Swift For Dummies (2015)
Introduction
In June of 2014, one of the highlights of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) was the announcement — a surprise to many attendees, including the multitudes of developers watching the videos around the world — of the development of a new language aimed at developers to use with iOS and OS X devices. Called Swift, it was presented as the language of the future for Apple’s developers, but it was made very clear that it would cooperate with the existing basic development language — Objective-C. (In describing the ways Swift and Objective-C would interact, Apple repeatedly used the phrase “mix and match” — not only in the presentations at WWDC, but in other venues as well.)
Think about that date— Swift has only been around since June 2014: We’re all beginners with Swift.
About This Book
Swift For Dummies is a beginner’s introduction to Apple’s new programming language. The book gets you started developing with Swift. You’ll quickly see how to create projects in Swift from the built-in templates that are part of the Xcode development tool. From there, you delve into the features of the language, from the basic to the advanced. Some of these features are unique to Swift whereas other, possibly more familiar features were inherited from other programming languages.
Before we get started with Swift, consider these two points:
· Apple has done this before, and they know how to do it. On both the hardware and software sides, Apple has successfully managed transitions to new technologies. Developers have sometimes cheered, sometimes booed, and even sometimes not even noticed much difference, but nonetheless, Apple has managed to bring them along to a new technology that makes their lives easier and improves things for users.
· The languages are only part of the development environment for Apple. When you develop apps for iOS or OS X, you use the Xcode development tool (technically an Integrated Development Environment, or IDE), the Cocoa or Cocoa Touch frameworks, and a programming language — either Objective-C or Swift. What differentiates the iOS and OS X development environment from most others is that the language is only one-third of the overall environment, as well as the fact that a single company (Apple) controls all of that environment.
Conventions Used in This Book
Cocoa is the framework you use for developing Mac apps; Cocoa Touch is the framework for iOS apps. Both have a common heritage and many similar classes. In general, classes that start with NS are Cocoa classes, and classes that start with UI are Cocoa Touch classes. Many Cocoa NSclasses are also used in Cocoa Touch, so you’ll find both types of classes in many of your apps and in the sample code and templates.
Code examples in this book appear in a monospaced font so that they stand out a bit better. Some non-syntax components appear in an italicized monospaced font. (Thus, weatherConditions might be a variable, but variable could be any variable you want to use.)
Like many languages, including Objective-C, Swift is case-sensitive, so please enter the code that appears in this book exactly as it appears in the text. I also use the standard Cocoa naming conventions — such as capitalizing class names and leaving the names of methods and instance variables lowercase.
Note that all URLs in this book appear in a monospaced font as well. In accordance with common usage, most URLs in this book include the subdomain (such as www) at the beginning of many URLs except for addresses that don’t require that component (such as developer.apple.com).
If you're ever uncertain about anything in the code, you can always look at the source code on my website at www.northcountryconsulting.com or the For Dummies website at www.dummies.com. From time to time, I’ll provide updates for the code there and post other things you might find useful.
Foolish Assumptions
This book makes few assumptions about readers because Swift programmers come from many backgrounds and with varying degrees of proficiency in various languages. As to the future, however, there’s one simple assumption: You want to create apps based on the Cocoa and Cocoa Touch frameworks, and you want to do it in the simplest way possible.
Fittingly, then, this book is aimed at Cocoa and Cocoa Touch developers at all stages of expertise, from those who’ve developed a multitude of App Store apps to those who have only thought about developing an app . . . someday.
I also assume you have some Mac or iOS experience. If you have never used a Mac or iOS device, you may find it hard to follow this book. I explain advanced technical terms as they arise, but my assumption is that you know, for example, what Settings (on iOS devices) and System Preferences (on Macs are), and that similar concepts are familiar to you.
You must have access to a Mac that can run the current version of Xcode (a free download from developer.apple.com). Without Xcode and the Mac to run it on, you can't experiment with the sample code.
Note that Xcode runs only on Macintosh computers running Mac OS X v10.9.4 (Mavericks) or later on a 64-bit Intel-based Mac.
Additionally, you must have Internet access. It’s very important to stress, however, that I don’t mean “always-on” Internet access. I only mean that you must at least have limited Internet access — so you can access the App Store, for example, and connect with Apple’sdeveloper.apple.com to download software and upload apps.
Perhaps the most foolish assumption of all may be your own: that you can’t learn Swift or the Cocoa and Cocoa Touch frameworks. You can, and this book is designed to help you. Bear in mind that app development is not easy: If it were, the App Store would have far more than just over a million apps. It’s not easy, but you can do it.
Icons Used in This Book
This icon indicates a useful pointer that you shouldn't skip.
This icon represents a friendly reminder. It describes a vital point that you should keep in mind while proceeding through a particular section of the chapter.
This icon signifies that the accompanying explanation may be informative (dare we say interesting?), but it isn't essential to understanding Swift. Feel free to skip past these tidbits if you like (though skipping while learning may be tricky).
This icon alerts you to potential problems that you may encounter along the way. Read and obey these blurbs to avoid trouble.
Beyond the Book
A lot of extra content that you won’t find in this book is available at www.dummies.com. Go online to find the following:
· Source code for the examples in this book at
www.dummies.com/extras/swift
This book contains a lot of code, and you might not want to type it. In fact, it’s probably better if you don’t type this code manually. Fortunately, you can find the source code for this book on the Dummies.com website at www.dummies.com/extras/swift. The source code is organized by chapter. The best way to work with a chapter is to download all the source code for it at one time.
· Online articles covering additional topics at
www.dummies.com/extras/swift
Here you’ll find out how to know whether to use a type, collection, flow control, or function to implement an action; how to initialize stored properties in a class or structure; and how to let Xcode create actions and outlets for you.
Ongoing discussions at developer.apple.com (for registered developers only) and at my website (www.northcountryconsulting.com) provide even more information.
· The Cheat Sheet for this book is at
www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/swift
Here you’ll find an examination of the anatomy of a Swift class, the best way to update Xcode for a new Swift release, and advice about working with both Swift and Objective-C.
· Updates to this book, if we have any, are also available at
www.dummies.com/extras/swift
Where to Go from Here
It’s time to start your Swift adventure! If you’re new to programming, start with Chapter 1 and progress through the book at a pace that allows you to absorb as much of the material as possible. If you’re in an absolute rush to get going with Swift as quickly as possible, you could possibly skip to Chapter 2 with the understanding that you may find some topics a bit confusing later.