If you want to learn to code so you can create your own apps, we suggest mastering as many of these top mobile-friendly programming languages as possible.
One of the most common questions I am asked by soon-to-be-programmers is which language they should learn to code with first, with an eye to mobile.
The mobile market has continued to boom as internet usage on mobile devices have surpassed desktop PC internet traffic.
And as a result, most publishers feel more secure in developing mobile applications for native mobile operating systems; both in-browser HTML5 applications as well as native applications.
Which Way to Go
The direction of your code study relies heavily on what you would like to accomplish with your mobile application development projects. Along with using the right code is a new Google functionality to help understand customers. Take advantage of these both and you’ll come up with a software that is not only functional but also user-friendly.
Specific goals are best achieved with a particular flavour of mobile application development that is the most efficient for the kind of heavy lifting you’d like your first apps to do.
Browser-based mobile apps may be the most “future proof” app solution in your toolbox, whereas a native mobile app specific to an operating system may offer more speed and control of phone peripherals like the camera, microphone, storage space, or touch screen. The choice between the two is your first fork in the road.
Beyond that, you’ll need to look at languages which make it easy to use specific hardware functions and decide just how much you’d like to push it.
Keep reading to learn which are the best coding languages for mobile application development beginners so that you can get a reduced cost and increased quality when getting the services of a development company.
A Beginner’s Guide to Mobile Development
Choose your destiny; learn more about each flavour of code, and what kinds of projects they are best used for.
1. HTML5
With the entire app living on the web, fully responsive, optimized for both touch and mouse –in a universally accepted programming language which for the most part works quite remarkably across platforms. HTML5 is a great way to offer an app both on the web, or packaged as an app in either of the leading marketplaces.
Some of the bugs are still working their way out of HTML5 however it’s a potent, scalable solution that’s completely cross-platform and much more likely to “age” better than native applications. HTML5 is where apps are headed, free of proprietary requirements.
HTML5 is a must for the beginner programmer.
2. Java
Java is probably the most ideal mobile programming language for any aspiring mobile software developer; established as the defacto standard for years, Java is great for developing a cross-platform code base and is a real sweetheart in the Android community.
Java is a popular object-oriented programming language that can be compiled and run with or without a browser and runs particularly well on mobile devices.
Learn this one, no matter which direction you’re going –if you ever work on a cross-platform project you’ll be using Java.
However if you’re an Apple-only app creator; Java’s great for cross-platform projects, but may be more of an added hindrance in an all-Apple environment.
3. C++
C++ is a language which is most acceptably used to create software for operating systems like Windows and Android. If you’re looking to work on cross-platform mobile application development projects, C++ is a must.
Learn C++. It’s an important programming language to know, as putting all your eggs in one ecosystem (cough, Apple, cough) –might be a risky move down the line. Take it from a guy who learned ActionScript right before Apple dropped the bomb on Adobe Flash. Don’t stick to one ecosystem alone.
4. Swift
Swift is Apple’s solution to iOS app building. Armed with recent Apple API’s such as Cocoa and Cocoa Touch and synergy with Objective-C, Swift is able to create full-featured mobile applications for iOS within the four walls of the Swift software alone.
If Apple is where it’s at for you, Swift is the future of iOS and MacOS software development –and thusly very important if you want to learn how to code for Mac and Apple products right off the bat, or you want to upgrade your skills after learning other languages on this list.
If you want more variety than Apple in the beginning, you might want to opt for C++, Java, or HTML5.
5. Objective-C
For more custom application builds with a lean towards Apple who chose Objective-C when the rest of the world was coding mobile applications with C++, Objective-C can do all of the things that C++ can, from graphics to I/O and display functions. This programming language is incredibly Apple-centric, as Objective-C is fully baked into Apple’s development framework from iOS to MacOS.
With each iteration of Apple’s Swift technology, more of the reliance on Objective-C is being chipped away at. In time it appears to be Apple’s goal to replace Objective-C completely with Swift –however the language will still be in demand for a number of years bringing legacy systems up to date.
So, if you’d like to fall further down the Apple rabbit hole, Objective-C is another language to master –if only for the next 3-4 years as Apple continues to chip away at its reliance on the language.
6. C#
Microsoft has its own version of Objective-C and it’s called C#. That should really sum it up, right there. Any questions?
In Conclusion
In our experience, we think it’s best to be able to understand how each of the leading platforms work. If you’re just getting into code, don’t fall off the learning bandwagon at one or two languages. We suggest not picking in choosing from this list but to learn them all –and some that didn’t make it on this list.
What do you think? Let me know.