Choosing the Best Programming Language for Your Native App 
                     Choosing the Best Programming Language for Your Native App 
So you have a great idea for a native app, but you’re not sure about 
how to build it and where to begin on the development side. 
One of the first few questions you’ll need to ask yourself is which 
programming language is the best fit for what you’re trying to build, 
and what’s the best path?  
Let’s start with the basics. Native apps are those built for a specific OS. 
For example, take the difference between a mobile webpage you bring 
up on a browser and an app such as Instagram that you download to 
your device. Unlike a web app, a native app gives you the ability to 
send push notifications and quickly share data from one app to 
another. 
These platform-specific apps interact seamlessly with all other facets 
of a smartphone or other mobile device, allowing the app to instantly 
interact with the user’s camera, microphone, or geolocation. The 
lattermost example benefits the app-maker, allowing them to 
customize their offerings and rewards based on location while the user 
can take advantage of nearby deals or storefronts. 
Do you value app-speed on the front end? Something easy to 
manipulate on the back end? Both? As you familiarize yourself with 
platforms and surface-level programming, the decisions of how, when, 
and why to use a specific language become more clear. 
Understand Your Development Platforms

Knowing which platform to build your native app upon depends on 
knowing if your user base tends to congregate on iOS, Android, or 
both. With a great app idea in mind and an understanding of your 
target market, you can more confidently shop for languages on a given 
platform. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular ones below:  
Best Coding Languages for iOS:

Objective-C

Objective-C, long considered Apple’s default language, has been going 
strong since the 1980s. By virtue of being the standard-bearer in iOS 
for so long, this all-purpose programming language has an extensive 
library and is known by almost any Apple developer. 
Another major benefit of using Objective-C is its stability. Once you 
develop your app on the language, you won’t need to spend lots of time 
on updates and new versions. Unfortunately, Apple seems to be 
shifting away from Objective-C. Its performance is a bit limited and 
does not include the modern features of newer competitors. 
Swift

If Objective-C represents the present, Swift is certainly the future of 
iOS. Apple is clearly trying to make Swift its go-to coding language. As 
more emphasis gets put on Swift, it should be at the top of any 
conversation when choosing an iOS language. Simply put, Swift is the 
new and much faster version of Objective-C. 
In addition to a faster development process, other pros of using 
Swift are its easy scalability and a safety system that prevents code 
crashing. On the flip side, Swift is still a relatively young language, so 
its library and resources are limited when compared to Objective-C. 
Another consideration is there are fewer Swift developers out there 
when compared to its predecessor; however, that’s expected to change 
in the coming years. 
Python

This ever-popular language is especially useful for mobile apps that 
leverage large amounts of data and/or machine learning. Python is 
able to easily crunch big packages of data and interpret them for 
developers. Netflix, Reddit, and Facebook are among the big-name 
users of Python for these exact reasons. 
Although Python was originally meant to be a scripting language, it is 
one of the most popular languages for native app developers because 
of its ability to handle enormous datasets. It’s also preferred for its 
extensive third-party library options, which give it an advantage over 
Swift when working on back-end apps. Another benefit of Python is 
that it’s easy to understand, so you have a wide base of developers who 
can utilize it, and it can be integrated with other popular languages 
such as Java. 
RubyMotion

In 2012, RubyMotion was released and challenged Objective-C’s 
stranglehold over iOS mobile app development. By allowing 
programmers to use Ruby’s much-beloved language to create native 
apps, RubyMotion still provides an interesting alternative to the more 
popular options listed above. 
Technically, RubyMotion can be used as a cross-platform language, 
but it is routinely used for iOS development. It’s known for running 
very fast and giving developers a variety of testing tools. Since 
RubyMotion is a cross-platform language, one major downside is that 
once you write your code in Ruby, you will still need to learn the host 
API, which will be written in Objective-C or Swift.  
Best coding languages for Android:

Java

The official language of Android is also its most popular. Keep in mind 
that Java is flexible and can be an option if you’re ever interested in 
developing cross-platform apps. For native app developers, it also has 
plenty of perks. As Android’s default language, it has a wide variety of 
libraries and a good selection of open-source material to work with. It 
tends to allow for the faster user experience than other Android 
languages. 
Some of the drawbacks of Java include the fact that it’s a complicated 
system to learn and not advised for use among novice coders. In 
addition, doing simple tasks can feel arduous as an excessive amount 
of code is needed for relatively minor commands. The more code that’s 
written, the more it can then lead to errors. 
Kotlin

One of the main alternatives to Java is Kotlin, an open-source 
language created in 2011. Kotlin can be an attractive choice over Java 
because the code writing process is easier, resulting in a shorter, more 
compressed code (making it less likely to produce errors). Kotlin is 
also flexible and can be easily converted into Java, as it has access to 
the same libraries. 
A downside of Kotlin is that it tends to be slower than Java overall. 
Additionally, since it’s one of the newer Android languages, there is 
limited help from developers and programmers compared to Java. 
Due to this reason lots of small and big companies are shifting towards 
Kotlin Application Development. 
C/C++

Though these languages are considered more complicated than others 
on this list, C/C++ provides a lot of flexibility. Whether you’re looking 
for a low-level program or something more sophisticated like a 
graphical user interface (GUI), these languages can do the job. As a 
compiled language, which we’ll talk more about shortly, it is an 
extremely fast option for native apps. And thanks to its popularity 
among developers, there is a huge community readily available as well 
as countless resources via libraries and compilers. 
C/C++ should be avoided if working with beginner programmers 
because of its sheer complexity. For those that have it mastered, there 
are tons of positives. It also follows a similar syntax to Java, providing 
some leeway in the learning curve. 
Lua

