Top Programming Languages for Android App Development

If yoursquore curious about Android andAndroid app programming, either you want to develop Android apps or get one built for you and want to know more about your app technology. Either way, this article will answer all the questions you have about Android app programming.



Learning to code can be a complicated and daunting experience. Most of the time itrsquos not even clear where to start, but yoursquoll probably have a slew of questions to answer before you even get started.
Learning about different types of languages gives you a fair idea of what kind ofprogramming languageyou need to choose for different kinds of apps. Although Java is the official language, an Android app can be built with other languages. Since yoursquore interested in how to create Android apps predominantly, here are a few options to take into account.
If you want to develop Android apps, step one is picking a language. The differences between the various Android programming languages can be a little complex and nuanced. Choosing which one to start with requires an understanding of their individual strengths and weaknesses.
Below are the programming languages which are currently used for Android development

• Javandash Java is the official languagefor Android development and is supported by Android Studio. It has a steep learning curve, however.


• Kotlinndash Kotlin is the most recently introduced Android language and the secondary official Java language it is similar to Java, but in many ways, a little easier to get your head around.


• CCmdash Android Studio supports C with the use of the Java NDK. This allows for native coding, which can be handy for things like games. C is more complicated, though.


• Cmdash C is a slightly more beginnerfriendly alternative to C or C that obfuscates more code. Itrsquos supported by some very handy tools like Unity and Xamarin, which are great for game development and crossplatform development.


• BASICndash A bonus option is to learn BASIC and try the B4S IDE from Anywhere Software. This is an easy but alsoreally powerful tool, though definitely much more niche


• CoronaLUAndash Another crossplatform tool build on LUA, it massively simplifies the appbuilding process and allows you to call native libraries.


• PhoneGapHTML, CSS, JavaScript ndash If you already know how to build interactive web pages, then you can use this knowledge with PhoneGap to build a more basic crossplatform app.

The best way to develop an Android app is to go ahead and download Android Studio. This is a piece of software called an IDE, or Integrated Development Environment. It is offered as a package with the Android SDK, which is nothing but a set of tools used to facilitate Android development. This will give you everything you need in one place to get up and get going.
The official tutorials and documentation from Google are referred to in this method and you will find the largest number of libraries and free code to enhance your apps, and tutorials that focus on this method.
Life is much better withAndroid Studio, which has been gathering strength over the last few years. Features like the visual designer and suggestions make the process smoother, while advanced, powerful features are being added all the time to give developers access to things like cloud storage with easy implementation.
Java
For any mobile app developer around the world, the first and the most preferred programming language for an Android app isJava, one of the reasons being that itrsquos simply the official language ofAndroid app development, which means it is one of the most supported languages by Google and the one that most apps in the Play Store are built with.
Java itself was developed by Sun Microsystems way back in 1995, and it is used for a wide range of programming applications. Java code is run by a virtual machine, which runs on Android devices and interprets the code.
Unfortunately, Java is also a little complicated and itrsquos not a great language to deal with if you are a beginner. This is the biggest hurdle faced by people who plan to get into Android app development. Java is an objectoriented programming language with confusing topics like constructors, null pointer exceptions, checked exceptions, and a lot more. Itrsquos not terribly readable and yoursquoll use a lot of code for simple things.
If you add in the Java SDK, things might get more complicated still ndash a firsttime coder can struggle to know whatrsquos Java and whatrsquos Android Development using this route also requires a basic understanding of concepts like Gradle, like the Android Manifest and the markup language XML. There are a lot of communities in Java for this reason, and itrsquos also one of the most versatile and widely used.
So, is it the best programming language you need to learn Definitely mdash especially for those who want the full Android development experience, diving into Java is the best place to start, if you ask me.
For those who are worried about the complex code, itrsquos possible to work largely with the designer and to follow tutorials for anything more complicated. But, if yoursquore a beginner and yoursquore looking forward to making a game, or you just want to start learning for the sake of learning and yoursquod like to get some rewarding projects off the ground, then I recommend you start with something easier and come back to this once yoursquove got a bit more grounding.
Kotlin
Kotlin recently burst onto the scene as the ldquootherrdquoofficial language for Android development.Some speculations suggest that this was likely to raise the languagersquos profile and that it could possibly become the next Swift.
Just like Java, Kotlin runs on the Java Virtual Machine. Itrsquos also completely interoperable with Java and doesnrsquot cause any hurdles or increase in the size of the files.
The main difference is that Kotlin requires less ldquoboilerplaterdquo code, which means that it is a more streamlined and easytoread system. It also does away with errors like null point exceptions and even excuses you from ending every line with a semicolon. This is a great programming language if yoursquore just learning to develop Android apps for the first time.
With that said, you know that Kotlin is definitely an easier starting point for beginners, and the fact that you can still use Android Studio is a big plus. Itrsquos still not quite as simple to pick up as, say, C with Unity, though, and the community support is in its relative infancy. In fact, you currently need to download a beta version of Android Studio in order to get the outthebox support.
But still, Kotlin should definitely be on your radar and could offer an easier entry point to ldquoproperrdquo Android development, which is likely why Google introduced it in the first place.
CC
If you ask me, itrsquos not really recommended to choose this route to develop an Android app. Android Studio offers support for CC using the Android Native Development Kit. this means yoursquoll be writing code that doesnrsquot run on the Java Virtual Machine, but rather runs natively on the device and gives you more control over things like memory.
C
C is basically an easier, purely objectoriented version of C and C development by Microsoft. Microsoftrsquos basic aim was to bring the power of C and the ease of Visual Basic, and it reads a little like a simplified version of Java.
Unity
Unity is a ldquogame engine,rdquo which means it provides things like physics calculations and 3D graphics rendering and an IDE like Android Studio. It is an opensource tool, which makes it incredibly easy to create your own games, and the community is strong, which means you get a lot of support. With just a few lines of code, you have a basic platform game set up in less than an hour. Itrsquos just perfectly powerful, being the tool used by most game studios on the Google Play Store. And itrsquos multiplatform, too.
BASIC

