No one doubts that mobile App development and programming languages have a future. The days when companies could ignore mobile users are over!
If you are embarking on creating your app, you need to decide on the right technology and programming language.
There are dozens of programming languages for mobile apps. Going through lists of 30 different languages on one site, then 15 on another could take days…
To save you time, here is a list of the top 5 languages, each of which will help you develop a mobile app.
Why specialize in a mobile development language?
Developing a mobile app requires a lot of time and money. If you are planning to create a mobile app for Android, iOS or both, you need to decide which programming language you will use.
If you’re not sure which language to choose, check out our guide to the most commonly used programming languages in the world today. It can help you decide which one is best for your business.
The first step is to identify the type of application you want to create. Will it be for an internal process? Or will it be for public consumption? Will it be a simple application that just needs to do the job, or a complex application with many features?
Once you’ve determined the type of application you need, it’s time to start looking for languages. You need to consider three things: ease of use, market penetration and popularity, and flexibility.
Specializing in a mobile development language will allow you to create applications for specific platforms, devices, operating systems, and screen sizes. For example:
- If you want to create apps for the Apple iPhone or iPad devices, you need to learn Objective-C.
- If you want to develop Android applications, Java is the best choice.
There are different types of app development from a coding perspective. In general, mobile App developers can create an application in one of these 2 categories: native or hybrid applications.
Native applications
Native applications are coded in a language that is natively supported by the operating system of a specific device.
Of course, if you want to code your app “natively”, you will actually have to create 2 apps entirely.
Java (Android)
Java is more than 25 years old and remains the most popular programming language among developers, despite all the newcomers that have appeared in recent years. In a world where new technologies are rapidly replacing old ones, none has been able to replace Java.
One of the main reasons why Java is the first choice among application developers is that it is very easy to learn and use, and it also has a very large community, which is a welcome help for new developers.
Despite its ease of learning, Java is a very powerful programming language for mobile Apps.
Some of the best Android applications have been developed using Java, including Spotify or Twitter. The Android operating system is also coded in Java.
Kotlin (Android)
Kotlin is a statically typed programming language for the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and Android. It was designed by JetBrains to be a better Java and it really has some killer features.
The main one is that it is compatible with all existing JVM tools, libraries and frameworks, which means you can use it from day one without having to learn anything new or change your workflow. You can even write your Android applications in Kotlin if you want.
Kotlin also has some other interesting features:
- An intuitive syntax that allows you to code faster and more efficiently than Java.
- A strong type system that prevents errors and provides many useful features such as null safety and data classes.
- Nullity annotations allow you to specify which variables can be null or non-null when declared. So you don’t have to worry about runtime exceptions caused by forgetting this important detail during coding.
It provides an extremely convenient way to write code in your mobile Apps. Kotlin is fully interoperable with Java (one of the most popular programming languages)This allows developers who have worked with Java in the past to start using Kotlin in their projects.
Kotlin also comes with excellent IDE support, which makes it easy to develop your applications with Kotlin.
Applications coded with Kotlin include Trello, or Evernote.
Swift (iOS)
Successor to Objective-C, Swift is an open-source programming language, launched by Apple in 2014, the language is flexible, scalable and can easily adapt a programming model to add modern features to any application.
If you are looking for a high-level language with modern features and tools, Swift is the best option. It is mainly used to develop applications for their iOS and macOS operating systems, but it can also be used for other platforms, including Android and Linux.
There are several reasons why Swift is a good choice for developers who want to create applications for mobile devices. First of all, it is fast – it uses a lightweight syntax that makes it easy to write code quickly and execute it efficiently on the device. It also has a high level of security built into its design, which can help reduce bugs in your application and ensure that it runs smoothly without crashing or freezing when you use it on the go. Finally, the language has the support of Apple itself: the company provides documentation on how to use Swift with its products, as well as regular updates on new features planned for future versions of iOS (which means there will always be something new!).
Apps developed in Swift include Lyft, LinkedIn, and many others.
Flutter
Flutter is a free and open source mobile App development framework created by Google. It is used to develop applications for Android and iOS, written in Dart, a programming language developed by Google. With Flutter, you can quickly and easily create beautiful native applications.
Flutter uses its own rendering engine, which makes it easy to work with widgets and make changes without affecting the rest of your app. Thus, development in Flutter feels like working with HTML or CSS rather than low-level native platform APIs.
Another advantage of using Flutter is that it allows you to reuse code across platforms (iOS/Android)So if you have an existing code base for either platform, you can use it instead of writing new boilerplate code every time.
Objective-C
Objective-C is a superset of C to which it adds object-oriented capabilities and a dynamic runtime.
It was created by Brad Cox and Tom Love in 1986 at the Stepstone Research Center (and later by Adele Goldberg), originally for NeXTSTEP, which was the operating system of the first NeXT computer.
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, he oversaw the use of Objective-C by the Macintosh software team for all Mac applications. In 2003, NeXT was acquired by Apple Inc. marking the transition from Objective-C used only on NeXT computers to Objective-C used by both companies’ products, including iOS mobile phones/tablets (iPhone).
Hybrid applications
Hybrid apps are “cross-platform” apps that don’t need to be built separately for Android and iOS. This means you can create a single app and deploy it on both platforms, cutting your development work in half while doubling your reach.
React Native
React Native was born as a project during an internal hackathon at Facebook, and proved to be so good that it has become one of the most popular coding languages, and thus can create applications that work on any platform.
React Native allows developers to write sections of code and reuse them on different platforms. After deploying the code, they can easily adapt it to other platforms, styling elements and detailing the finer nuances.
In addition to code reuse, React Native also has a number of pre-built components in an open-source library. This means that you can easily use components that have already been developed by others, which allows for a great speed of development.
Another major advantage of React Native is the support for third-party plugins. So if your e-commerce application needs a calendar, you don’t need to create one from scratch. React Native allows you to search for a pre-built calendar available for use (there are plenty) and simply integrate it into your app.
Considered the future of hybrid programming languages, Uber and Airbnb are coded in this language!
Cordova
Cordova allows you to code a hybrid application, then ported to different operating systems. Cordova is not a language per se but a mobile development framework.
You don’t need to master native iOS or Android languages because Cordova works with web languages: HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript.
Walmart and Adobe use Cordova.
Our tip for developing your mobile App
In this article, we have outlined some of the key factors to consider when choosing your mobile app development language.
Your needs are unique, and so is every language – but with these guidelines in mind, you can approach your decision process with confidence! We hope this guide has helped you find the confidence to make that choice. Good luck with your application development!