.com/CWKrahtz/source-code

facebook. (2019, August 16). facebook/react-native. GitHub. https://github.com/facebook/ react-native

Gilroy, P. (1993). The black Atlantic: modernity and double consciousness. Harvard University Press.

Glissant, E. (1997). Poetics of Relation (B. Wing, Trans.). University of Michigan Press. (Original work published 1990)

React Native. (n.d.). React Native · Learn once, write anywhere. React Native. https:// reactnative.dev/

Stewart, C. (2016). Creolization: History, Ethnography, Theory. Routledge.