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Crystal vs Dart: What are the differences?
Introduction
In this comparison, we will look at the key differences between Crystal and Dart programming languages.
Syntax: Crystal has a syntax similar to Ruby, making it easy for Ruby developers to transition into Crystal. On the other hand, Dart has a syntax similar to Java or JavaScript, making it more familiar to developers with a background in these languages.
Type System: Crystal has a static type system, meaning that variable types are checked at compile-time, ensuring better type safety. Dart, on the other hand, has an optional static type system, allowing developers to choose whether to use type annotations or rely on dynamic type inference.
Concurrency: Crystal supports lightweight fibers, allowing concurrent programming with low memory footprint. It uses the Fibers API to manage concurrency and provides better control over parallelism. Conversely, Dart supports asynchronous programming through its Future and Stream classes, which allow developers to write non-blocking code that runs concurrently.
Compilation: Crystal is a compiled language and uses the Crystal compiler to translate its code into highly efficient native machine code, resulting in faster performance. On the contrary, Dart is a JIT-compiled language, which means it can be executed directly without the need for separate compilation steps, making it more suitable for rapid development and prototyping.
Standard Library: Crystal provides a rich standard library inspired by Ruby, which includes modules for networking, file I/O, regular expressions, and more. On the other hand, Dart's standard library is more focused on providing the core functionality and basic utilities required for building applications. Additional functionalities can be added through packages available on the Dart Package Manager (pub.dev).
Integration: Crystal can interoperate with C code, allowing developers to use existing C libraries and make system calls directly. This makes it easier to leverage existing software and libraries written in C. In contrast, Dart has better integration with JavaScript, allowing developers to reuse existing JavaScript code and libraries easily. This makes it suitable for building web applications and targeting both web browsers and server-side development.
In summary, Crystal and Dart differ in terms of syntax, type system, concurrency models, compilation approaches, standard libraries, and integration capabilities. While Crystal offers a Ruby-like syntax and static type checking, Dart has a syntax similar to Java or JavaScript and supports optional static typing. Crystal leverages lightweight fibers for concurrency, whereas Dart provides support for asynchronous programming. Crystal is a compiled language, whereas Dart is JIT-compiled. The standard libraries of both languages vary in terms of features and inspirations, and they have different integration capabilities with C and JavaScript respectively.
Can anyone help me decide what's best for app development or even android Oreo development? I'm in a state dilemma at the moment. I want to do Android programming, not necessarily web development. I have heard a lot of people recommend one of these, and it seems that both the tools can do the job. Which language would you choose?
I assume that you mean Flutter by Dart. I have over 6 years experience programming in Android SDK, but about 1,5 month in Flutter. So far I think that Flutter is the future for mobile development. Flutter SDK is much better designed. Ecosystem of libraries seems having much higher quality. I would even say that android opensource libs are having really poor quality. Many times I am wondering how can garbage like that have so many stars at GitHub. Android SDK is hard to compose so you reinvent even basic things on and on, which is totally different story at Flutter. Lolcycle? Both are having good documentation. I quess apps in Flutter can be done in 1/3 of time compared to develop AndroidSDK and iOS, its design is that much better and contemporary. As of language comparison - Kotlin is better, but the difference is not that important. Go from one language to other is no problem. Dart is being updated with new features.
I've selected Flutter and Dart for my side projects and never regretted. Dart learning curve is easy after any OOP language . Flutter as a framework is also has a low entry threshold. I've already started development after a week of learning. Pros for me: code can be build for Android and IOS devices (for ios you need mac or VM), apps written in Dart have great performance on each of these platforms, flexibility. Cons: if you want to build a product as a business and want to hire a new Flutter Developer in the future it can be a problem as the framework and language is not popular for the moment.
I have worked in mobile development since 2010. I have experienced myself on various techs including Native SDK (Android), React Native (from 2016) and Flutter (2018). Almost the apps nowadays can be built using cross-platforms frameworks like React Native or Flutter. I suggest you start with Flutter. Flutter SDK is designed well to speed up your development and it still keeps the quality for your apps. If you're familiar with OOP languages (Java, C#...), switching to Dart is really quick and easy. Of course, sometimes you will need to dive deep into native parts but almost the cases you don't need. Good luck!
