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Is it possible to build my own mobile apps? What are the programming languages I should use to build them?

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Question added by Lina Samer , Digital Media Graphic Designer , iDirection
Date Posted: 2016/03/29
Muhammad Yuseef
by Muhammad Yuseef , IT Manager , Master Point Trading

Java for Android , Swift for IOS

Dana Qaisi
by Dana Qaisi , Social Media Specialist , N/A

The language you choose for mobile apps development can be the difference between great success and tremendous frustration. There are options -- but only if you know which path you're on. Here are some of the best programming languages to build mobile apps.

HTML5

If you want to build a Web-fronted app for mobile devices, the one near-certainty is HTML5. The eventual standard will make various data types simple to insert, rationalize input parameters, level the browser playing field, account for different screen sizes, and probably freshen your breath and give you lush, manageable hair. Eventually.

The problem is that HTML5 is still a proposed standard that is currently supported in a lot of different ways by a lot of different browsers. It’s certainly possible to write HTML5 Web pages now, and many people are doing just that. They just have to know that there might be slight tweaks in the language in months to come and more substantial changes in the way browsers handle HTML5.

From a cost and efficiency standpoint HTML5 has the advantage of building on the current version of HTML so the learning curve is much shallower than that for a completely new language. If you can cope with a bit of uncertainty and want to walk the browser-based path, HTML5 is an obvious choice for a primary language. This is one of the best programming languages to build mobile apps.

Java

Let's start with the confusing part: You can develop software using Java, JavaScript, and Enterprise Java Beans. These are three different systems that are related mainly by the word "Java" in their names. Of the three, Java is the one you'll see in mobile apps development, so let's start there.

Java is an object-oriented programming language developed at Sun Microsystems. It is now owned, along with the rest of Sun Microsystems, by Oracle. It is, by most accounts, one of the most frequently used programming languages around, so the skills are available in many individuals offering their services to enterprises. That's very good news.

More good news comes from a performance standpoint. Java is a compiled language that can be run in two different ways: either in a browser window or in a virtual machine that doesn't require a browser. That flexibility tends to mean a lot when it comes to re-using code and updating software.

If you're looking at Android as your primary platform you’re almost certainly going to look at Java. If iOS is your main target, you probably won't be doing Java-first development. And if you want to develop a common code base that runs across many different platforms, then Java should certainly be on your list of finalists.

I mentioned that we were starting with Java. A quick note on JavaScript: It is, as the name implies, a scripting language for Web browser apps. It can be useful for adding features to a Web page, but isn't, by itself, the solution you're looking for when it comes to mobile app development. Keep it in mind, though, if you're walking down the HTML5 path. This is one of the best programming languages to build mobile apps.

C++

When you need to get down and dirty for apps on platforms like Android and Windows, then C++ can be the answer to your object-oriented dreams. At this point, C++ has been used to develop apps for virtually every purpose on pretty much every platform that exists. Programming skills are widely available and the language is a well-known quantity. It's not trendy or ultra-modern -- it's been around much longer than smartphones -- but for low-level programming it's still the go-to language on platforms that aren't fruit-themed. This is one of the best programming languages to build mobile apps.

Objective-C

While most of the world was developing software using C++, Apple went with Objective C as its primary programming language. Like C++, Objective C is a C-language superset. It does many of the same things for C that C++ does, though it has a number of functions that specifically deal with graphics, I/O, and display functions. Objective-C is part of the Apple development framework and is fully integrated into all iOS and MacOS frameworks. It is in the process, though, of being replaced in the Apple ecosystem -- by Swift. This is one of the best programming languages to build mobile apps.

Swift

Apple's latest APIs are Cocoa and Cocoa Touch. The language to write code for them is Swift. According to Apple, Swift is written to work along with Objective-C, though it's obvious that the company intends for many developers to turn to Swift for complete programming. Among other things, Swift has been designed to eliminate the possibility for many of the security vulnerabilities possible with Objective-C. If you're now beginning the process of writing iOS apps, then Swift should be your starting point. If you've been developing apps for iOS, then it’s time to start training your developers on Swift.

As an additional justification for Swift, at WWDC 2015 Apple announced that Swift will be going open source this fall. That's bound to increase the number of people willing to work with Swift and increase the number of projects for which Swift becomes the primary development language. This is one of the best programming languages to build mobile apps.

C#

C# plays the role in the Microsoft universe that Objective-C plays in the Apple cosmos: It's an expansion of C that directly addresses many of the unique features of the environment. The Windows Mobile platform hasn't been the market-changer that many had predicted (and hoped), but there's no denying the gravitational pull of Windows across multiple platforms. If your fleet of mobile devices includes Windows then your suite of development languages should include C#. This is one of the best programming languages to build mobile apps.

Which To Choose?

So which language is the "best" for mobile apps development? As with so many other topics in the software development world, the best answer is "it depends." If you want to do native development on iOS, your hand is forced. If you want to build an app with a browser front-end, have rich media as part of the experience, and would like to have your app relatively future-proofed, then there's only one real choice. For everything else, you'll have to look at the experience in your staff, the needs of your users, and the budget for the project.

People tend to be invested in languages and systems. Which would you choose? Where have you made your mobile apps development investment? I'd love to hear what you have to say.

 

Source: informationweek

The most widely used language is Java. You will need a fair knowledge of java and you can start off with android studio application. Or else you can also create applications in .net using visual studio 2015.

Aziz Matoug
by Aziz Matoug , Technology Team Member , Zus Trading Inc

Java for android apps, and C for OS apps.

Hassan Khalafallah
by Hassan Khalafallah , Founder , Golden Kad

It depends on the type of application you want to develop as a mobile App. According to me, Java is the best programming language to develop mobile apps for android mobile and you can use C and C# to develop iPhone App and iPad Apps.

MUHAMMAD JUMAN
by MUHAMMAD JUMAN , Database operator(Internship) , Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited

It depends on which operating system you prefer in Mobile mean if you have Iphone mobile then they use Iphone operating system (IOS) and they use Objective-C and now a days they use Swift for making IOS apps and Andoid mobiles use Android programming langauge and its iis child of Java and blackberry Mobile company use Blackberry OS and Java Programming and Windows Phones use C# with windows forms for developing windows apps

Divick Kishore
by Divick Kishore , Technical Advisor / Consultant , Instaguide Tourism Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Depends on the kind of application but for most apps, apache cordova with ionic framework can be used to build HTML5 apps for making cross platform apps. Only if there is a need for native application, one can write using Java for Android and Objective C for iOS.

 

    Since most apps have some sort of backend for storing and retrieval of data, using a stack which can be used to develop rapidly. As an example using Rub on Rails or Django is a good example.

mohammed abdul gufran siddiqui
by mohammed abdul gufran siddiqui , Network Administrator , Hinduja Global Solutions

yes

these are some programming lang which are commonly used

HTML5

JAVA

C++

Objective C

SWIFT

C#

Yes. you can use Java for Android.

Abdul Hayee Hayee
by Abdul Hayee Hayee , Contracting Executive / IT Assistant , Arabian Oryx Travel & Tourism

Yes it is possible to build your own  mobile app. Languages used for these are JAVA, C# and Swift.

Abdallah Alaraby
by Abdallah Alaraby , Senior Android Developer , NgageU

Yes.

It depends on the mobile Operating System.

Android requires knowing Java and basic XML.

iOS requires Objective-C and/or Swift

Windows Phone 8 requires C# and basic XML

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