Introduction
In this article, we'll talk about the best programming languages and toolkits currently available. We'll also review the pros and cons of each so that you can make an informed decision about what's suitable for you and your mobile app development needs.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects a 21% increase in demand for competent developers between 2018 and 2028 due to the development of mobile applications. It has become a growing industry in the last ten years thanks to the rise of mobile phone usage and the development of innovative new technology. Thus there is a high demand for mobile app developers who can produce beautiful, intuitive applications.
Mobile App Development is a process by which a mobile app is created for devices, including smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and more. It involves the app's conception, planning, design, development, and testing. And in the current decade, with an ever-increasing number of mobile phone users and the introduction of new and innovative technologies, it’s an industry that keeps growing.
Even though there are many programming languages, not all are appropriate for app development. As a result, it's crucial to know your options, select the best programming language to develop for Android and iOS, and expand your overall app development skills.
There are many options for aspiring app developers to get started with app development, including using Java and Kotlin for Android development, Swift for iOS apps for the iPhone and iPad, or a more common language like JavaScript (React Native) and Dart (Flutter), for cross-platform apps that run on both Android and iOS.
When creating a mobile application, selecting the correct programming language is crucial. This article talks about the best programming languages that will be popular in 2023. You can use these languages to build your mobile apps.
Types of Mobile Apps
There are essentially two types of mobile apps: native apps and hybrid apps.
Native Apps
Native Apps are developed exclusively for a particular mobile operating system, such as iOS or Android. They are developed in the operating system's native programming language, such as Objective-C or Swift for iOS Applications and Java or Kotlin for Android Applications.
Native Apps Advantages:
Fully utilize the mobile device's functions, such as the camera, GPS, and push notifications;
Fit the user interface of the mobile operating system, which makes the experience better for the user;
The presence of a large number of native libraries, SDK, 3rd party services without any bridges;
Native apps provide the best performance on mobile devices;
Long-term support from IOS and Android platform developers;
Using Swift/ Kotlin greatly speeds up the development process and reduces development time.
Drawbacks to Native Apps:
Due to the need for two separate development teams — one for each operating system — they can be more costly to produce than other types of applications;
They can take longer to develop because each operating system has its own rules and guidelines. Thus, it may disrupt the deadline for order fulfillment in certain cases;
Native Apps Require Frequent Upgrades. If a bug is fixed in native apps or a new update is about to be launched, developers must first submit the updates to the app store and then hope that users will update their apps to the latest versions. If users don't update their app - maybe they didn't notice the update or have enough storage space - those users might abandon the app due to unfixed glitches. Thus, developers constantly have to worry about losing their customer base;
Support for native applications. Several bugs and errors exist due to different platforms. It takes work to control and fix them, reducing the app's efficiency.
Hybrid Apps
A hybrid app was created utilizing a combination of web and native technologies, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, Dart, C#.
Most hybrid apps are made with a framework like Flutter, React Native, Ionic, or Cordova (we'll talk more about these in a bit).
With the increase of mobile usage among people around the globe, the need for mobile is escalating at a non-stoppable rate. Hybrid Mobile App development is an escalating trend in the mobile industry.
Talking hybrid mobile apps then, these apps are easy to adapt faster on the device screens and display streamlined data instantly. The best thing about hybrid apps is that they are more straightforward and quicker to develop than any native app.
Working with hybrid mobile app frameworks makes life easier for developers as they can write code once and build mobile applications that run on the leading platforms without extra effort. The application will run on Android and iOS, and the code can be reused for advanced web applications and desktop applications. To develop cross-platform applications, you can use frameworks that make application development convenient and efficient.
Let's look at some of them.
Flutter
Flutter is Google's Open-source Technology, a programming language designed to develop cross-platform applications, including mobile, web, desktop, and embedded devices. It runs on the Dart virtual machine and is fully compatible with Dart.
Flutter works without middle layers and has a hot reload feature that significantly speeds up development.
It is possible to use many libraries to accelerate the Flutter development process for developers, allowing for the rapid creation of applications. Flutter uses ready-made and custom widgets for fast UI Coding. Also, Flutter is reactive so that you can create responsive user interfaces. Flutter is also open-source; therefore, you can use it for free.
Notable companies using Flutter include BMW, Alibaba, Google Pay, and many more.
Developing apps with Flutter notes often requires only minimal programming and prototyping knowledge. Many testimonials point out that no mobile development experience is needed to start with Flutter.
We discussed the use of Flutter for developing cross-platform applications in more detail earlier in our blog https://www.blog.globalteams.ltd/strengths-and-weaknesses-of-flutter
React Native
React Native is an efficient UI Framework, and it has been used to develop popular apps like Facebook Ads, Walmart, and Bloomberg.
React Native is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces that compile native code. This allows you to use all existing native libraries when developing React Native apps.
For developing cross-platform applications, React Native is a good choice firstly because it is easy to learn for developers who once studied the JavaScript programming language. Secondly, React Native is quite popular, so a large community of developers and learning resources are available.
