Which one is the best language for Android app development?

Currently, Android captures the biggest mobile operating system market, and there has a huge demand for Android developers. If you want to become an Android developer or want to code your own Android app, you need to start by understanding the best language. Unlike iOS, Android apps can be built with a broad range of languages, which provides more flexibility for the developer. Let’s take a look at the popular language support for Android development.

• Java - Java is the official language of Android development.

• Kotlin - Kotlin was recently introduced as a secondary ‘official’ Java language.

• C/C++ - Android Studio also supports C++ with the use of the Java NDK.

• C# - C# is a slightly more beginner friendly alternative to C or C++ for cross platform development.

• Corona/LUA - A cross-platform tool build on LUA that simplifies the app-building process and allows you to call native libraries.

• PhoneGap - If you already know how to build interactive web pages using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, then you can use PhoneGap to build a more basic cross-platform app.

All this list of languages might confuse you to choose the best one for your career or project. In this geek story we are going to explain the advantage and disadvantage of the above listed languages. So, let’s start with Java.

Java

Java is the first and most popular choice for Android development. Java was developed by Sun Microsystems, which can run in two different ways: either in a browser window, or in a virtual machine that can do without a browser. This flexibility means a lot when it comes to re-using and updating the code.

Unfortunately, Java is not a great first language for Android. It creates a biggest barrier for many people who want to get started with Android development. Java is an object oriented programming language, which have few confusing topics like constructors, null pointer exceptions, checked exceptions and more. It’s terrible for readable and coding for novice developers.

But, that doesn't make Java a bad language. Java is actually there for it's own good and encourage clean code. A lot of people love Java for this reason and it’s also one of the widely used versatile languages.

Kotlin

Kotlin is a new official language for Android development. It works seamlessly with Android and Java. Kotlin is inspired by Java, C++, and all of their precedents, so you can think of it as an improved version of these languages with newer features added. Like Java, Kotlin runs on the Java Virtual Machine and also completely interoperable with Java and doesn’t cause any slowdown or bigger file sizes. It’s great for the new developers.

C/C++

Though Android Studio support C/C++ by using the Android NDK, but most of the people should not prefer this for Android app development. Instead of creating normal apps, C/C++ is more useful for intensive applications like 3D games. If you’re a brave soul, then you can jump right into C/C++, which offers the highest level of control with access to C/C++ libraries and native development.

C#

It is an easier and pure object oriented version of C and C+. Like Java, C# also offer garbage collected, which means you don’t need to worry about things like memory leaks and freeing up memory by yourself. It works best with the combination of Unity for game development. With just a few lines of code you can create a basic game in less than an hour.

Corona/LUA

It offers considerably simpler option for developing an Android app. You need a Corona SDK and coding in LUA, which is much simpler than Java. It is largely used for creating games, but can also be used in a variety of other ways too. This does require basic coding skills but sometimes, it’s definitely limited to some extent and is a few steps removed from getting into the app builder territory. It's good for those, who wants to create something relatively simple with little knowledge of programming.

PhoneGap

PhoneGap is one of the simplified option to develop an Android app. It is powered by Apache Cordova and allows you to create apps using HTML, CSS and JavaScript that you normally use to create a website. The end result is shown through WebView but packaged like an app and PhoneGap work as a bridge. This isn’t a true Android app development, for real Android app development you should choose one of the above languages.

Conclusion

Now, it’s time to choose the right language for your area of development and learning to code with Android is the perfect place to start. Hope this article will help you in your Android app development process. Thank you!