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Scala Native vs Swift: What are the differences?

  1. Compilation Process: Scala Native compiles to machine code directly, eliminating the need for a virtual machine like the JVM, resulting in faster execution. In contrast, Swift code needs to be compiled using Xcode and relies on the LLVM compiler for generating native code.

  2. Platform Compatibility: Swift is mainly limited to developing applications for Apple's iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS platforms, whereas Scala Native can be used to target different platforms such as Windows, Linux, and macOS.

  3. Memory Management: Scala Native leverages automatic memory management through the use of a garbage collector, while Swift relies on Automatic Reference Counting (ARC) for managing memory allocation and deallocation.

  4. Interoperability: Swift has good interoperability with Objective-C, making it easy to work with existing Apple frameworks, whereas Scala Native allows seamless interoperability with existing C libraries, enhancing its compatibility with low-level system programming.

  5. Syntax and Language Features: Swift has a more expressive and concise syntax compared to Scala Native, providing features like optionals, closures, and generics that facilitate writing clean and readable code. Scala Native, on the other hand, features strong static typing and functional programming capabilities, enabling developers to write robust and scalable applications.

  6. Community and Ecosystem: Swift has a larger community and extensive support from Apple, resulting in a rich ecosystem of libraries, tools, and resources for iOS and macOS developers. Scala Native, although backed by an active community, may have a smaller ecosystem in comparison.

In Summary, Scala Native and Swift differ in the compilation process, platform compatibility, memory management, interoperability, syntax and language features, and community support and ecosystem.

Advice on Scala Native and Swift
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JavaScriptJavaScriptReactReact
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SwiftSwift

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?

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Replies (7)
Recommends
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SwiftSwift

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.

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Noel Broda
Founder, CEO, CTO at NoFilter · | 4 upvotes · 84.2K views

"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.

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Recommends
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SwiftSwift

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.

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SwiftSwift

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!

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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.

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Carlos Iglesias
Recommends

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.

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on
JavaScriptJavaScriptReactReact

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.

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Pros of Scala Native
Pros of Swift
  • 1
    Scala is just much easier to program in than Rust
  • 1
    Interop with C libraries
  • 1
    Scala Native is fast and lightweight
  • 259
    Ios
  • 180
    Elegant
  • 126
    Not Objective-C
  • 107
    Backed by apple
  • 93
    Type inference
  • 61
    Generics
  • 54
    Playgrounds
  • 49
    Semicolon free
  • 38
    OSX
  • 36
    Tuples offer compound variables
  • 24
    Clean Syntax
  • 24
    Easy to learn
  • 22
    Open Source
  • 21
    Beautiful Code
  • 20
    Functional
  • 12
    Dynamic
  • 12
    Linux
  • 11
    Protocol-oriented programming
  • 10
    Promotes safe, readable code
  • 9
    No S-l-o-w JVM
  • 8
    Explicit optionals
  • 7
    Storyboard designer
  • 6
    Optionals
  • 6
    Type safety
  • 5
    Super addicting language, great people, open, elegant
  • 5
    Best UI concept
  • 4
    Its friendly
  • 4
    Highly Readable codes
  • 4
    Fail-safe
  • 4
    Powerful
  • 4
    Faster and looks better
  • 4
    Swift is faster than Objective-C
  • 4
    Feels like a better C++
  • 3
    Easy to learn and work
  • 3
    Much more fun
  • 3
    Protocol extensions
  • 3
    Native
  • 3
    Its fun and damn fast
  • 3
    Strong Type safety
  • 3
    Easy to Maintain
  • 2
    Protocol as type
  • 2
    All Cons C# and Java Swift Already has
  • 2
    Esay
  • 2
    MacOS
  • 2
    Type Safe
  • 2
    Protocol oriented programming
  • 1
    Can interface with C easily
  • 1
    Actually don't have to own a mac
  • 1
    Free from Memory Leak
  • 1
    Swift is easier to understand for non-iOS developers.
  • 1
    Numbers with underbar
  • 1
    Optional chain
  • 1
    Great for Multi-Threaded Programming
  • 1
    Runs Python 8 times faster
  • 1
    Objec

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Cons of Scala Native
Cons of Swift
    Be the first to leave a con
    • 6
      Must own a mac
    • 2
      Memory leaks are not uncommon
    • 1
      Very irritatingly picky about things that’s
    • 1
      Complicated process for exporting modules
    • 1
      Its classes compile to roughly 300 lines of assembly
    • 1
      Is a lot more effort than lua to make simple functions
    • 0
      Overly complex options makes it easy to create bad code

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    - No public GitHub repository available -

    What is Scala Native?

    Scala Native is a new ahead-of-time compiler and lightweight managed runtime designed specifically for Scala. Project is currently in pre-release stage.

    What is Swift?

    Writing code is interactive and fun, the syntax is concise yet expressive, and apps run lightning-fast. Swift is ready for your next iOS and OS X project — or for addition into your current app — because Swift code works side-by-side with Objective-C.

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    What companies use Swift?
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      What are some alternatives to Scala Native and Swift?
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