Swift programming language was announced in 2004 by CEO of Apple Tim Cook. He was sure that this language would be one of the best programming languages for IOS developers.
Today, we can definitely say that Tim made the right prediction. Swift is one of the most preferred and fastest programming languages and is definitely a future for IOS developers. Swift has already captured major markets and is growing rapidly.
In today's article, we are here to guide you about why Swift is the future for IOS developers and what makes this language unique.
Before getting into this topic, let's first understand what a Swift programming Language.
What is the Swift programming language?
Swift is a pro developer programming language app that was announced in 2004. This programming language is quite easy to understand and code. It is closely related to the English language which increases its readability. This is an authoritative language that is used by most IOS app developers.
This language is easy to maintain and automatically sense if there is some error in your programming. The best and the most important advantage of the Swift language app is its open-source language.
It is undoubtedly the best platform for building apps for iPhone and IOS that includes apple watch, Apple TV, iPad MacBook, or anything.
A brief history of Swift language
Let's get into a brief history about how this Swift programming came into existence. Swift language was developed by a team of developers who were working on it since 2010.
In 2014, Apple publicly announced and launched the Swift programming language. Tim Cook, the then CEO of Apple, predicted that it would be one of the major hits in the next 20 years. Now, it is the fastest-growing language.
Many different start-up companies and developers started joining the Swift programming language features. Many of these experiments were successful.
Why Swift is the future for IOS developers?
Various reasons make Swift the future for IOS developers. Some of these reasons are given below:
- Swift is the most popular programming language.
The first reason is that swift is the most popular and modern language for the internet. This programming language provides developers with an advanced set of features and libraries, which helps in building iPhone and IOS apps in the minimum time frame.
- Swift is the most powerful tool
Swift is the most powerful language. It is quite fast, secure, and provides you high-performance LLVM compiler technology.
- Safeguard and inform developers about the error
Swift programming language was introduced to make the network secure and safe. It safeguards you against programming mistakes. It helps to keep a check on the array and integer numbers and manage memory backup. Developers don't have to worry about simple mistakes as it automatically corrects them.
- Swift programming language is easy to understand
Readability is one of the major factors that makes the Swift programming language the obvious choice of developers. The language is closely related to English, making it readable and quite easy to understand and code.
- Open-source
Swift programming language was developed by swift.org, a site meant for the open-source Apple community. This site is made with the source code, bug tracker, mailing list, and normal development list.
- Advanced in syntax
Swift programming language has a new syntax feature. It makes your code more expressive and provides you new features like null-ability and generics explanations that make your code safe and clean.
- Swift programming language has an interactive Playground.
Swift programming language has interactive playgrounds. This allows programmers or developers to test new graphics or algorithm routines without worrying about building an entire iPhone app.
- Swift is safe
Swift is a safe language to use as it removes unclear and unsafe codes; it checks the overflow of integers and arrays. It always checks the variables before they are used and handles memory automatically. Now, you don't have to waste time or money in fixing the small, unnoticed errors.
- Swift language has objective C compatibility.
Swift programming language is quite compatible with Objective C. This allows the developer to make projects or apps in different languages. You can now easily develop an app that works on a mixed language feature.
What are the benefits of the Swift Programming language?
We have talked about what is a swift programming language and its history. Now, we have a clear idea of why Swift is the future for IOS developers. Let's get into some more details about the topic.
Here are a few benefits of using Swift language for developing IOS apps:
- Swift programming language is easy to read, understand, and code. It is similar to the English Language. It is comparatively easy to understand.
- Swift programming language has different resolutions and sizes. It makes it one of the most compatible platforms to work upon. Besides, it minimizes the bugs and reduces the chances of a crash.
- This programming language is safe and secure. It automatically handles memory and removes unsafe codes. It automatically fixes the random errors, so you don't have to take the pain of correcting errors.
- It takes less time to develop an app.
- The best part about a swift programming language is that you can read it without any complexity. It provides you clean Syntax and easy writing leading and coding process.
- It takes less code lines to execute any program; thus, it saves both time and money.
- Swift programming language requires low maintenance.
- A programming language is easy and keeps the user updated all the time. Now you don't have to worry about small errors as it fixes them automatically. Another important factor about swift programming languages is that it combines both .m and .h in a single file.
- Swift programming language makes experiments easy and possible
- Swift programming language has a different interactive playground that helps you to try out new things. This helps to make the process easier as you can look at how your Apple is going to look. Don't forget to add dynamic libraries.
