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Dart vs Swift: What are the differences?
1. Syntax: The main difference between Dart and Swift is their syntax. Dart follows a more C-style syntax, while Swift has a syntax that is more reminiscent of Objective-C. 2. Platform: Dart is primarily used for developing web and mobile applications, whereas Swift is mainly used for iOS and macOS development. 3. Tooling: Swift has better tooling support with Xcode, making it easier for developers to build and debug their applications. Dart, on the other hand, has tools like Flutter and DartPad, but they may not be as comprehensive as Xcode. 4. Community: Swift has a larger and more active community compared to Dart, which means there are more resources and support available for Swift developers. 5. Performance: Swift is known for its performance and speed, making it a better choice for resource-intensive applications. Dart also performs well, but Swift tends to outperform it in certain scenarios. 6. Popularity: Swift is more widely used and popular among developers, especially those developing iOS applications. Dart, while gaining popularity with the rise of Flutter, still lags behind Swift in terms of adoption.
In Summary, Dart and Swift differ in syntax, platform focus, tooling support, community size, performance, and popularity.
I want to create a mobile-first e-commerce platform app. I think Dart and Flutter is a way for me to build cross-platform apps from a single codebase but I might be wrong so what do you guys think?
I also don't know what to do about the back-end. I mean managing the database of products and users. handing orders and invoices. I think Firebase can be an answer to my problems but how far I can go with firebase and its user authentication and database tools? Just firebase is enough for all my back-end needs?
What suits my needs, a relational database or a non-relational database?
Do I need to learn another programming language for handling back-end, like Python or Go?
I would appreciate your opinion. Thanks
Hi, I have 3 years with Flutter and I can see that Flutter with Firebase will be a good choice for you, Just start with Firebase, it's a little bit expensive when you have a lot of users, but there you will have some money to build your own API using any other language, and here I recommend Elixir or Python.
And about what you need to learn: - Dart - Flutter - State management for Flutter - Firebase
Then you can publish your app finally, and I wish you a happy published app :)
Hello, I am still a student and would like to ask a question. Currently, I am developing in mobile development with Flutter in the frontend and Python in the backend part. Right now I have to make a choice about developing a mobile app or developing a backend to progress more professionally. My questions are as follows:
1) If I prefer the mobile application area, will I only work with the Ui/Ux developer with the front-end and code the designs in Swift Kotlin languages, am I responsible for the back-end software?
2) I have a product that generates new ideas so I like to control the development and work there because the backend is the brain, but are they independent from each other in the backend mobile application? Is the mobile app developer responsible for the backend software?
3) I don't like graphic design because I don't like it if it's not perfect and I get stressed. Am I responsible for the graphic design in the mobile app?
4) Is a mobile app developer also a backend developer?
I know these are very simple questions, but they are very important to me. Thanks for your answers.
Hi Hüseyin! 1-2) In my experience If you are a Mobile Applications Developer you will have the following responsabilities: - Develop (not designing) both functionality and screens of the app you are working - Consume (not develop) third party or self company owned APIs or Backend services - Distribution tasks. - Mantainance tasks. Now, there will always be companies wishing you know the whole thing (ui/ux, backend, frontend, mobile, cd/ci, data science, etc.). And of course it will be helpful for you to know a little bit of the stuff around mobile development, but it's not very common since it's not part of the responsabilities of a mobile app dev.
3) No, you are not responsable for the designs of your application, that's why companies have Product designers, ux designers, ui designers for preparing the screens, logos, color palettes, etc for products. As a developer your job is to see and examine the designs and take them from Figma, InVision, Zeplin, etc to the Code editor.
4) This is the thing, if you are working as a Mobile Developer you might know about Mobile development, not backend, not frontend, not ui ux. BUT if you know a little about backend that might be helpful although backend should not be your responsability.
I hope this makes sense to you. Cheers!
As a mobile developer, I'm usually a member of a larger team and it's usually another person's responsibility to develop the backend/API, and another person's to do the UX/design. Very very few teams use cross-platform tools like Flutter or React Native, because tools like those tend to make mediocre apps that scale poorly and are impossible to debug, so make sure to get familiar with Swift/iOS or Kotlin/Android (or both).
Hi! I think most of your questions led to these answers:
Mobile software developers don't responsible for the back-end part, or even graphic design. Of course, the back-end part should be done by a back-end developer. The graphic design, I'd say that if you work on a start-up, you might be the one who does since there isn't much manpower there, but in the larger company, they would have a designer especially in UI/UX. You'll have a mockup for the application that you need to follow. As a developer, you're expected to code, not design.
I've said that the responsibility isn't yours, but of course, you'll have an advantage over others if you know UI/UX, or back-end as well. That would help you a lot to be a good mobile developer.
Good luck!
Hey there, we are looking to develop our own layer 1 blockchain. We're splitting the responsibilities for origination, clearing, and settlement across three independent but cooperating node networks. We've gotten our Proof of Concept up using Ruby on Rails for the nodes, you can see it as the attached link. So far, so good. Now we are looking to convert it into a distributable and are trying to figure out which language is the best for this.
Essentially our needs from the language are: solid networking tools and speed, very fast execution of basic actions, some parallel execution, and able to compile the end product into an easy to distribute and use package for end users.
I was learning Rust, but I have a healthy amount of experience with Swift and right now, it's only me coding. I've only done iOS coding, but have built a fintech app from scratch that's now in the app store so I'm pretty familiar with the language and its benefits. Haven't experimented with Vapor or any of the application development tools, and I wanted to know if it is a crazy idea to develop a blockchain node in Swift instead.
Pick Rust. Rust can provide all what you need and has been a major language in blockchain/cryptocurrency industry. Swift is slower than Rust and does not have such support in the networking and domain field. Swift tooling is great only on macOS, therefore you are likely to have troubles on other platforms.
You can use swift of course. It’s more of a question of being performant.
You really want to try some basic operations and find what’s most performant for you.
Rust is wonderful for cloud applications requiring heavy concurrency, it has compile time checking for such things.
Go and C++ could be more performant in your case. Swift is really quite an obtuse language, with a lot of features, some which may complicate your implementation.
Also, you want to consider the market of developers who could help build it. If you use Go or C++ there is a larger collection of people who know the languages than there is with swift.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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 ;-)
I've yet to see a non-native application that I felt performed as well and/or provided the same user experience with Cordova/PhoneGap/Xamarin. Frankly, at best they all seemed like underpowered web applications deployed to a sandbox that ran on a phone. They didn't feel "slick" or "mobile-first" and in some cases the performance was unacceptable. At previous companies, we built a few of these apps at the client's insistence, and in every case, they re-engaged us about 18 months later to re-write the app(s) natively.
We are doing some research on React Native and Flutter, but I am not yet convinced that they can provide the same level of experience and performance as native, though I am trying to keep an open mind.
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 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 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