The Objective-C programming language is one of the many tools we use for iOS mobile app development at Wve Labs. It is a reliable, tested platform for developing apps that are responsive, fast and efficient. Though Apple's Swift, introduced in 2014, was intended to supersede Objective-C, the older language still has a wide range of potential uses in design, development and testing.
One of the benefits of working with Wve Labs is that our diverse team excels at choosing the best tools for any project. If Objective-C source code makes the most sense for your app, we'll use Objective-C. If Swift is a better choice, we're fully qualified to work with that, too.
The roots of Objective-C date back to the early 80s, when Stepstone engineers developed it as an object-oriented extension to C — at the time, the dominant high-level programming language. NeXT licensed Objective-C in 1988. Following NeXT's acquisition by Apple in 1996, Objective-C became a crucial component in the development of Mac OS X.
And that brings us to today. The current version of Objective-C was the primary programming language for all of Apple's mobile platforms until 2014. Presently, it forms the backbone of more than 1.2 million apps for these devices.
Objective-C is a proven platform for mobile app development. Unlike newer programming languages, Objective-C benefits from a wealth of available tools and resources. This means Objective-C developers can often turn around complex projects faster than they could with a newer, less established language.
Another benefit of Objective-C is that it's fully backward compatible, whereas Swift, for example, only works on devices running iOS 7.0 or later. This isn't a concern for users with the newest tech, but if you're developing an app for an organization or audience that runs on legacy devices, it can limit its usefulness.
Finally, the main advantage to Objective-C is that there's little it can't do. Swift and other platforms do offer benefits in speed and memory load, but for small projects, that difference may be negligible when it comes to the user's experience.
There are projects in which Swift is the best choice for iOS app development. For others, the proven nature of Objective-C may be preferred. When you work with Wve Labs, we'll always strive to use the best tool for the job. We offer end-to-end, holistic service for our clients — we take care of the technical details, and we also make these decisions based on a comprehensive understanding of the needs of your business and your project.
We're a Los Angeles-based company with a global reach and an international team that can take on projects of any size. We're continually expanding our skills with new programming languages and innovative tools to develop smarter, smaller and more effective products.
If you'd like to learn more about our Objective-C programming capabilities or about our iOS app development services in general, get in touch today.
View our extensive portfolio and development experience before we meet at the office or out for a lunch and get the project scoping and ideation started.