Xamarin
Xamarin has been one of the most advanced and popular tools for cross-platform development for Android, iOS, and Windows platforms for six years. This mobile development framework connects applications to platform APIs and supports entire interaction with complex mobile device sensors (cameras, GPS, gyroscopes, etc.)
Xamarin allows developers to create every level of the business logic and user interface and provide communication with a server without sacrificing application performance.
Xamarin includes its IDE, Xamarin Studio, and a set of tools, including Hockeyapp, Xamarin Insights, and the test cloud, which minimizes the need to use third-party solutions. Moreover, as Xamarin is a Microsoft subsidiary, the number of Microsoft programs and services easily integrated into Xamarin rises daily.
Ionic Framework
Ionic Framework is a popular tool used for developing cross-platform applications. During development, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are used.
Ionic is an excellent choice for developing cross-platform apps because it's easy to learn and use. In addition, Ionic apps are fast and responsive. And since Ionic uses Cordova and Capacitor, you can access built-in device features like a camera and GPS.
In addition, Ionic allows the creation of hybrid mobile applications that may transform the user experience from a web application to a native application. Since the Framework is closely related to the front-end components, it is flexible to add in frameworks like React, React Native, Vue, or Angular. It takes care of the UI development of your app. There are popular apps developed with Ionic: Sanvello, T-Mobile, Disney, and others.
Apache Cordova
Cordova (formerly PhoneGap) is a proprietary runtime that is open source. Cordova allows you to develop applications for multiple platforms at once using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Developers are provided with a wide range of plugins through which it is possible to access native features of the device, such as the camera and GPS.
Although Cordova is a well-known tool and has been available to users for a long time, it is outdated compared to the Сapacitor, which we will look at in the next section of the article.
Hybrid Applications Offer Various Benefits:
Having one source code base helps speed up application development. Hybrid applications are usually easier and faster to develop;
Mostly Hybrid frameworks based on JS or Dart (Flutter) technologies;
Fewer developers provide development savings. One developer can support both platforms;
Mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches, can support hybrid applications;
Hybrid applications can use the most recent native platform-specific capabilities. They can utilize the latest platform-specific features.
However, Hybrid Apps Have Disadvantages as Well:
Some hybrid frameworks use the middle layer of Java Script for UI rendering and connection to device hardware via APIs, impacting the app's performance. But it's not for Flutter because this framework has no middle layers;
It can be required native features and integration of 3rd party services based on native languages via bridges;
Because they must be compatible with various operating systems, they can be more challenging to test and update;
Support for updates to Hybrid Frameworks may be suspended for various reasons (end of approval by an independent developer, transition to a new technology or language).
How to Choose Which Type of Application to Develop?
Let’s summarize all of the above for ease of understanding:
What Are the Best Languages for App Development?
When creating an application, you have to choose the right strategy. The best choice is a cross-platform application if the application is developed for Android and iOS with a comparable user interface. Otherwise, if you run an application with a unique user interface on each platform, you should consider developing a native application.
iOS Platform
Objective-C
The Objective-C language is a simple computer language designed to implement complex object-oriented programming. At one time, it was used to build successful apps, including Uber, Pinterest, and Instagram.
Objective-C is easy to learn for programmers already familiar with C or C++ because it is built in C. However, it can be more difficult for those new to programming. For now, Objective-C is an old programming language and much less famous than Swift. Nowadays, many applications written in Objective C are rewritten in Swift.
Swift
In 2014, Apple developed its programming language, now known as Swift. Before that, the de facto language for iOS development was Objective-C. Swift is aimed at iOS and OS X developers, giving them the perfect tools for creating the next big thing on the app market. Considering the massive demand in the mobile app market, it’s no surprise that Swift quickly became very popular. It scales nicely, and it’s fast.
Furthermore, Swift is heavily influenced by Ruby and Python, so it’s beginner-friendly and easy to use. However, since it’s somewhat of a freshman compared to other languages, the support community for Swift might be a bit smaller than for the more established languages in the bunch. But, like with any different language, it’s just a matter of time.
Swift is a powerful and intuitive programming language for iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS. Swift is easy to use and open source, so anyone with an idea can create something incredible.
Swift was designed to be easy for beginners to pick up while still being powerful enough for experienced developers.
SwiftUI helps you build great-looking apps across all Apple platforms with the power of Swift — and surprisingly little code. Developers can bring even better experiences to everyone on any Apple device using just one set of tools and APIs.
Some Highlights of the Swift Language Include:
Created by Apple and introduced at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in 2014
It’s a compiled language, so it’s fast and efficient.
It’s type-safe, so it helps to prevent errors and increase code quality.
It has memory management built into the language, so you don’t have to worry about memory leaks.
It’s interactive, so you can write code and see the results immediately.
Swift is safe, fast, and interactive. And it’s easy to learn, even if you’re new to programming. So if you want to develop an iOS app, Swift is probably your language of choice.
