Programming Languages You Need to Learn to Develop iOS Apps

Beyond this, software programmers tend to make a pretty decent salary, with the median annual pay being just over six figures. This is three times higher than the median pay for workers in the United States.

Given all these stats about the field of software programming, it's no surprise many people are interested in getting involved in the world of programming. In particular, people who have come to love using iOS apps are looking to work on building them.

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The basics of someone's programming abilities lie in their understanding of programming languages. There are several different languages that are each focused on specific tasks and companies, and more often than not, hyper-successful programmers are familiar with more than one programming language.

The following will explore some of the more popular languages for programming iOS apps in 2021. Keep in mind that if you are looking to program something particular, you should research the requirements for that task before choosing which language to learn. It's also worth noting that if you have features involving computer programs or other algorithms, you might want to use multiple languages.

Swift

Swift is the language used by Apple for developing applications for Mac computers and Apple mobile devices like the Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPad. Given that Swift is a newer programming language, many consider its syntax highly readable and find that it runs code quickly.

The drawbacks of Swift are that it won't work with older applications as you can only use it on newer versions of iOs 7. It works for programming:

1. macOS
2. iOS
3. iPadOS
4. watchOS
5. tvOS

Moreover, given that it is newer, there are fewer resources available for programmers starting out and learning the language. This being said, if you look, you will be able to find Swift design patterns and other assistance online. If you find yourself skilled with Swift, you can compile what you know and write an article or two for sites that are looking for this kind of content.

The benefits of choosing Swift include that it is available as an open-source project. It also has great scalability, and as mentioned above, it is easy to use. It has decent interoperability as it works with Cocoa, Cocoa Touch, and with codebases programmed using Objective-C for Apple products. The updates are regular, and the development process is on the faster side. In addition, the program is considered stable and secure.

Given all these benefits, Swift has become a popular programming choice. The language is among the top 20 most popular programming languages in the world, used by somewhere near 5.9% of developers globally—people in particular love how easy it is to expand Swift programming later on if this is needed.

Objective-C (From The C Family Of Languages)

Objective-C is a programming language that was developed to serve as an extension of the C programming language with object-focused programming possibilities. The language was developed in the 80s at the software company Stepstone by Brad Cox and Tom Love. Objective-C has multiple applications, but it is mostly used for programming for Apple's operating systems including OS X, iOS and the APIs Cocoa and Cocoa touch. As mentioned above, this means that there is the possibility of using Objective-C in tandem with Swift if you feel you need to.

The benefits of Objective-C include the dynamic typing as well as the stability and maturity of the language, meaning there are lots of guides and supports options available. This being said, the language, like C and C++, which it is an expansion of, is hard to learn. Moreover, there is a lower level of security and limited functionality. As well, because Swift is the 'newer' Apple language, there tends to be a lack of updates for Objective-C. Further, the programming language is not available in open-source.

Sometimes programmers want to know if they need to learn C first before learning Objective-C. You do not need to; both can be learned at the same time. This being said, C is among the languages that are considered a good foundation for programming learners. It's one of the first languages developed, and as such, it served as the foundation for many modern languages. It's very easy to apply to debugging, testing, and maintenance. C++ is an extension for C that is designed for programming systems that run applications rather than the applications themselves.

C# (From The C Family Of Languages)

C# is another language extension on the original C that you might encounter while working with Objective-C. This branch of the language is designed to be more straightforward and speedier. Moreover, it is one of the most in-demand programming languages in the world, so it wouldn't hurt to make a note of C# as you're working within the C family. All of these C-family languages are built on the same framework, so similar to learning languages in the Romance-language tree, you'll find knowing one makes it easier to understand the others.

C# is a speedier and more secure divergent of the C language developed by Microsoft. This language is fully integrated with Microsoft's .NET software framework, and this means that the language is well suited to developing applications for Windows, mobile devices, and browser plug-ins.

The benefits of this programming language include automatic garbage collection, high speed and performance, cross-platform support systems, a fantastic and supportive community (with a huge talent pool if you find you need help). It's popular, open-source, scalable, updateable, easy, and contains a rich library.

The drawback of C# is that it's one of the more difficult languages to learn. This means it often takes longer to master than other coding languages, and figuring out how to resolve errors can be a challenge for newcomers to the language. In addition, as mentioned above, it is based on the Microsoft .NET framework, so it's not as flexible as some of your other options.

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Java

Java is often linked with client-server application development and so is used by large businesses around the world. It is known for being able to run on a wide variety of platforms, as anywhere that supports Java can run Java code. This language is among the 16 most popular programming languages being used today and is language-oriented. This general-purpose option is class-based and used by over 9 million programmers across the world.

The pros of choosing Java to work with start with its flexibility. It is also highly functional, with a huge community and giant talent pool. The language is open-source and suited for native and cross-platform development. It is updatable, scalable, and secure, and also as automatic garbage collection.

The drawback of Java is that it's not suited to run on the cloud instead of a server, which many business applications need. The language is also type-heavy and requires an intense amount of memory space.

The above programming languages can all be used to develop iOS apps. When making your choice be sure to analyze the different features you'll need as well as your particular skill level to help you decide which language to learn.

Lesley Montoya

Update 21 May 2021