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Dart vs Objective-C vs Swift: What are the differences?
1. Syntax and Language Features: Dart is a modern, object-oriented language that includes syntax and language features similar to Java or JavaScript. Objective-C is an older, dynamically-typed language with syntax derived from C. Swift, on the other hand, is a modern, statically-typed language specifically designed for iOS and macOS development. It has a cleaner syntax and includes features like optionals, type inference, and generics that enhance the development experience.
2. Performance and Execution: Dart uses a Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler during development, which allows for faster code execution and hot reloading. In contrast, Objective-C and Swift use Ahead-Of-Time (AOT) compilation, resulting in faster runtime performance. Swift also offers greater memory safety by incorporating automatic memory management and reference counting.
3. Platform Support: Dart is a cross-platform language that can be used to build web, mobile, and desktop applications. It runs on its own virtual machine and is compatible with multiple platforms. Objective-C, on the other hand, is primarily used for native iOS and macOS app development. Swift is also primarily used for iOS and macOS development, but it is steadily gaining popularity as a cross-platform language through frameworks such as SwiftUI.
4. Code Readability and Maintainability: Dart and Swift have a more readable and concise syntax compared to Objective-C, making code easier to understand and maintain. Dart uses a familiar C-style syntax with modern features, while Swift introduces a more modern and expressive syntax with features like type inference and closures. Objective-C, being an older language, can have more verbose syntax and may require additional code for common tasks.
5. Interoperability and Legacy Code: Objective-C has been the primary language for iOS and macOS development for many years, resulting in a large codebase written in Objective-C. Swift was introduced as a replacement for Objective-C and is designed to work seamlessly with Objective-C code, allowing developers to gradually migrate from Objective-C to Swift. Dart, being a relatively new language, does not have the same level of interoperability with existing Objective-C and Swift code.
6. Community and Ecosystem: Objective-C and Swift have a well-established ecosystem and a large community of developers, resulting in extensive documentation, libraries, and resources available for iOS and macOS development. Dart, while growing in popularity, has a smaller ecosystem and community compared to Objective-C and Swift. However, Dart's cross-platform capabilities make it attractive for projects targeting multiple platforms.
In Summary, Dart and Objective-C/Swift differ in terms of syntax and language features, performance and execution, platform support, code readability and maintainability, interoperability with legacy code, and community and ecosystem. Each language has its own strengths and considerations when choosing the right language for a specific development project.
Hey guys, I learned the basics (OOP, data structures & some algorithms) with Python, but now I want to learn iOS development. I am considering to learn Swift, but I am afraid how the native mobile development will die out because of the cross-platform frameworks and reviews. My idea is to learn web development first and then learn React Native, and after all of that, finally Swift. What do you think about this roadmap? Should I just learn Swift first due to the pros of the native apps?
Native apps are not going to die. Especially not Swift because now Swift can be used to develop cross platform macOS and iOS apps due to the new macs having M1 chips.
I would suggest to bet more on Swift! I have developed act in React and Javascript in the past and played around with Swift a little... the performances of native code vs Javascript are way too slow compared to swift native app!
Now even more than ever M1 chip will give a boost, but if it gives a boost to JS it will give a boost also to native apps. I would seriously consider Swift more than Javascript, React or even Electron!
If asking about employment opportunities, native will never die out. There will always be opportunity for work in native mobile applications. There are also many advantages of using native over cross platform such as always having access to the latest APIs and developer libraries that may not be available to cross-platform without some native development involved or can wait until someone develops a bridge for you.
If you are asking about what you should develop with first? It really depends. React-Native is great for building proto-types or basic MVP application that doesn't require any of the latest and greatest features Apple has to offer at the moment. But if you're asking what to learn? I would say native will always give you a larger advantage as it will give you a good foundation in mobile development and provide you access to the latest native libraries. It is also a useful skill that can give you an edge in cross-platform mobile like react-native because you will most definitely encounter a situation where you will have to go down to the to native side to extend functionality or utilize APIs that are not yet out of the box.
The decision comes down to your goals and needs.
If you want to be able to create any kind of iOS app, simple or complex, learn Swift. It's indispensable if you're building specialised apps like video editing, augmented reality, machine learning or anything that uses iOS-specific APIs such as App Clips.
But if you just want to create apps that make HTTP requests and display static content such as text or basic video and music, React Native would do just fine, and you can publish the same code to Android. This is a no-brainer choice if you're on a low budget.
And if you know both, you can use both in the same app. You can add React Native screens or components inside a Swift app.
"Should I just learn Swift first due to the pros of the native apps?".
React Native builds Native Apps. Technologies like ionic
does NOT build native apps, but React Native does it.
