Top Programming Languages that can be used for Android App Development

• Do you know how often you check your smart-phone during the course of one day?
• No? Well, according to several reports, that’s an astounding 100+ times a day (At least for us millennials…The rest of the population is a little saner and smarter). And the reason we are so damn addicted to our phones is the overwhelming sensory experience they provide us in our daily lives. How so, you ask? Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp (need I go on?)
• So in a nutshell, smart-phone applications are a very integral part of our daily lives. They can be used to create connections, get information, or just have fun! And while the process of creating a smart-phone app is also fun, it requires a little more guidance than just knowing the basic knowledge, specifically in choosing the right programming language. That’s why this blog post deals with the top programming languages that are required for Android App Development (Android because I like it better than iOS!).

What language should you choose?!!

• While Kotlin is the official language for Android application development, there are many other languages that can be used by you for Android App Development. Details regarding the same are provided below to help you make an informed decision.

 

1. Java

 

 

• First of all, Java was the official language for Android App Development (but now it has been replaced by Kotlin) and consequently, it is the most used language as well. Many of the applications in the Play Store are built and developed with Java, and it is also the most supported language by Google. Adding to all of this, Java has a splendid online community for support in case of any issues or problems (And trust me when I say this, there will be problems!).
• Anyway, Java is a very complicated language for a beginner to use as it contains complex and complicated topics like constructors, null pointer exceptions, concurrency, checked or examined exceptions, etc. Also, The Android Software Development Kit or the SDK increases the complexity to a brand new level!
• All in all, Java is an amazing language to experience the full joys of Android App Development. However, it may be a little too complex for the beginners who would prefer to start with something easier and then return to it, like C or C++ or even Python.

2. Kotlin

• Presently, Kotlin is the official language for the Android App Development declared by Google since the year 2019. Kotlin is a cross-platform programming language that may actually be used as an alternative to Java for the Android App Development. It has also been introduced or launched as a secondary “official” Java language in the year 2017. Kotlin can interoperate with Java and it works on the Java Virtual Machine or the JVM.
• The only significant difference is that Kotlin removes the superfluous features of Java such as null pointer exceptions concept. It also removes the necessity or mandatory of ending every line with a semicolon. Long story short, Kotlin is much simpler for the beginners to try as compared to Java and it can also be used as an “entry point” for the Android App Development.

3. C++

 

• C++ can be used for Android App Development using the Android Native Development Kit(NDK). But, an app cannot be created totally using C++ and the NDK is used to implement and execute parts of the app in C++ native code. This helps and enables in using C++ code libraries for the app as and when required.
• While C++ is a very useful language for Android App Development in some of the cases, it is much more difficult to set up and is much less flexible and editable. It may also lead to more bugs and issues because of the increased complexity of the source code. So, it is better to use Java in comparison with C++ as it does not provide us with enough gain to offset the efforts that are needed or required.

4. C#

• C# is quite similar to the Java programming language and so it is one of the ideal languages for Android App Development. Just like Java, C# also implements and executed garbage collection so there are fewer chances of memory being leaked, hence, this is a more safe and secure language as it is encrypted. And C# also has a cleaner and simpler syntax than Java which makes coding with it comparatively easier and simpler.
• Earlier, the biggest drawback of C# was that it could run only on the Windows operating systems as it used the .NET Framework. However, this problem was resolved by Xamarin. Android (formerly Mono for Android) is a cross-platform implementation and execution of the Common Language Infrastructure. Android tools can be used to write the native Android apps and share the code across multiple platforms which makes it a cross-platform programming language.

5. Python

 

 

• Python can be used for the purpose of Android App Development even though Android doesn’t support native Python development. This can be done using the multiple tools that convert the Python apps into Android Packages that can run and work on the Android devices.
• An instance of this is Kivy that is an open-source Python library which is used for the purpose of developing mobile apps. It supports Android and also encourages and supports the rapid app development (which is a win-win situation according to me!). Nonetheless, a downside to this is that there won’t actually be native benefits for Kivy as it isn’t natively supported.
• Now, these were some of the programming languages which can be used for the purpose of android app development. There are other languages available as well.

 

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• This is it for today’s blog! I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day! Thank you for reading this blog post. 🙂

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