What we learned about C was an attempt to offer the power of C with the ease ofVisual BASIC.Thatrsquos because BASIC Beginners AllPurpose Symbolic Instruction Code is incredibly pleasant to use and an absolutely ideal jumping point for learning to code.
Unfortunately, it isnrsquot officially supported by Android Studio and you canrsquot use it in Unity or Xamarin. The good news is that there is a lesserknown option for developing Android apps in BASIC called B4A from Anywhere Software. This is an acronym for ldquoBASIC 4 Android,rdquo and as you might expect, it lets you code Android apps with BASIC. Itrsquos certainly not the first choice for most programmers who want to develop Android apps, but its always nice to have more options.
B4A is designed as a RAD, or Rapid Application Development environment. There are lots of other smart design decisions to make life easier, and therersquos a very supportive community if you have any questions.
This is a great way to learn to code, and you can build some pretty powerful apps using this method alone. Itrsquos not ideal for making higherend games, though, and once again suffers from being an ldquounofficialrdquo option, so itrsquos harder to create something that exactly meets the Material Design specifications, and yoursquoll find it harder working as a professional developer with only BASIC. The other big drawback is that this is the only option on the list that isnrsquot free.
Corona
Coronaoffers another considerably simpler option for developing Android apps while still giving you a fair amount of power and control. Yoursquoll be coding in LUA, which is already much simpler than Java, and on top of that, the Corona SDK will make things even easier. It supports all native libraries, allowing youto publish to multiple platforms.
It is largely used for creating games, but can be used in a variety of other ways, too. Yoursquoll need to use a text editor like Notepad to enter your code and you can run said code on an emulator without even needing to compile first. When yoursquore ready to create an APK and deploy, yoursquoll be able to do this using an online tool.
This does require basic coding skills, but it offers a nice and gentle introduction to the world of programming. At the same time, though, it is definitely somewhat limited and is a few steps removed from getting into ldquoapp builderrdquo territory. This is more useful for someone who wants to create something relatively simple and isnrsquot as concerned about developing their coding skills or becoming a pro. If you want to use features such as inapp purchasing, then yoursquoll need to pay a fee. The same goes for using native Android APIs.
PhoneGap
Finally, the last major ldquosimplifiedrdquo option you can choose developAndroid apps isPhoneGap, unless you want to turn instead to an app builder program.
PhoneGap is powered by Apache Cordova and essentially allows you to create apps using the same code yoursquod normally use to create a website HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This is then shown through a ldquoWebViewrdquo but packaged like an app. PhoneGap then acts like a bridge, allowing developers to access some basic native features of the phone or tablet, such as the accelerometer or the camera.
This isnrsquot really ldquotruerdquo Android development, though, and the only real programming will be JavaScript. For many basic tasks, it will do the job, but if you want to be able to claim true ldquoAndroid app developerhoodrdquo thatrsquos a thing, then you should brave one of the other choices on this list.
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