Learning Swift seems to be a really bad idea from my point of view. Learning JavaScript is all what you need. Why? Because then Frontend, Backend, and Mobile Dev, is simple, because it's all JavaScript.
Mobile Native Development Apps will never die. Cross Plataform like React Native only exists to save time and costs for startups mainly, which is extraordinary, and indispensable often of course. But when the App get popular enough, it will probably will move to Native Development. Several improvements.
Less than 20% of the market is IOS, the rest is Android. Any developer must produce for Android and maybe support IOS. If you prototype on IOS you have to restart again for Android. React and JavaScript will run on IOS.
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 ;-)
We chose React Native over native Android and iOS development because of React Native's cross-platform capabilities. React Native has really matured over the years, developing a native feel, with simple and intuitive APIs. The community is also huge, filling in any gaps in the default APIs. These are also the reasons why we didn't choose other hybrid mobile tools. Largely, other hybrid mobile tools don't have the same mobile feel and close connection to the underlying mobile APIs.
At a larger scale, the control that native development offers beats React Native's simplicity. However, at this early stage, it's worth the trade-off. Maintaining two mobile teams and two mobile apps, as we iterate the product rapidly would not be practical. Plus, there is always the escape hatch of native modules if more control is needed.










As a startup, we need the maximum flexibility and the ability to reach our customers in a more suitable way. So a hybrid application approach is the best because it allows you to develop a cross-platform application in a unique codebase. The choice behind Ionic is Angular, I think that angular is the best framework to develop a complex application that needs a lot of service interaction, its modularity forces you (the developer) to write the code in the correct way, so it can be maintainable and reusable.
Expo was a tool Macombey really wanted to utilize from the beginning. I have been working with React Native since 2016 and originally I had to use simulators in Xcode, install pods on top of node packages, configure certificates, and more abundant objectives that take time away from actual development. As a development studio, we have to move quick and get projects to our clients and partners in a matter of months.
Expo made this easy for us. We now have a mobile app for clients to download and test their project on, there is no need to install pods or configure Xcode, and development is super fast and reliable now.
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.
1 code deploys for both: Android and iOS. There is a huge community behind React Native. And one of the best things is Expo. Expo uses React Native to make everything even more and more simple. Awesome technologies. Some other important thing is that while using React Native, you are reusing all JavaScript knowledge you have in your team. You can move easily a frontend dev to develop mobile applications.
A huge PRO of Expo, is that it includes a full building process. You run 1 line in the terminal, and 10 minutes after you have 2 builds done. Double check EAS Expo.
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
Pros of Objective-C
- Ios212
- Xcode115
- Backed by apple62
- Osx47
- Interface builder40
- Good old fashioned ooe with a modern twist10
- Goober, please2
- Object-oriented1
- Handles well null values (no NullPointerExceptions)1
Pros of Swift
- Ios259
- Elegant180
- Not Objective-C126
- Backed by apple107
- Type inference93
- Generics61
- Playgrounds54
- Semicolon free49
- OSX38
- Tuples offer compound variables36
- Clean Syntax24
- Easy to learn24
- Open Source22
- Beautiful Code21
- Functional20
- Dynamic12
- Linux12
- Protocol-oriented programming11
- Promotes safe, readable code10
- No S-l-o-w JVM9
- Explicit optionals8
- Storyboard designer7
- Optionals6
- Type safety6
- Super addicting language, great people, open, elegant5
- Best UI concept5
- Its friendly4
- Highly Readable codes4
- Fail-safe4
- Powerful4
- Faster and looks better4
- Swift is faster than Objective-C4
- Feels like a better C++4
- Easy to learn and work3
- Much more fun3
- Protocol extensions3
- Native3
- Its fun and damn fast3
- Strong Type safety3
- Easy to Maintain3
- Protocol as type2
- All Cons C# and Java Swift Already has2
- Esay2
- MacOS2
- Type Safe2
- Protocol oriented programming2
- Can interface with C easily1
- Actually don't have to own a mac1
- Free from Memory Leak1
- Swift is easier to understand for non-iOS developers.1
- Numbers with underbar1
- Optional chain1
- Great for Multi-Threaded Programming1
- Runs Python 8 times faster1
- Objec1
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Cons of Dart
- Lack of ORM3
- Locked in - JS or TS interop is very hard to accomplish3
- A0
Cons of Objective-C
- UNREADABLE1
Cons of Swift
- Must own a mac6
- Memory leaks are not uncommon2
- Very irritatingly picky about things that’s1
- Complicated process for exporting modules1
- Its classes compile to roughly 300 lines of assembly1
- Is a lot more effort than lua to make simple functions1
- Overly complex options makes it easy to create bad code0