The Swift programming language is making çollosal waves in the realm of iOS app development. Since its announcement by Tim Cook, CEO of Apple in 2014, it has captured a significant market. Then Tim Cook termed Swift “the next big programming language” and iOS developers across the globe will rely on it for the next 20 years.
Well, by witnessing Swift programming language’s high popularity and significance among iOS developers. It turns out, Tim was very certain in his statement.
Before going further into the intricacies of the Swift programming language, It is time to brief you about the language. It is a high-level language created to develop complex iOS applications to cater diverse needs of different business domains.
It is meant to develop high-end apps with multiple complexities. But since it is very close to English, it is incredibly easy to code and understand. This feature makes it incredibly friendly to beginners as well. It automatically handles all code errors in real-time, as it can easily maintain Xcode.
It is equally compatible with iPhones, IPad, Apple Watch, MacBook, Apple Tv and can be used to develop equally efficient and scalable apps for them.
The write-up will encircle all the aspects and Swift and explore why Swift programming language is the future for iOS app development.
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Benefits of Swift app development Programming Language
It is time to explore how Swift programming language is best for iOS app development:
Shortens Development Time
Developers tend to use a programming language that can be read easily. Swift comes exactly with this feature. It comes with a clear syntax, which makes it easy to read, write and modify simultaneously.
Different from other languages, it requires fewer lines to execute an option. It doesn’t follow legacy conversions and very much follows the English language to code. This paves the way for a short development cycle and saves a lot of money. This is why Swift is the future of iOS developers.
When working with uncertain statements, one doesn’t have to add a semicolon at the end of the parenthesis. It can handle multiple mistakes automatically that emerge naturally with Objective C.
Low Maintenance
Developing an app is not the end of the task. Developers have to update it and keep it bug-free all the time to deliver an engaging user experience. With Objective C, developers have to maintain two codes to maintain the efficiency of the code. But with Swift, (.m) and. (h) files into a single (.swift) file.
Optimal for Safety
Safety is the first and foremost concern to look at before taking any app development project. But with Swift, one doesn’t have to take care of any risky codes.
It also uses the latest programming conventions to help developers maintain watertight security on the apps they develop.
Note that the programming language enables a person to describe valuables as value types or optional types. It implies that a professional developer has the freedom to classify whether the value exists or it is null (nil).
It implies that if a developer chooses the NIL option by chance, the language will activate a runtime crash. This empowers developers to root out bugs in real-time. Swift doesn’t leave any chance for potential bugs to carry forward.
Open Source
Swift was declared open-source by Apple in 2015. Swift is the future of iOS Developers and they are overwhelmed with the decision as it directly implies that Swift can be used across different platforms and for the backend as well.
This significant step adds to the growing popularity of iOS Swift development over other app development platforms. This is enough to put that Apple has stretched its limits to Swift’s development and adoption, which is not expected from Apple policies.
If things go well in the future as well, it will attain the topmost position in this domain.
Possibilities of Experimentation
To work on multiple application concepts by developers, Swift, as an iOS app development language, has playground mode to make things transparent. The feature makes things easy for the developers. It helps them to have a clear picture of how the app will turn out and how things will move forward on the ground.
Further, as the most reliable iOS programming language, it supports dynamic libraries. These denote executable bits of code that developer’s link to an application. Because of the support, Swift apps can link with the newest version of the language to make the app future-proof.
Easier to Read
Unlike other programming languages on any platform, it is much similar to the English language in nature. It is easy to write, read and modify. Developers of JavaScript, Java, C++, C# and Python to adopt Swift, an iPhone app programming language.
[Also read: Advantages of iPhone App Development]
Easy Maintenance
Objective-C can’t evolve without the evolution of C. On the other hand, Swift doesn’t have any of these dependencies. This is the reason it is easy to maintain. Further, developers working with C have to maintain two code files to improve the build time. The same procedure is with Objective-C as well.
But how does Swift do that? It combines the Objective-C header (.h) file and implementation files (.m) into a single code base ), (.swift). While Objective-C requires manual synchronization of names and comments. Thus, Swift empowers developers to create logic and code quality.
Designed for Safety
Swift is developed to provide top-notch security. It automatically eliminates unsafe code in real-time. The entire class, like Variables, are initialized before use, arrays are analyzed for overflow, and it provides many checks to avoid any programming mistakes.
Fast and Powerful
Since its introduction in 2015 by Apple, Swift was customized to be fast with high-performance LLVM compiler technology. To serve the purpose better, Swift code is optimized like a native code to make it compatible with modern hardware.
Source and Binary Compatibility
With Swift coding language 5, developers don’t have to modify Swift 4 code to use the new version of the compiler. By accessing all the features of Swift 5, you can migrate easily and use a new compiler. It also features binary compatibility for apps.
Package Manager
Swift Package Manager is known as a single cross-platform with everything in a package. It can build, operate, test, and package Swift libraries. Looking to distribute source code to the community, this is the best way.
Resources of Swift
- Swift Sandbox: This is the most effective resource for any beginner who wants to learn Swift from the start. One can write the first 1000 lines of Swift Code and have automated feedback from the expert platform. Like this, WeHeartSwift.com has a suite of tips, discussions, and many tutorials for beginners.
- Medium: Medium is a well-known online publishing platform to disseminate ideas, knowledge sharing, and tech innovations. This platform has many Swift development communities that spread the word about the best practices in the app development process.
- Swift Development with Visual Studio Code: Visual Studio Code (VSCode) is a cross-platform text and source code editor from Microsoft. It is considered the most knowledgeable open-source project today, with frequent updates from developers across the developers.
- GitHub’s Swift Repositories: If you are an avid lover of open-source code, you can find many Swift repositories on GitHub to get ideas, and knowledge to develop great code. This resource is very helpful for the Swift community.
- O’Reilly Media Swift Books: O’Reilly Media Swift book has several books pertinent to Swift and iOS app development as well.
- Packt Publishing Swift Books: Swift-centric book titles include “Xcode 6 essentials, Playing with Swift, Swift Essential, and many learning kits
- YouTube Playlist on Swift: One can watch and learn through 300+ YouTube videos on Swift programming.
- The Swift Language YouTube Playlist: It is a voluminous, multi-source, 250+ YouTube video playlist about Swift programming.
Conclusion
Now you can easily agree on why Swift is the future of iOS developers and is going to be the future of developing high-performing and secured apps. Owing to its popularity and significance, its adoption rate in Apple’s rival is very high as well. If you are also planning for iOS app development through Swift, Mobcoder can help with the high-domain expertise and experienced resources.
