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After doing the whole "enterprise" programming for a while, I'm seriously disillusioned by the language itself and always feel quite hampered if I have to go back to it. The project size of your average Android app isn't too intimidating and the libraries are actually quite nice regarding their coding style, but if I could avoid Java, I'd certainly do.
So that's the question: Can I avoid it? While there are lots of JVM language that would be an option on desktops and servers, the Dalvik VM and the devices themselves pose some limits. This seems to be a bit better in 2.2 with the JIT, but limiting myself to the cutting edge would be a rather harsh decision.
The only alternative I know that's used somewhat seems to be Scala. Is there some possibility I'm missing? Clojure seems to run in exactly the problems I've illustrated above with Dalvik, but as the AppInventor is built on Kawa there might be hope for a Lisp on the mobile platform?
What other languages are already usable or make strides towards that?
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Despite not using Java to build Android apps, Xamarin allows you to create native apps that achieve a good user experience, which is a core aspect that any respectable app must-have. Furthermore, Xamarin supports developing cross-platform applications in case you need to develop such an app.
Java. The most basic building block of Android development is the programming language Java. To be a successful Android developer, you'll need to be comfortable with Java concepts like loops, lists, variables, and control structures.
Absolutely. Java is still 100% supported by Google for Android development. The majority of Android apps today have some mix of both Java and Kotlin code. Developers can build the same functionality with Java as they can with Kotlin.
Now, Google has confirmed that it will be doing away with all the standard Java APIs in the next version of Android.
Personally, I'd say Scala is your best bet right now. It works really well, with the one drawback being that you are required to include Scala as a dependency (which will increase the size of your application).
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Have you looked at Mirah? It gives you a Ruby-like syntax and compiles to Java. It’s been labeled the CoffeeScript of Java.
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