Electron vs Swift

Overview

Swift

Stacks21.9K

Followers13.6K

Votes1.3K

Electron

Stacks11.6K

Followers10.0K

Votes148

Electron vs Swift: What are the differences?

Introduction In this article, we will explore the key differences between Electron and Swift. Electron is a framework developed by GitHub, whereas Swift is a programming language developed by Apple. Understanding these differences can help developers make informed decisions when choosing the right technology for their projects.

Platform Compatibility: Electron is a cross-platform framework that allows developers to build desktop applications for Windows, macOS, and Linux using web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. On the other hand, Swift is primarily used for developing applications for Apple's ecosystem, including iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. It is not natively compatible with other platforms like Windows or Linux.
Development Environment: Electron applications are developed using web development tools and workflows, making it easier for web developers to transition into desktop application development. Swift, on the other hand, requires developers to use Apple's Xcode IDE and follow the iOS/macOS development guidelines, making it more suitable for developers with experience in Apple's ecosystem.
Performance: When it comes to performance, Swift has the advantage. Being a compiled language, Swift offers better performance compared to Electron, which relies on a web runtime environment. Swift allows for faster execution, lower memory usage, and closer integration with the underlying operating system, resulting in a more efficient and responsive application.
User Experience: Electron applications have a consistent user experience across different platforms, thanks to the use of web technologies and their wide adoption. However, Swift applications offer a more native and seamless experience on Apple devices, leveraging the design patterns and user interface guidelines specific to iOS/macOS, which can result in a more polished and intuitive user experience.
Deployment: Deploying Electron applications is relatively straightforward. Once the app is ready, it can be bundled as an executable file for each platform and distributed to users. In contrast, deploying Swift applications requires submission to Apple's App Store or deployment through enterprise distribution methods, which involves a more rigorous review process and adherence to Apple's guidelines.
Third-Party Libraries and Ecosystem: Electron benefits from a vast ecosystem of web technologies and JavaScript libraries, which enables developers to leverage existing frameworks and tools to enhance their applications. Swift, being a proprietary language, has a more limited ecosystem compared to JavaScript, although it is supported by a vibrant community and regularly updated by Apple.

In summary, Electron offers cross-platform compatibility and ease of development with web technologies, while Swift provides better performance, a more native user experience on Apple devices, and a stricter deployment process. Developer experience and project requirements should guide the choice between Electron and Swift for building desktop applications.

Share your Stack

Help developers discover the tools you use. Get visibility for your team's tech choices and contribute to the community's knowledge.

View Docs

CLI (Node.js)

Manual

Advice on Swift, Electron

Semih

Software Engineering Manager

Oct 1, 2020

Needs adviceon

JavaScript

HTML5

.NET

Hi,

We are planning to develop a brand new UX for an already existing desktop software. The previous version is developed on C#.NET with Winforms & WPF. Our plan is to use JavaScript/HTML5 based frontend technologies for the new software. For some components, we are highly dependent on .NET/ .NET Core because the JS-based versions are not mature enough.

What would you choose for a desktop-based Engineering Software that supports multi-OS and has rich UI capabilities considering the .NET dependencies?

Thanks in advance,

Semih

57.9k views57.9k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Swift	Electron
Writing code is interactive and fun, the syntax is concise yet expressive, and apps run lightning-fast. Swift is ready for your next iOS and OS X project — or for addition into your current app — because Swift code works side-by-side with Objective-C.	With Electron, creating a desktop application for your company or idea is easy. Initially developed for GitHub's Atom editor, Electron has since been used to create applications by companies like Microsoft, Facebook, Slack, and Docker. The Electron framework lets you write cross-platform desktop applications using JavaScript, HTML and CSS. It is based on io.js and Chromium and is used in the Atom editor.
-	Use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript with Chromium and Node.js to build your app.;Electron is open source; maintained by GitHub and an active community.;Electron apps build and run on Mac, Windows, and Linux.;Automatic updates;Crash reporting;Windows installers;Debugging & profiling;Native menus & notifications
Statistics
Stacks 21.9K	Stacks 11.6K
Followers 13.6K	Followers 10.0K
Votes 1.3K	Votes 148
Pros & Cons
Pros 259 Ios 180 Elegant 126 Not Objective-C 107 Backed by apple 93 Type inference Cons 6 Must own a mac 2 Memory leaks are not uncommon 1 Complicated process for exporting modules 1 Its classes compile to roughly 300 lines of assembly 1 Very irritatingly picky about things that’s	Pros 69 Easy to make rich cross platform desktop applications 53 Open source 14 Great looking apps such as Slack and Visual Studio Code 8 Because it's cross platform 4 Use Node.js in the Main Process Cons 19 Uses a lot of memory 8 User experience never as good as a native app 4 No proper documentation 4 Does not native 1 Wrong reference for dom inspection
Integrations
Cocoa Touch (iOS)	No integrations available

What are some alternatives to Swift, Electron?

