Pros and cons of the top 5 programming languages for mobile development.

Despite the individual popularity of programming languages oriented to mobile application development, developers today have plenty of options within the large digital toolbox. Because of this, the choice of our next platform to create an application will depend largely on our coding skills and our ability to adapt to different development languages. In this article we will slightly describe the mobile app market and analyze in depth the features of the five best, or most popular, programming languages for mobile development.

We are still living in the golden age of apps.

The apps market is as wide in supply as it is in demand, thanks to this we can count on digital tools for almost everything we need. Moreover, it is also possible to develop all kinds of applications, as long as they provide value. This has been the norm since the emergence of mobile devices, so applications have become one of the most profitable technology markets today and its growth is projected exponentially year after year. In recent studies, it is expected that mobile applications will generate (for owners and creators) around 935 billion dollars in revenues by the end of 2023, according to estimates by the global portal?statista.

Likewise, given that there is an application for practically every human need and that all companies are looking to benefit from the creation of applications for their products and/or services, it is a reality that the demand for application developers has managed to exceed the current supply of these professionals.

How to choose the right language for mobile development?

Taking into account that the adoption of an application (measured in number of downloads or active users) is what determines its success, we can say that mobile development depends both on our programming skills and our ability to evaluate and choose the right platform to build a functional and differential solution. So, beyond finding or choosing a compatible programming language, our search should focus on finding the most appropriate technology to make our mobile application attractive, reliable, robust and innovative.

Broadly speaking, this is the reason why in this article we have selected the five most popular programming languages for mobile development and we intend to help you choose the most suitable by reviewing their advantages and disadvantages for this purpose.

1. JavaScript

It is said that JavaScript will continue to be relevant as long as we continue to use the Internet. Qualified as the most popular programming language today, JavaScript has demonstrated great versatility by allowing the development of web, mobile and cross-platform applications thanks to frameworks such as React. It is now possible to run it outside of browsers, as well as compile from other languages, making it a true?full-stack?development language.

Advantages

• Friendly and pleasant syntax for development.
• Easy to control.
• Versatile and flexible thanks to Node.js.
• Fast and lightweight.

Disadvantages

• Produces quite a lot of JS code fragments.
• Can be easily broken.
• Decreases execution performance of other software.
• Its semantics can sometimes be inconsistent.

2. Java

Since 2008, Java has been the choice of choice for creating applications on the Android mobile platform because it can run on a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Most Android secondary languages are considered a version of Java or a different presentation of Java, this does not mean that this language is limited only to this platform, in fact Java is considered a multipurpose language.

Advantages

• Object-oriented (OOP)
• Traditional syntax similar to C, C++ and others.
• Highly readable code.
• Extensive library available online.

Disadvantages

• Risk of bugs in your JVM virtual machine.
• Bad libraries and complex syntax in certain scenarios.
• Poor junk code collection.
• Does not provide backup facilities.

3. Swift

If you want to create applications for the iOS platform, a programming language created by Apple, it is the most suitable. Swift is a multipurpose and highly readable language on which you can program without major difficulties, the opposite of its predecessor Objective C, which was replaced by Swift as the official language for developing applications for Apple devices.

Advantages

• Easy to read.
• Interactive nature that saves time in development and compilation.
• Its Xcode IDE is self-contained and if a library is included it simplifies the use of workspaces.
• With Swift you can also develop server-side.

Disadvantages

• The learning curve in Swift is higher with respect to other languages for iOS.
• Its type checking is very strict and type errors will not allow compilations to be made.
• It is relatively young and therefore not best suited for very robust applications.
• It is somewhat unstable and requires periodic updates.

4. Kotlin

Kotlin is a relatively new programming language that has managed in a short time to become the preferred language for application development on the Android platform. This has been created by Google and is a great alternative to Java, in fact it is the official language of Android applications.

Advantages

• It is interoperable with Java which allows you to make more robust applications.
• It delivers native level support while running on various platforms.
• It is a very clear and concise language.
• It allows to execute functional programming through lambdas.

Disadvantages

• Being a new language the offers to learn it may not satisfy every type of user.
• It has been said that Kotlin will become the successor of Java but for now it is far behind because its compilation times are two to three times slower than Java.
• Its support and community have not been fully developed so the resources to solve problems are quite limited.
• Primitive types like int, bool, long, etc. existing in Java are completely an illusion in Kotlin, this seems to be the justification for why interoperability between the two languages.

5. Python

Python is a powerful language capable of supporting the creation of web, mobile and desktop applications among many other developments. Among its most important products are YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest, demonstrating that Python is a solid platform for developing high-level applications thanks to its magnificent library, its high readability and easy learning, as well as its immense community.

Advantages

• Guaranteed rapid development
• Uses indentation to ensure fairly clean and neat code.
• Easy to learn, use and deploy.
• Has cross-platform and multi-system support.

Disadvantages

• Its execution times fluctuate over time.
• Upgrades are needed to develop modern mobile applications.
• It is not recommended for large-scale developments.
• Its level of access and data handling is outdated.

In conclusion, programming languages are tools that evolve as fast as we need them to, and this has allowed some of them to pass the test of time. Thanks to this dynamic, today we have ideal languages to build mobile solutions according to our goals and our skills, which allows us to save time and effort.

For this reason, at DreamCode we have a solid team of programmers ready to evaluate your needs in detail to choose the best programming platform that allows us to build a highly competitive technological solution for your company.?Visit us now and see what we can do for your business