It depends on what is the purpose of your app development. Do you want to make one app that shares the codebase for both iOS and Android? If yes, then Dart is the way to go. Does your app include interacting with hardware features like camera, Bluetooth, if yes, then go for native Android for better performance? Dart is good for simpler UI apps where you just do basic crud operations over the network and show data but if you need richer UI experience go with native.
I am currently learning web development with Python and JavaScript course by CS50 Harvard university. It covers python, Flask, Django, SQL, Travis CI, javascript,HTML ,CSS and more. I am very interested in Flutter app development. Can I know what is the difference between learning these above-mentioned frameworks vs learning flutter directly? I am planning to learn flutter so that I can do both web development and app development. Are there any perks of learning these frameworks before flutter?
Hey Muhamed, For web development, you'll have to learn how to write backend APIs and how to build UI for browsers, apps, etc. If you're just starting off with programming, I'd suggest you stick to one language and trying developing everything using it to cut the unnecessary learning overhead. Although Python and JavaScript are very similar for beginners, JavaScript is the only available option for both frontend and backend development for a web application. You can start working with Node.js for your API development and Vanilla JS along with HTML/CSS for UI. You'll only need to learn one language to do all of this. Hope this helps.
Flutter is good for everything and it is getting better as I am speaking. Flutter Web is almost ready for production and I have made 2 complex working websites already.
Well. Flutter is just a Framework (just like Django btw.) and it uses Dart as a programming language. Django is kind of solving a different problem than Dart. Dart is intened for use in Front End Applications and Django is a Framework for Back-End Web Development.
So if you want to program Flutter Apps (although i wouldn't recommend it for any serious web development yet since Flutter web isn't very mature yet) i would recommend you just lern Dart.
From a management and hiring perspective, I recommend Flutter (Dart). It provides native solutions to both mobile platform ( (Android and IOS) while having the same knowledge. Hiring managers look at this as an advantage since a developer can provide solutions for both platforms whit the same knowledge. The Flutter framework is growing and there is a lot of resources to ground your knowledge and start experimenting. Dart is also a great language that covers most E2E necessities, so again, no further need of learning one language for FE and another for BE and services. It is my belief that Dart will surpass Kotlin soon, and will leverage to Python and Java in the upcoming year.
If you are interested in Flutter, learn it on your own time, parallel to the course. No matter what order you do them, eventually you will end up learning them all anyway ;-)
JavaScript is at the forefront of our entire development approach. Not only do we use different JavaScript frameworks and management tools, but we also use pure vanilla JavaScript to solve simple problems throughout all of our client's builds. JavaScript is a general purpose programming language that can be blazing fast and fun to work with. There's not one project we are working on that doesn't involve it.
Pros of Crystal
- Compiles to efficient native code38
- Ruby inspired syntax36
- Performance oriented - C-like speeds32
- Gem-like packages, called Shards23
- Can call C code using Crystal bindings20
- Super Fast18
- Typed Ruby <318
- Open Source17
- Minimal Runtime14
- Cute11
- Clean code9
- Concurrent9
- Productive9
- Great community4
- Feels like duck types, safe like static types2
- Null Safety2
- Type inference2
- Program compiled into a single binary2
- Powerful2
- Meta-Programming (via Macros)2
- Simplicity2
- Has builtin LLVM support library1
- Statically linked binaries that are simple to deploy1
- Fun to write1
- High-performance1
- Simple, minimal syntax1
- Compile time statically safe macros1
- Concise1
- Statically Safe Monkey Patching1
- Fibers1
- Spawn1
- Meta-programming1
- Cross-platform1
- Productivity1
- Elegant1
Pros of Dart
- Backed by Google59
- Flutter53
- Twice the speed of Javascript39
- Great tools35
- Scalable30
- Open source27
- Made for the future26
- Can be used on Frontend25
- Polymer Dart22
- Angular Dart22
- Cross platform18
- Like Java16
- Easy to learn14
- Dartanalyzer13
- Runs on Google Cloud Platform12
- Easy to Understand10
- Amazing concurrency primitives9
- Is to JS what C is to ASM8
- Flutter works with darts7
- R3
- Can run Dart in AWS Lambda3
- Looks familiar, with purposely implemented features1
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Cons of Crystal
- Small community13
- No windows support3
- No Oracle lib1
Cons of Dart
- Lack of ORM3
- Locked in - JS or TS interop is very hard to accomplish3
- A0