Apple devices have always been an extremely lucrative avenue for developers. Developing for iOS is one pie that most developers want their fingers into, and the exhaustive set of strictures, rules and high standards placed by Apple makes the platform not only a kind of elite, exclusive market, but also extremely challenging. Proficient developers love challenges, and iOS development has been a rapidly growing industry for many years.
In 2014, Apple made an important announcement- the deployment of Swift, Apple’s own coding language which developers need to use to code for Apple platforms. Taking the place of the previously used Objective C language, Swift is what iOS developers need to master to shine in the field of iOS app development at present and in future.
The Advent of Swift
For many years, Objective C was the language of choice when it came to developing for the Apple platform. Apple’s own development environment Xcode was built to function with Objective C, and that was the language aspiring Apple developers needed to learn to code for the iOS platform. For many years, Apple has been planning to implement a system which would preserve the advantages provided by Objective C and work around its disadvantages. With Swift, they have managed to do just that- take the best of Objective C and add a number of enhancements, nifty features and superior stability. Swift is the development platform for the future and for developers who are interested in coding for Apple devices, learning and gaining proficiency in Swift is now a must-do.
Why One Should Learn
Apart from the fact that Apple see Swift as the programming language of their future and have their own future plans keeping Swift in the center, there are various other reasons why developers should get around to learning the Swift programming language. It is a robust, versatile programming language that is interesting to work with, and it addresses many of the serious concerns which crop up regularly with developers. Here are a few compelling reasons why one should take up the Swift language –
- It is clear that Apple view Swift as the next generation programming language that will define the path of iOS development for many years to come. Consequently, it makes sense to learn the language so that one can be part of that journey.
- Purely as a programming language, Swift is interesting to work with and fun to learn. While those with a background in Objective C will be able to easily pick up most of the rudiments, the language is also relatively easy for beginners.
- Swift takes the best attributes of Objective C and spruces them up with some exciting new features. These features include workflow tweaks, handling and memory management enhancements, more transparent and versatile coding and much more.
- Swift also comes with Playground- a great new feature which lets developers put together a code snippet and instantly see the results it achieves. This allows for a more hands-on, involved programming experience that developers are sure to love.