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Dart VS Apple Swift

Compare Dart VS Apple Swift and see what are their differences

Dart logo Dart

A new web programming language with libraries, a virtual machine, and tools

Apple Swift logo Apple Swift

Swift is a programming language for iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS apps that builds on the best of C...
  • Dart Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-27

We recommend LibHunt Dart for discovery and comparisons of trending Dart projects.

  • Apple Swift Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-23

Dart features and specs

  • Performance
    Dart is designed for optimal performance with its Ahead-of-Time (AOT) compilation, which allows it to compile to efficient native code.
  • Easy to Learn
    Dart's syntax is clear and closely resembling other popular languages like Java, JavaScript, and C#, making it relatively easy to pick up for developers familiar with those languages.
  • Strong Typing
    The language offers strong typing which allows for early detection of errors during development and helps in maintaining robust code.
  • Flutter Integration
    Dart’s seamless integration with Flutter makes it an excellent choice for cross-platform app development, enabling developers to write one codebase for both iOS and Android.
  • Hot Reload
    Dart, when used with Flutter, supports hot reload which speeds up the development process by allowing immediate reflection of changes without restarting the application.
  • Comprehensive Libraries
    Dart comes with a rich set of core libraries and packages, which provide extensive functionality without needing external dependencies.
  • Concurrency Support
    Dart provides robust support for asynchronous programming with features like Future and Stream, which simplify writing concurrent code.

Possible disadvantages of Dart

  • Relatively New Language
    Dart is relatively new compared to established languages like Java and JavaScript, meaning there can be fewer resources, tutorials, and a smaller community.
  • Limited Backend Development
    While Dart can be used for backend development with frameworks like Aqueduct and Shelf, it is not as mature or widely adopted as languages like Node.js, Python, or Java.
  • Tooling and IDE Support
    Dart does not have as extensive tooling and IDE support as some other more established languages, which could impact the development experience.
  • Ecosystem
    The ecosystem around Dart is not as large as those for other languages, meaning fewer third-party libraries, plugins, and tools might be available.
  • Small Talent Pool
    The adoption rate of Dart is lower compared to other languages, potentially making it harder to find experienced Dart developers.
  • Learning Curve
    Though similar to other languages, there is still a learning curve for adopting Dart, especially for developers who are more familiar with different programming paradigms.

Apple Swift features and specs

  • Performance
    Swift is designed to be fast and efficient, often outperforming older languages such as Objective-C. This is due to its modern architecture and LLVM compiler, which optimizes code during the compile time.
  • Safety
    Swift provides safety features like optional types and automatic memory management, which help developers avoid common programming errors. This reduces the risk of runtime crashes and enhances code stability.
  • Syntax
    Swift has a clean and expressive syntax, making it easy to read and write. This simplicity reduces the learning curve for new developers and improves code maintainability.
  • Interoperability with Objective-C
    Swift is designed to easily coexist with Objective-C. Developers can integrate Swift code into existing Objective-C projects seamlessly, facilitating gradual transitions to modern Swift codebases.
  • Active Community and Support
    Swift benefits from Apple's strong backing and a growing community of developers. This provides extensive resources, community support, and continuous updates to improve the language.

Possible disadvantages of Apple Swift

  • ABI Stability
    Swift's ABI (Application Binary Interface) was only stabilized in Swift 5, which means applications built with prior versions are not binary compatible. This could lead to challenges in maintaining older projects.
  • Limited Language Maturity
    Although Swift has grown rapidly since its release, it's still a relatively young language compared to Objective-C or C++. This immaturity can result in fewer third-party libraries and tools being available.
  • Ecosystem
    Despite recent advancements, Swift lags behind some established languages regarding package management and deployment tools, which can hinder the development experience.
  • Learning Curve for Objective-C Developers
    For developers accustomed to Objective-C, switching to Swift requires learning new paradigms and idioms, which might temporarily slow down productivity.
  • iOS-Centric
    While efforts are being made to use Swift for server-side development and other platforms, its primary adoption and optimization remain focused on Apple's ecosystem, limiting cross-platform capabilities.

Dart videos

Best Darts Of 2019 My Top Ten Favourites

More videos:

  • Review - Red Dragon 2020 World Champion Edition Peter Wright Darts Review 21g
  • Review - Winmau Michael van Gerwen Authentic 23g Darts Review

Apple Swift videos

No Apple Swift videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Dart and Apple Swift)
Programming Language
79 79%
21% 21
OOP
80 80%
20% 20
Software Development
0 0%
100% 100
Generic Programming Language

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Apple Swift seems to be a lot more popular than Dart. While we know about 23 links to Apple Swift, we've tracked only 1 mention of Dart. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Dart mentions (1)

Apple Swift mentions (23)

  • macOS Sequoia is certified to Unix 03
    - And the Swift Language - https://swift.org. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Learning Swift: The Basics of iOS Development
    Open Source: Swift is open source, meaning it's free to use and has a growing community. You can find the source code, as well as many resources and discussions on Swift.org. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Differentiable Swift
    So is differentiable Swift a package for Swift or is it part of the Swift standard library? The video says go to swift.org but I can't find any info about differentiable Swift on that site. Source: over 1 year ago
  • How far can you get with Swift and iOS development on Linux?
    You can learn the Swift language, but not iOS development. So after you're done with basics from swift.org, you need to switch to macOS. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Is there a web site I can go to if I want to find the SwiftUI roadmap?
    Like someone mentioned swift.org is a start. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Dart and Apple Swift, you can also consider the following products

Kotlin - Statically typed Programming Language targeting JVM and JavaScript

Elixir - Dynamic, functional language designed for building scalable and maintainable applications

Lua - Powerful, fast, lightweight, embeddable scripting language

Python - Python is a clear and powerful object-oriented programming language, comparable to Perl, Ruby, Scheme, or Java.

VS Code - Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

Java - A concurrent, class-based, object-oriented, language specifically designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible