Using an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, you must be curious at some level as to how these products are built. Basically, all the apps made for these devices are made using many different languages.
Just like we learn English or Spanish to communicate with others, computer systems understand the different languages in the form of programming through which they get the instructions.
If you’re interested in making apps for Apple devices, here are 7 best programming languages you should know about!
1. Swift
Swift is the major programming language for developing applications on iOS. More specifically, Apple came up with this language in the year 2014 to code applications seamlessly and that too speedily. Swift is easy to learn and great for beginners. Swift offers robustness, and one can write a safe and reliable codebase with the help of Swift.
Plenty of resources and tutorials are at your disposal by this official language for lean iOS development.
Key Features:
Easy to learn and write
High-performance
Safe and secure
Abundance of available learning material
2. Objective-C
Before Swift, Objective-C was the most used language for iOS development. It has been around since the 1980s and is also very stable and reliable. Even with more demand for Swift in recent years, a good portion of existing iOS apps get developed using Objective-C.
Learning Objective-C will allow you to work with legacy apps if you ever happen to work with them or to understand how iOS development has transformed over the years.
Key Features:
Stable and mature
Commonly Used in Many Old iOS Apps
Good to know for maintaining legacy code
3. C#
C# (pronounced as “C-sharp”) is another such language developed by Microsoft. It is mostly utilized in building Windows applications, although by applying the Xamarin tool, you can also use it for developing iOS apps.
Xamarin allows you to write and share codes in C# over different platforms, like iOS, Android, and Windows; therefore, it’s quite cool for writing apps for lots of devices.
Key Features:
Can be utilized for cross-platform development
Support of strong community
Versatile and robust
4. JavaScript
JavaScript is not only developed as a language for the web but can also be applied in the making of mobile apps. Helped by frameworks such as React Native, one can write apps coded in JavaScript that run on iOS and Android.
Developed by Facebook, React Native allows a developer to write mobile apps with the same code across all platforms; hence, saving one time and effort writing different codes for each.
Some key features:
It can be used to create both mobile and website applications.
It enables cross-platform development due to its framework, React Native.
It has a huge community support backed by large libraries.
5. Python
Python is regarded as very easy to learn, and even read. It has wide applications in innumerable fields of programming, such as web development and artificial intelligence.
It is considered unconventional for iOS development at first glance, but there are existing frameworks—like Kivy—used to develop mobile applications.
Kivy could be one app with which to learn or experimentally touch mobile application development before touching complex languages.
Key Features:
Easy to learn with a beginner-friendly approach
Kivy can be used with a range of fields
App development with the Kivy framework for Android mobiles is possible
6. Kotlin
Kotlin is also developed by JetBrains and enjoys official support from Google for Android development. With a Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile framework, Kotlin can be used for Android and iOS App development.
With KMM, you can have shared code between your different platforms to make developing cross-platform apps easier.
Key Features:
Can be used for cross-platform development
Officially supported for Android development
Modern and expressive
7. Dart
It’s a language developed by Google. Primarily used with Flutter framework by Google.
From a developer standpoint, Flutter is a very powerful tool in making the most beautiful, natively compiled, and highly responsive mobile applications.
It allows developing applications written in Dart to execute on iOS and Android.
It is easy to learn, and its syntax is very close to JavaScript, which makes Flutter kind to beginners.
Key Features:
Used with Flutter to enable cross-platform development
Easy to learn and modern
Allows the development of wonderful and responsive applications
Conclusion
If you feel like making apps for iPhones, you have your choice of several languages. You can go ahead and use Swift for a Jenaias because it is an official language for iOS programming, with huge resources for learning. You should know that Objective-C has some advantages for supporting legacy applications.
Nevertheless, there are other languages, such as C#, JavaScript, Python, Kotlin, and Dart, that can help in developing apps across many platforms.
Each of the languages has its way in being strong for a certain kind of purpose. Whether you are an iOS developer or build applications on both iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices, among others, there is a language for you.
So, pick one, get started learning, and soon you’ll be on your way to building amazing apps for Apple devices!