Apple has continued to release powerful smart devices one after the other and shows no signs of stopping. The Apple App Store is home to the largest quantity of apps across all devices. Outside of their legion of smart devices, Apple has also steadily released more advanced iMac and Mac Book products. These products are built with and take full advantage of Swift, an Apple-designed programming language.
Any aspiring app developer specializing in iOS app development services (like myself!) should heavily consider taking the time to learn Swift. What makes Swift so unique among the legion of programming languages to choose from? Let me share my findings and observations below:
1. It’s designed for Apple Products from the Ground Up
In days long since passed, programming for Apple products could be quite a hassle. Programmers were required to use languages such as Objective-C, which weren’t totally optimized and integrated fully into Apple products. In order to make software development more accessible and appealing, Apple designed Swift specifically for their products.
2. It runs native on all Apple hardware
Once Swift came into its own, Apple began the process of integrating it into each of their devices respective environments. Swift is capable of easily tapping into Apple’s various API’s, and it’s fully optimized for Apple software environments. Because Swift has achieved native support, it opens up the world of software development for Apple products in a way that other languages simply can’t.
3. Swift is easy to pick up
As far as programming languages are concerned, Swift is pretty accessible. Built with modern paradigms in mind, Swift was developed to reduce needless complexity without sacrificing capability. Swift is a high-level programming language, which values simplicity and readability. High-level languages are written in a way that resembles human language, which dramatically reduces the difficulty of learning for beginners to the craft.
Swift is not without its similarities to other popular languages, however, and programmers with experience in languages such as Objective-C, Ruby, and Python will find themselves quickly progressing through the learning process.
4. Swift is Fast and Maintainable
One of the most difficult parts of programming complex applications is maintaining readability and functionality. As programs grow in scope, it becomes both time-consuming and quite a headache to update and maintain specific blocks of code. Swift utilizes a unified file-system, doing away with C’s two-file requirement. In older languages, programmers were required to constantly maintain two entirely separate code files, which naturally, introduced an additional layer of complexity. Swift was designed to eliminate the two-file requirement, which significantly improved maintainability.
A common concern among programmers is the speed of the programming language they’re working with. Swift was implemented in such a way as to improve its speed, which has allowed it to compete in benchmarks with other famed languages.
5. Swift is Open Source
Open Source languages and software are loved by developers, and in recent years Apple has opened up Swift for the world to see. Immediately after becoming open, Swift skyrocketed in popularity, and with good reason. Swift has been ported to Linux, which has opened up the possibility of designing servers around it and ultimately exposed it to an even wider pool of developers.
As an open source language, it’s possible to make alterations to Swift in order to better support your specific needs as a developer. Furthermore, updates and patches are constantly being churned out, which has assisted in advancing Swift at a staggering rate.
All the above points contribute to making Swift a wonderful language choice for beginners and veterans alike. Consider setting aside some time to adopt Swift today, and before long, you’ll be capable of tapping into the power of one of the best modern languages available.
