Introduction:
Even in 2024, this feud between generations of iOS app developers persists. As of 2024, there are over 1.868 million apps available on the Apple App Store, representing a growth of 65161 applications compared to the previous year.
This article will examine two well-known programming languages, Objective C and Swift, and compare and contrast them, outlining the benefits and drawbacks of each. Are you curious to find out which language comes out on top?
As a first step in creating an iOS app, choosing the right programming language by an iOS app development company in USA is crucial. Objective-C and Swift are two choices for developing native iOS applications. Swift is different from Objective-C in what ways? How can you weigh each option’s benefits and drawbacks to determine which is best suited to your project? Let’s find out.
What is Objective-C?
The Objective-C, a popular programming language, was developed by Stepstone in the 1980s. The object-oriented structure of Python enables programmers to handle complex structures and tasks. In tandem with this, Objective-C’s syntax might be daunting to those new to the language.
Objective-C, a slightly outdated programming language that is still relevant now, is compatible with both Swift and C. Despite the drawbacks, it still has a strong and experienced community of developers.
Manual memory management presents a major hurdle for Objective-C developers. It is vital for apps to operate well, and it can be annoying and a time waster too. Compared to Objective-C, Swift has this problem resolved by bringing memory management to a higher level.
Features of Objective-C
Together with C and Smalltalk, Objective-C is a strangely bizarre language. In consequence, there are many redundant words and complex grammar. In contrast to Smalltalk-based object syntax, C syntax is used for non-object-oriented operations.
Dynamic typing and message passing is the reason why implementation and interface parts of a class in Objective-C are stored in separate files. While Objective-C is a very powerful language, its history has caused it to look ancient and outdated in contrast to Swift.
What is Swift?
Chris Lattner, an employee of Apple, invented the new programming language Swift in 2010, and it was released to the public in 2014. It is a highly-developed version of Objective-C that aims to simplify programming and debugging processes.
The developers’ rapid adoption of Swift can be partially attributed to the fact that it has modern features, a simplified syntax, and an automatic memory management. This dialect has become the de facto one for iOS development and has replaced Objective-C because of its power and efficiency.
The language is remarkable in developing applications for desktops, mobile phones, and servers. Perfect for code that is performance-sensitive, it has two advantages: quick bug detection and repair. You can use it on both Apple and Linux platforms. It is also quickly growing and shows great potential.
Features of Swift
The modern syntax and enhanced safety features of Swift, like type inference, make it easier to develop iOS apps.Features like generics, options, type inference, and higher-order functions are common in today’s programming languages.
“Significant improvements to the language and standard library, tweaks to the Swift compiler for a better developer experience, tweaks to tools in the Swift ecosystem, like SourceKit-LSP and the Swift Package Manager, plus refined Windows support,” were the purported additions to Swift 5.7, which was released in September 2022.
Swift or Objective-C: Which is better?
Comparisons are often made between languages and technologies. Utilize this list and comparison to select the most appropriate technology for your project.
1. Environment for development
The main factor is the development environment. Factors like pricing, availability, and alternatives should be taken into account.
For developers who want to create Objective-C apps for iOS and OS X, Xcode is often considered a convenient integrated development environment (IDE). Xcode helps in the efficient running of the other environments like Visual Studio Code by Microsoft and AppCode by Apple.
You will be using Xcode, the iOS app development environment, which is integrated both Cocoa and especially Cocoa Touch. Moreover, Swift includes Cocoa Touch that gives an opportunity to develop apps for Apple TV and Apple Watch.
However, other differences also take place in the development environment. Another option is Swift Playground. Swift offers you a playground environment which allows you to try out new functionalities without compiling the entire code, while you learn the language. You can quickly implement and run your solution idea in the Playgrounds by writing the code and seeing how it behaves.
Swift offers access to advanced technical solutions and compatibility with the environment of Objective-C, which provides more opportunities.
2. App’s user interface
You do not have to worry about the iOS because they are natively supported. Regardless, it is a fact. The two distinguishing factors are compatibility with iOS and having a simple interface.
Considering Objective-C’s long history, your mobile app will effortlessly work with all the iOS versions. However, iOS 7 or above is required to operate Swift. This means you need to consider what kind of equipment your users have and clarify about whether users can limit access to iOS devices for models released after 2013.
In order to support the creation of user interfaces, Apple introduced SwiftUI. When iOS 13 (or later) comes out, you can use this Xcode UI tool to enhance your design. It frees developers of the need to create separate user interfaces for all Apple platforms.
You can also code your UI or edit the preview to do it. Changes are shown in a code and a preview side by side. It’s a tie. Nevertheless, Swift’s edge will continue to grow as time goes by.
3. Speed
The coding speed impacts the total cost of app development and the time-to-market. Although they are both included in iOS, Swift and Objective-C are not synonymous.
Compared to other languages, Swift is definitely more modern. It is also easy to use because of its simplified syntax. It also suggests that it’s easier to grasp.
An additional benefit of Swift is that it is said to have 30% fewer lines of code than Objective-C applications. The famously large code loss that Lyft experienced when migrating from Objective-C to Swift is much discussed. There are several advantages to reducing the amount of code, such as speeding up development, decreasing errors, and making testing easier and cheaper.
Swift succeeds once again.
4. Effectiveness
When the technology used is of high quality and suitable for the task at hand, performance improves accordingly. Refactoring, maintenance, and the user experience (UX) get a whole lot easier as performance goes up.
Apple claims that Swift is faster than Objective-C. This is actually doable because Swift is a brand new language that was specifically made to be fast.
Despite Objective-C’s built-in garbage collector, well-written Swift code is far more efficient. Because of its easier syntax and compile-time type checking, Swift outperforms Objective-C in terms of performance. Swift improves memory management with the help of Automatic Reference Counting, or ARC. Additionally, dynamic libraries can be easily integrated with Swift, leading to even greater application efficiency.
Following this, Swift outperforms Objective-C.
Conclusion
While we finish up our detailed comparison of Swift and Objective-C, it’s important to remember that there isn’t going to be a simple right or wrong answer when it comes to developing iOS mobile applications. ManekTech is a well-known iOS and android app development company, providing development services. Contact them for the best assistance.
Moreover, choosing a programming language should be based on your project’s requirements, your team’s expertise, and your long-term objectives because each language has its pros and cons. If making an iOS app has always been your ambition, this comprehensive article should help you choose the right programming language and hire iOS developers to make it a reality.
Angela Spearman is a journalist at EzineMark who enjoys writing about the latest trending technology and business news.
