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Which language should you choose to develop your mobile application?

No one doubts that the development of mobile applications and programming languages ​​have a future. The days when companies could ignore mobile users are over!

If you are embarking on the creation of your application, you must decide on the choice of the right technology and the right programming language.

There are dozens of programming languages ​​for mobile apps. Going through lists of 30 different languages ​​on one site and then 15 on another could take days…

development-mobile
development mobile


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 application requires a lot of time and money. If you plan to create a mobile application 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 used programming languages ​​in the world today. It can help you choose the best one 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 app that only needs to get the job done, or a complex app with lots of features?

Once you've figured out what kind of app 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.

  • Specialization in a mobile development language will allow you to build apps for specific platforms, devices, operating systems, and screen sizes. For instance :
  • If you want to create apps for Apple iPhone or iPad devices, you need to learn Objective-C.
  • If you want to develop Android applications, Java is the best choice.


Les applications natives

Native apps 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 over 25 years old and remains the most popular programming language among developers, despite all the newcomers that have popped up 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 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 applications.


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 apps in Kotlin if you want.


Kotlin also has other interesting features:

  1. Intuitive syntax that lets you code faster and more efficiently than Java.
  2. A strong type system that helps prevent errors and provides many useful features such as null safety and data classes.
  3. Null 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 while coding.

It offers an extremely convenient way to write code in your mobile apps. Kotlin is fully interoperable with Java (one of the most popular programming languages) , allowing developers who have worked with Java in the past to start using Kotlin in their projects.

Kotlin also comes with great IDE support, making it easy to develop your apps with Kotlin.


Swift (iOS)

Successor to Objective-C, Swift is an open-source programming language, released by Apple in 2014, the language is flexible, scalable and can easily adapt a programming model to add modern functionality 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 build apps for mobile devices. First of all, it's fast – it uses a lightweight syntax that makes it easy to write code quickly and run efficiently on the device. It also has a high level of security built into its design, which can help reduce bugs in your app and ensure 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!).


Flutter

Flutter is a free and open-source mobile application 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 build beautiful native apps quickly and easily.

Flutter uses its own rendering engine, which makes it easy to work with widgets and make changes without affecting the rest of your app. So developing in Flutter feels like working with HTML or CSS rather than low-level native platform APIs.

Another benefit of using Flutter is that it allows you to reuse code across platforms (iOS/Android) , so if you have an existing codebase for either platform, you can use it. use instead of writing a new boilerplate code each 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 for the first NeXT computer.

When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, he oversaw the Macintosh software team's use of Objective-C 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 (iPhone) mobile phones/tablets .


Hybrid apps

Hybrid apps are "cross-platform" that don't need to be built separately for Android and iOS. So you can build a single app and deploy it to 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 turned out to be so good that it has become one of the most popular coding languages, and therefore who can create applications that work on n' any platform.

React Native allows developers to write sections of code and reuse them across 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 already developed by others, which allows for 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 a calendar from scratch. React Native allows you to find a pre-built calendar available for use (there are plenty of them) and simply integrate it into your application.


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 know the native languages ​​of iOS or Android because Cordova works with the languages ​​of the web: HTML5 , CSS3 and JavaScript .


Our tip for developing your mobile application

In this article, we've laid out some of the key factors to consider when choosing your mobile app development language.

Your needs are unique, and every language is too – but with these guidelines in mind, you can approach your decision-making process with confidence! We hope this guide has helped you find the confidence to make that choice. Good luck in developing your app!

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