Android Platform
Java
Java is one of the most popular programming languages worldwide and is designed to keep running on any stage consistently. It can be used to develop android applications, and Spotify, Netflix, and Google Earth are examples of such applications. You can also use this programming language to build desktop, web, and enterprise applications. Java is one of the most famous programming languages.
Java was chosen as the primary language of Android as it is one of the most popular programming languages. There are many developments and specialists for Java, and programs written in it are portable between operating systems.
Objective-C and Java are object-oriented, making writing modular, reusable code easy. Developers already familiar with C or C++ will quickly master this programming language.
Note, however, that Java is a purely object-oriented programming language, while C is a hybrid language that supports both procedural and object-oriented programming. Java uses a virtual machine to execute code, while C code is compiled directly into machine code. Java code is portable across platforms, but C code is not.
Finally, Java supports automatic memory management, while C does not.
Java is a compiled language, so it's fast and efficient. And because it's type-safe, it helps prevent bugs and improve code quality. There is a large community, documentation, and support for learners of this programming language, as Java is one of the world's most popular and widely used programming languages. As of January 2023, Java is ranked 4th in the TIOBE index, which ranks programming languages based on how often people search for them on the most common search engines.
This way, Java can be used for various projects, from Android smartphone applications to desktop applications. Java has become less used for building applications since the advent of Kotlin. Kotlin has improved performance: the program code on it is, on average, 40% shorter than in other languages, and Kotlin also allows you to avoid some errors in the code. One of the defining factors behind the popularity of Kotlin at Google has been that it is compatible with Java, which is already used in Android app development.
Kotlin
Kotlin is a programming language designed specifically for Android App Development. Its peculiarity is that it runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and is fully compatible with Java. That is why it is possible to use all existing Java libraries when developing Kotlin applications.
Kotlin is a statically typed language, so you can catch errors at compile time rather than runtime, and it also supports functional and object-oriented programming paradigms.
Although Kotlin has been around since 2011, it was adopted by Google as a Java replacement for Android in 2019. Unlike Java, it has cleaner code and is easy to write and learn. As a result, it is increasingly replacing Java as the programming language for Android.
Kotlin can also be combined with Java to create quality and high-performance applications. The only negative difference between Kotlin and Java is the lack of a null pointer exception in Kotlin, an extra feature in Java.
As a new programming language, unfortunately, Kotlin has fewer available learning resources than Java.
Hybrid Frameworks
JavaScript
Frameworks such as React Native, Cordova, and Ionic use JavaScript as their primary programming language. JavaScript - is one of the best programming languages and is also great for building iOS and Android apps. The main advantage of the language is its scalability. According to the survey, over 95% of websites use client-side JavaScript. This programming language has a well-organized code base that improves performance and readability. Some popular JavaScript users include Microsoft, Uber, PayPal, Google, and Walmart.
JavaScript remains a universal and platform-independent language used to build apps with a dynamic backend and rich user interfaces at the front end. The core functionality of JavaScript is for client-side scripting of web pages. But other frameworks like jQuery, ReactNative, Angular, and Vue are built on JavaScript to provide additional functionality. This can help develop high-performance apps, websites, web apps, mobile apps, and desktop apps. Few programming languages offer the versatility, backend dynamism, and frontend GUI that JavaScript does.
As a programming language for web-based scripting, it's supported by Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari, amongst other browsers. JavaScript has a large developer community where learners can get helpful information about the language.
One of the downsides of this programming language is that updating JavaScript can be difficult since the language needs to be compiled.
Dart for Flutter
Dart is a client-optimized language for developing fast apps on any platform. Its goal is to offer the most productive programming language for multi-platform development, paired with a flexible execution runtime platform for app frameworks. Dart also forms the foundation of Flutter. Dart provides the language and runtimes that power Flutter apps, but Dart also supports many core developer tasks like formatting, analyzing, and testing code.
Dart is a strongly-typed, object-oriented language with a familiar C-style syntax. Developers can compile Dart programs into fast native code that runs smoothly on all supported platforms. On the web, Dart is compiled into JavaScript code that can run on the browser.
Dart allows Flutter to avoid needing a separate declarative layouts language like JSX and XML. The layout of Dart is declarative and programmatic, making it easy for developers to read and visualize it very quickly and effortlessly.
Companies that use the Dart language include Google, Mews, Ag Flow, and Blossom, to name a few. People generally find that Dart is one of the more accessible languages to grasp, as it is relatively similar to many other programming languages.
Conclusion
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to the best programming language for application development, just as there is no best language to learn. Different languages can provide unique benefits depending on the specific requirements and features your application needs to offer.
But in a nutshell, you can either:
Go complete iOS with Swift if you only plan to target iPhone and iPad;
Go full Android with Java and Kotlin;
Address both platforms with Flutter, React Native, Ionic, or Xamarin.
We hope this article has helped you determine the best programming language for learning front-end, back-end, and cross-platform development.
Contact Us if you have questions about how to develop mobile applications and which programming language to choose for your project to meet the unique requirements of your business and users.
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