Best Programming Language / Framework for Mobile App Development

Over the last five years, the mobile app development market has exploded, revolutionizing the way people use their phones and what they can do with them. Mobile App development has grown so much with much benefits both to businesses globally and to IT professionals as it has created a consistent and growing career path in the IT Industry.

The demand for Mobile app developers and specialists is changing in response to changing industrial demands. New mobile app programming languages are always coming into the scene and changing and improving which makes it even difficult to decide which mobile app programming language one should learn.

In this article we have summarized the Best Mobile app Development Framework / language, most common and futuristic mobile app development languages, their pros and cons to help you in your decision making.

Three of the most popular languages for mobile development these days are:

• Kotlin (used for Android and IOS)
• Swift (Designed for iOS programming)
• Flutter (Best for android and iOS using Cross-platform Development)
• React Native (Cross Platform)

Before we dive deeper into these, let’s get a brief understanding of what these programming languages / Frameworks are;

What is Kotlin?

Kotlin is a cross-platform, general-purpose programming language with type inference. Developed by JetBrains (owners of IntelliJ).

The language’s multiplatform capability allows it to be utilized for more than only Android app development. It lets developers share code, data, and business logic across platforms like iOS, Web, Linux, MacOS, Android, and the Java Virtual Machine (JVM).

For Android applications, Kotlin has become the language of choice. It works similarly to Swift in that it allows you to share code between platforms (e.g. mobile apps, wearables, Android TV, or Android Auto). Apart from its widespread use on Android, Kotlin can also be used in server-side applications and web Frontend development, making it a cross-platform option.

What is Flutter?

Flutter is an open-source SDK that allows you to create native-looking mobile, web, and desktop apps from a single codebase.
Google Flutter addressed a number of current technological and market issues and offered effective answers. Flutter can run on a variety of platforms while still using native code. It is one of the most popular cross-platform frameworks nowadays due to its diversity and ease of installation.

What is Swift?

When it comes to quality and usefulness, Swift is largely regarded as the best option for the Apple platform. With this language, you can build a single piece of code that will run across all iOS devices (phones, tablets, desktops, wearables, smart TVs, and so on) without compromising any functionality.

What is React Native?

React Native is an open-source UI software framework created by Meta Platforms, Inc. It is used to develop applications for Android, Android TV, iOS, macOS, tvOS, Web, Windows and UWP by enabling developers to use the React framework along with native platform capabilities. It is developed by Facebook and was launched in March 26 2015.

Comparing Kotlin VS Swift VS Flutter VS React Native

In other to better gain more understanding on the frameworks and to decide which mobile app development framework to go with lets compare them.

PS: Please not that these comparison are not exhaustive

Kotlin is one of the easiest programming languages to learn for programmers. Above all, it’s a software development kit, not a complete programming framework. Kotlin will not disappoint mobile app developers in terms of flexibility, scalability, or performance.

Pros of Kotlin

• Java and Kotlin are compatible. It’s compatible with Java and a slew of other frameworks and technologies.
• Kotlin may drastically reduce the amount of code in your project, making it easier to read, understand, and take over if necessary.
• The syntax of Kotlin is straightforward, and even a novice developer can pick it up quickly.

Cons of Kotlin

• In some circumstances, Kotlin is faster, especially when conducting incremental builds. When it comes to clean builds, though, Kotlin will always be a disadvantage.
• There are fewer highly competent developers accessible in Kotlin.

Flutter creates the user interface from the ground up. Other cross-platform apps rely on native UI components to achieve their objectives. For example, React-Native or Xamarin have native UI components to assist with UI creation. As a result, Flutter outperforms all other frameworks in terms of speed. Flutter Application Development Framework is far more deliverable than other native cross-platform apps.

Pros of Flutter

• Projects created with Flutter enter the shops faster due to both intuitive coding syntax and a pleasant working environment for developers.
• Because Flutter is so simple to understand, a company should have no trouble retraining its existing Android and iOS developers to utilize it.
• Senior Flutter developers are hard to come by simply because programmers haven’t had enough time to experiment with the language.

Cons of Flutter

• Flutter now has web functionality, giving it a fairly full cross-platform programming language.
• Despite the fact that flutter has its own community and Google specialists on its side, its libraries are far from full.

Swift: The ideal feature about Apple Inc.’s creating language is its speed and security, as it delivers fast. You are accepting the best secure platform for your mobile app when you choose Swift apps development above any other programming language. Competing advantages include low maintenance, good readability, and faster performance than other programs.

Pros of Swift

• Swift enables the use of the most up-to-date Apple OS capabilities on Apple platforms.
• Swift is also known for causing the fewest issues with app launches and reviews.
• Because of its excellent compatibility, if a new OS update includes any substantial software changes, the Swift code can be readily modified.

Cons of Swift

• Swift makes use of platform-specific code that can’t be reused outside of the Apple ecosystem.
• Swift programmers must rely on programming languages that are nearly solely utilized for the Apple platform, making them significantly less widespread.
• Swift lacks significant tools and technological background from domains other than mobile due to its limited application.

React Naive: React Native was initial discharged by Facebook as AN open-source project in 2015. in exactly one or two of years, it became one amongst the highest solutions used for mobile development. React Native development is used to power a number of the world’s leading mobile apps, together with Instagram, Facebook, and Skype. we have a tendency to discuss these and alternative samples of React Native-powered apps additional during this post.

Pros of Swift

• It speeds up the app development process – as with others the main advantage of React Native is the ability to create applications for two platforms using one code.
• Lower cost of app development – Contrary to native development, you can involve a smaller number of people in the project. It’s because there is no need to “duplicate” teams per platform.
• It has a rich ecosystem – it has access to a wide range of libraries and tools that facilitate developers’ work and accelerate the software development process.
• It can integrate with the native application – If you want to transfer your application to a cross-platform solution, your existing application can be rewritten in small steps. This approach reduces the chance of errors and allows for a faster release of the new application.

Cons of Swift

• It’s not a native solution – an application written in React Native might be slower compared to native applications
• Updating issues – it’s hard to keep the app updated with the latest React Native version. Updating React Native versions is in most cases a complicated process.
• Hard to debug – It may require basic knowledge of the native language of the platform
• Inferior Android support – The support for the Android platform was added only in subsequent releases
• It’s harder to build a cross-platform team

Which one is Better to use or learn?

Both Kotlin and Flutter are dependable, strive to shorten the time it takes to establish a presence on both Android and iOS platforms, and are Google-supported. They are giving each other a strong competition and are becoming more competitive with each release.

The choice of mobile app development framework to choose or learn depends on individual needs, IT skill level etc. There are a variety of mobile application development frameworks that are often used for developing platform-specific or cross-platform apps. If you’re working on anything particular for Apple products, look into the Swift programming language. It contains complex functionality with the least amount of coding and is easy to maintain. Swift is the newest programming language to join Apple’s ecosystem, owing to its popularity in building code.

If you are looking for the most popular as of the time of writing this article and most widely used then you can look into Kotlin but if you are looking to develop cross platform native apps with ease and one Codebase then flutter is for you. React is a very popular and in demand programming language in the Job market which makes it a good choice if you are looking to land a job. React Native is a great choice for projects which does not require complex animations and high demand for integration with Native technologies such as Bluetooth or Geolocation. Better alternative to React is flutter.

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