Though Android does not support Lua by itself, the language is often 
converted to the OS by using an Android Software Development Kit 
(SDK). It is most commonly used for gaming apps and is recognized as 
a very fast, high-level language that is relatively easy to use. 
Another major upside is that it does not take up much memory and 
can easily be transferred to the C/C++ languages, which is part of what 
makes it so useful for Android. Since Lua is not super common, it has 
limited resources and could require more time for developers to script 
their own code or fix problems. 
Cross-platform Coding Languages:

C# and Xamarin

Microsoft’s programming language C# is ideal for Windows apps, but 
its code can be cross-compiled and run on iOS and Android for native 
apps. This is thanks to Xamarin. Apart from needing just one base 
code even when used across platforms, another benefit to C# is there 
aren’t any lags or issues with speed. For Android, C# is also often 
simpler to use than Java because of its straightforward syntax. 
However, there is a limited pool of resources and knowledgeable 
developers that work with Xamarin. Additionally, apps built with 
Xamarin are normally twice the size as your average native app. 
HTML5

Though HTML is normally reserved for web-based applications, its 
programming language can be transferred to native apps through 
third-party software (most notably Apache Cordova). This gives you 
features and the feel of web browsing on an app. 
The fifth revision of HTML is easy to use, making it the perfect 
programming language for beginners. On paper, you should also save 
on costs, since you’re not required to pay royalties and it can be used 
across devices. However, if you transition HTML coding to both iOS 
and Android native apps, you’ll likely need to pay two different 
programming teams. Also, be mindful of the overreliance on third 
parties to make sure your native app is working as it should. When 
errors in the app occur, it takes valuable bandwidth and time to get 
those corrected. 
React Native

It’s been five years since Facebook released React Native, which 
immediately stirred up attention for being a new and promising 
addition to cross-platform coding languages. The framework allows 
for native apps to be built on both iOS and Android, and is lauded for 
its short development time. One obvious advantage is that you only 
need to make code once and then you can use it for both of the major 
operating systems. It’s also usually cheaper to go this route. Since 
React Native is based on JavaScript, you’ll likely only need a 
JavaScript developer to help implement the language. 
Since React Native has an excited young community of developers 
backing it, it’s soon to have even more tools at its disposal. Naysayers 
have complained about apparent bugs that hamper navigation and by 
virtue of it being a cross-platform language, there is the potential for 
having any custom modules your developers build end up in a variety 
of codebases. 
Dart

Google’s UI framework Flutter has developed a new multi-platform 
language known as Dart. As with other cross-platform languages, 
Dart’s appeal comes from the ability to use one codebase that works on 
iOS, Android, and the web. Dart also comes equipped with an 
expansive core library, and has a number of useful tools 
like Dev_complier that can speed up the development process. 
Dart also receives high marks for being easy to learn, but it still has a 
small community and has yet to become as competitive as some of its 
cross-platform rivals. 
With all of these choices, it can be daunting to arrive on the correct 
decision when picking a language for your native app. Here are some 
things to consider to help guide you to the correct choice.  
Understanding Your App’s Expected Performance Ability

Coding languages can vary greatly depending on syntax, typing, and 
level. When looking at the differences in implementation, there are 
two distinctions to be made: compiled and interpreted languages. 
Compiled languages follow a static process where the program is 
directly converted into code by its target machine. Interpreted 
languages require a different program to read and carry out code. The 
approach here is more line-by-line execution, as opposed to compiled 
languages that have code manually laid out beforehand. 
So what does it all mean? Well, it depends on how you look at it and 
how much experience you have with both platforms. While compiled 
languages have the luxury of running faster with fewer problems, 
they’re not always advantageous. Interpreted languages allow 
developers more freedom, since going line-by-line means code can be 
modified while running and it offers dynamic typing that compiled 
languages don’t offer. 
Some common examples of compiled languages that we’ve mentioned 
are C#, Java, Kotlin, Objective-C, and Swift. 
For interpreted languages, the most popular codes include Python, 
Ruby, PHP, and JavaScript. 
Availability of Resources for Programmers

One of the most important factors when considering which 
programming language to use for your native app is the number of 
resources available for each language. When it comes to resources, 
you’re likely looking for two things: First, you want a language with an 
established community of programmers you can tap into for help. 
Second, it is important to find a language with an expansive library of 
open-source solutions so the programmers you hire don’t have to 
reinvent the wheel when working on every update or error. 
Languages with a large community of programmers include Python, 
Java, and C#. Python is revered by both beginners and more 
experienced programmers because it is simple, yet has a large range of 
applications. Since Python boasts a wide variety, from popular mobile 
apps like Instagram to artificial intelligence, there is a high supply of 
in-demand programmers. 
Some notable languages with a voluminous library of solutions include 
Java and PHP. Java has around 400,000 different libraries and has 
received high marks for its wide selection of resources for 
programmers that work most commonly on Android. However, it can 
be used across other platforms, as well. 
Though these languages work for many people, there may be 
something special you’re looking for when building your native app. 
The beauty of there being hundreds of programming languages on the 
market means you’re certainly not lacking options.  
Once you’ve narrowed down your target platform for your audience 
and get a feel of how you want your app to perform, the options 
become more clear. That puts you one step closer to finding the perfect 
language for your new native app.