Swift programming language

Swift was developed by Apple in 2014 as a more practical replacement for Objective C. Swift is now an open source platform available to all developers. The vast majority of applications for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV and MacOS are written on it.

What can be done in Swift

1. Write a quality native app.

Swift code is the standard for Apple gadgets. Software in this language passes moderation in the App Store without any problems and works correctly on all “apple” devices.

2. Improve software written in C and Objective C.

Swift is fully compatible with these common languages. Objective C was the main development tool for iOS and macOS before the introduction of the new platform.

3. Configure the server side of the web application.

Swift is used infrequently for this purpose and mostly as an assistive technology. To adapt the language for the web, special frameworks are used - for example, Realm.

Knowing Swift at an advanced level is essential:

• mobile-dev developers;
• programmers who create software for macOS;
• backend to developers.

In general, in Apple's language, you can make both a small single-player game and a large-scale application like a social network or corporate CRM. The possibilities and functionality of the language are very wide, and the syntax is quite clear and structured.

Language Advantages and Disadvantages

Pros of Swift include:

1. High speed, performance.

Apple's goal is to make apps on its devices as fast as possible. According to the company, Swift processes code 2.6 times faster than Objective C. Compared to Python 2.7, this figure is even higher, reaching 8.4 times. At the same time, Swift has all the features of an object-oriented language - iterators, arrays, returns, etc., which makes it a complete and productive development tool.

2. Security.

In Swift, the possibility of critical errors is minimized due to a special approach to working with memory. In addition, the stable operation of applications contributes to the correction of regular errors in automatic mode. Unauthorized access to the code from the outside is virtually excluded.

3. Ease of syntax.

Swift is the cleanest and cleanest of all C-shaped languages. The code on it takes up less space and is easy to read even for beginners in programming.

4. Open source.

Giving the source code of your product to the community is not a trivial and very successful move for Apple. Thanks to universal access, the language is constantly being developed and improved by the users themselves.

5. Xcode workspace.

Apple offers developers a complete one-stop software development tool, the Xcode framework. It includes a code editor, compilers, debuggers, and even a graphical interface editor, Interface Builder. Xcode also provides official documentation from Apple and an extensive library of ready-made frameworks.

6. Automated memory handling.

Swift developers don't have to keep track of memory usage themselves. Instead, a special automatic system does this.

For all its advantages, Swift also has its drawbacks.

1. Narrow focus.

This language is fully customized for Apple devices. Development on it for other platforms is very limited and rarely practiced.

2. Incompatibility with older versions.

After each update of the specification, programs written in Swift have to be modified manually.

3. Limited number of libraries.

The language developed by Apple is quite young, so it is just beginning to “overgrow” with add-ons and ready-made solutions. Over time, there will be more libraries and frameworks, but so far the current “emptiness” can be considered a minus.

4. Small community.

This disadvantage is especially evident in the ru-segment. A small number of practitioners makes it difficult to train juniors and generally slows down the development of technology. But, again, this is the problem of the novelty of the environment. In the future, the situation will improve, because Swift is still a promising development tool.

Characteristics and features of Swift

1. Multi-directionality, or multi-paradigm.

Swift is both an imperative, a functional, and an object-oriented language. The language inherited this approach from its progenitor - Objective C.

2. Type safety, static typing.

Each variable gets one type for the duration of its validity. At the same time, the language itself monitors the safety of the transmitted values. If the variable is originally set to the string type String, there is no way to write a number or an array there.

3. Using tuples.

A tuple is a variable type not found in classic Objective C. It is a group of values ​​combined into a single object. For example, the user's gender, age, and city of residence.

4. Unique types.

According to the official Swift manual, it has its own fundamental variable types Int, String, Double, and Float. In addition, Swift allows you to make optional variables with any data types.

5. Simplified syntax.

Swift doesn't have the usual semicolon to indicate the end of a line. The compiler itself finds logical boundaries in the code. This simplifies and speeds up writing programs.

6. Generics.

This innovation allows you to use functions on variables with an undefined data type. Instead of writing in an Int or String expression, you can use the type name placeholder. This way you can save time on writing the same type of commands and avoid mistakes.

Swift Code Examples

The “Hello World” program, which starts learning any language, is written in Swift in an elementary way and takes only one line.

print("Hello, World")

Note that no additional libraries are needed here, and there is no need for a semicolon at the end of the line.

The text on the screen can also be output from a predefined variable. Example:

var text: String = "Hello, User!"
print(text)

We have defined a mutable text variable with strong typing. A constant (non-rewritable variable) without typing is defined as follows.

let text: String = "Hello, User!"
print(text)

Constants are an important part of any C-like language.

Comments in Swift code are separated by two slashes.
//: Comment text

How long does it take to develop a Swift application on average

This is a very subjective question. Of course, different factors affect the duration of development - the complexity of tasks, the amount of available resources, the availability of references, etc. But in general, due to the simplicity of the language and the availability of libraries, development in Swift does not stretch for a long time and takes no more than 6-12 months.

Conclusion

Swift was created to standardize and simplify software development for Apple devices. It can be used to make productive and full-featured applications for iOS, MacOS, as well as tvOS and watchOS.

Swift is based on the object-oriented programming language Objective C. Unlike its parent, Swift has a simplified syntax, improved memory management, additional variable types, and other useful features. In addition, Swift is objectively faster at processing data.