- Swift programming language is in high demand in comparison to objective C.
Now let's talk about why you should prefer Swift programming language in comparison to object C
IDEs use for Swift programming language.
That is an integrated development environment is that very platform for easy interaction with language. Here we are going to discuss ideas to use for Swift:
X code
X code is not always the best choice, but it is more than efficient in some cases. It is convenient and has interface auto-completion support. Besides, many other features make Swift an engaging and smooth IDEs to work on. Sometimes, you can also use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript along with X code to make your work easier.
Atom
Atom is another text editor and IDEs that was created by GitHub. Atom is a basic application but has a great number of open-source packages that are also built by the GitHub community. So, this will allow you to have a cross-platform, and you can use other various useful features.
App code
App code is another best platform for IOS and macOS that were designed by Jet brains. This is the most efficient platforms and offers you scope for improvement. App code has other refactoring tools that might turn helpful. However, it has some limited features compared to X code like app validation, submission, and storyboards. Besides, it also comes with subscription charges.
Objective c versus Swift programming language
As we all know that swift is one of the fastest and most popular interactive programming language these days. It has a few benefits over objective-c that makes Swift a future for iOS developers:
- Readability
There is no doubt that swift is quite easy to read compared to objective c. You need less coding lines and can implement it on Swift in an easy manner. It also allows you to fix your random are errors automatically. Swift language is closely related to the English language, which makes it even easier to read. It has a syntax that helps the code to be more clean and precise.
- Maintenance
Objective c demands more maintenance and comparison to Swift. C program had to maintain two coding files to improve their time and efficiency; however, you can attach .h and .file into a single code file in the Swift programming language.
- Safer platform
Swift is a safer platform than objective C. There is little probability of any program to crash or any case of problematic behavior in the Swift programming language.
Swift away was you about a bad or an appropriate code why objective c doesn't prevent a programmer from writing a bad code. In Swift, you can compile and fix your error while writing the code, which is not in the case of objective c. As a result, Swift develops better and faster programs than objective c when it comes to bug test.
- Less coding
Objective c requires many codes, which might result in many issues that can cause your app to crash. Swift used less error-prone codes. While in the case of Swift, you need to '+'and you are done.
- Speed
Swift programming language uses fewer coding lines and makes it one of the fastest languages.
Can Swift be the future of iOS development?
Despite being young and, tender Swift has gained immense popularity within a concise span of time. It has witnessed many prominent success stories, and some companies find this new language very efficient and effective.
Companies like LinkedIn, Pandora, Fitbit, and Twitter prefer the Swift programming language. Facebook and Uber have a keen interest in the Swift programming language, and in some time, they might also shift to it.
The languages are easy to understand and are mature enough. It keeps you updated about every development, and it fixes all your random errors automatically.
Apple is in the process of growing and expanding the Swift programming language. It has few limitations and a lack of tools that will be developed within the upcoming years. Swift will develop and enhance completely. It can soon be a replacement of objective C, which is the leading language for IOS developers.
If we talk about businesses, they are also ready for the new changes and prepare themselves for this switch.
Some frequently asked questions
- Is swift programming language safe?
Yes, swift programming language is safe to use. You don’t need to panic about the safety as this app is used by some major companies.
- Is Swift easy to understand?
Swift programming language is quite easy to understand and code. It takes fewer amounts of coding lines and automatically corrects the random errors. It is similar to the English language which makes it even more readable.
- Is Swift the future of IOS developers?
Yes, it the future of IOS developers as it provides more options and opportunities to explore. There is a room to correct mistakes. Along with that many big companies like Facebook and Uber are showing a keen interest in the language and they can soon shift towards it.
- Are any big businesses using Swift programming language?
Many big businesses are using swift programming language:
- Fitbit
- Pandora
Conclusion
Keep one thing in mind that object C and Swift have their own pros and cons. So, it highly
depends on an organization and which kind of new project you are starting. Don’t be in a hurry and select the language that best suits your need and requirements.
Ask you team and discuss the pro and cons of both. Remember, if Swift is fater then, Objective C has various features. Choose swisely.
Swift programming language is an obvious choice of any developers. It is indeed the future of developers. There is no denial that this language has many benefits over any other language.
If you are planning to start learning a swift language program, hurry as it is in high demand and will one day rule the market.