JavaScript

JavaScript is most known as the scripting language for Web pages, but used in many non-browser environments as well such as node.js or Apache CouchDB. It is a prototype-based, multi-paradigm scripting language that is dynamic,and supports object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles.

Python

Python is a general purpose programming language created by Guido Van Rossum. Python is most praised for its elegant syntax and readable code, if you are just beginning your programming career python suits you best.

PHP

Fast, flexible and pragmatic, PHP powers everything from your blog to the most popular websites in the world.

Ruby

Ruby is a language of careful balance. Its creator, Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto, blended parts of his favorite languages (Perl, Smalltalk, Eiffel, Ada, and Lisp) to form a new language that balanced functional programming with imperative programming.

Java

Java is a programming language and computing platform first released by Sun Microsystems in 1995. There are lots of applications and websites that will not work unless you have Java installed, and more are created every day. Java is fast, secure, and reliable. From laptops to datacenters, game consoles to scientific supercomputers, cell phones to the Internet, Java is everywhere!

Golang

Go is expressive, concise, clean, and efficient. Its concurrency mechanisms make it easy to write programs that get the most out of multicore and networked machines, while its novel type system enables flexible and modular program construction. Go compiles quickly to machine code yet has the convenience of garbage collection and the power of run-time reflection. It's a fast, statically typed, compiled language that feels like a dynamically typed, interpreted language.

HTML5

HTML5 is a core technology markup language of the Internet used for structuring and presenting content for the World Wide Web. As of October 2014 this is the final and complete fifth revision of the HTML standard of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The previous version, HTML 4, was standardised in 1997.

C#

C# (pronounced "See Sharp") is a simple, modern, object-oriented, and type-safe programming language. C# has its roots in the C family of languages and will be immediately familiar to C, C++, Java, and JavaScript programmers.

Scala

Scala is an acronym for “Scalable Language”. This means that Scala grows with you. You can play with it by typing one-line expressions and observing the results. But you can also rely on it for large mission critical systems, as many companies, including Twitter, LinkedIn, or Intel do. To some, Scala feels like a scripting language. Its syntax is concise and low ceremony; its types get out of the way because the compiler can infer them.

Elixir

Elixir leverages the Erlang VM, known for running low-latency, distributed and fault-tolerant systems, while also being successfully used in web development and the embedded software domain.

Related Comparisons

Electron vs Swift: What are the differences?

Platform Compatibility: Electron is a cross-platform framework that allows developers to build desktop applications for Windows, macOS, and Linux using web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. On the other hand, Swift is primarily used for developing applications for Apple's ecosystem, including iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. It is not natively compatible with other platforms like Windows or Linux.
Development Environment: Electron applications are developed using web development tools and workflows, making it easier for web developers to transition into desktop application development. Swift, on the other hand, requires developers to use Apple's Xcode IDE and follow the iOS/macOS development guidelines, making it more suitable for developers with experience in Apple's ecosystem.
Performance: When it comes to performance, Swift has the advantage. Being a compiled language, Swift offers better performance compared to Electron, which relies on a web runtime environment. Swift allows for faster execution, lower memory usage, and closer integration with the underlying operating system, resulting in a more efficient and responsive application.
User Experience: Electron applications have a consistent user experience across different platforms, thanks to the use of web technologies and their wide adoption. However, Swift applications offer a more native and seamless experience on Apple devices, leveraging the design patterns and user interface guidelines specific to iOS/macOS, which can result in a more polished and intuitive user experience.
Deployment: Deploying Electron applications is relatively straightforward. Once the app is ready, it can be bundled as an executable file for each platform and distributed to users. In contrast, deploying Swift applications requires submission to Apple's App Store or deployment through enterprise distribution methods, which involves a more rigorous review process and adherence to Apple's guidelines.
Third-Party Libraries and Ecosystem: Electron benefits from a vast ecosystem of web technologies and JavaScript libraries, which enables developers to leverage existing frameworks and tools to enhance their applications. Swift, being a proprietary language, has a more limited ecosystem compared to JavaScript, although it is supported by a vibrant community and regularly updated by Apple.

Electron vs Swift

Overview