Swift is a programming language. It is one of the major technological trends of 2023. Learning Swift is necessary to move to the next level of skills. Swift is simple to learn, even if you have no prior coding experience. Though, novice programmers sometimes need programming assignments help, which, luckily for them, is provided by professionals online. Сhoosing a trusted online service is essential to get timely and high-quality assistance.
What is Swift?
Swift is a programming language created by Apple in 2014. It was primarily designed for native iOS and macOS development but also for iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS. Its goal is to give developers a powerful language for developing iOS applications.The Swift source code can be found on GitHub, so anyone can easily access it.
The features of Swift
Swift is multi-paradigm, general-purpose, and open source (i.e., available to anyone). It was ranked among the most famous programming languages and the ten most sought-after technologies. Indeed, it is in high demand, with 11 million downloads in the first month of its release.
Fast features
Compared to other programming languages, Swift has various fast features. These include potent generics, native error handling, protocol extensions, memory management, flexible enumerations, package manager, debugging, source and binary accounting, tuples, and closing syntax. These elements combine not only to make Swift modern, accessible, and very easy to use but also to avoid any constraints to its proper functioning.
Comparing Swift to Objective-C
Objective-C is the primary programming language for OS X and iOS development. It is general-purpose object-oriented and combines the features of C and Smalltalk. Nevertheless, Swift is not its direct successor. Both have their capabilities and can be well integrated.
However, they have some notable differences. Swift allows development in Xcode, Swift Playgrounds, and Cocoa Touch, while Objective-C is mainly in XCode.
On the other hand, Swift is a modern and user-friendly language with a simple syntax, which means the coding speed is faster. However, the coding rate decreases with Objective-C because the language is less intuitive and user-friendly. According to Apple, Swift is 2.6 times faster than Objective-C. Unfortunately, the language only supports iOS 7 and macOS 10.9 at a minimum. So iPhones and iPads developed before 2014 will not be compatible with Swift applications, unlike Objective-C.
However, Swift is interoperable with Objective-C. Swift code can coexist with existing Objective-C files, and Swift will also have access to Objective-C APIs.
What are the advantages of Swift?
Swift is a very modern programming language with several advantages.
Ease of learning and use
Its very first advantage is that it is specially designed for beginner programmers. Swift Playgrounds for Ipad is enough to get started with Swift code and access courses. Swift is not only easy to learn but also easy to use since it is very concise. It is a very intuitive language to learn.
Having Swift skills can boost a job application since developers specializing in it are in high demand. According to Indeed, the average salary of an iOS developer in the United States is around $117 000.
Speed, security, cross-platform
With its LLVM compiler technology and standard library, Swift is ultra-fast and ultra-powerful. It is also modern and guarantees ample security. The programming language has various security features, such as automatic memory management, value types, and variable initialization. It claims clean and consistent code while providing guarantees to avoid errors and improve readability.
Swift is also cross-platform. And thanks to the support of Apple and IBM, it has managed to hold one of the most active and dynamic open-source communities. It supports all platforms like Apple, Linux, Windows, and Ubuntu.
Introduction of dynamic libraries
Moreover, Swift is the first language that introduced dynamic libraries in iOS. Unlike traditional static libraries, these exist outside the code and are downloaded only when needed. The latter is locked in the code, becomes part of the executable file, and increases its size and loading time.
Overall, Swift is a preferable language because of its speed, safety, and interactivity.
The limitations of Swift
Although the language is very advantageous, it does have its limitations.
A new and young language
First of all, it is a relatively new language. It has only been around for seven years and is considered a very young language. This means some of its capabilities and resources are less robust than other programming languages. Also, its cross-platform support is weak. Swift supports all platforms, but it works best for native iOS development. The frequent updates of the language are also a concern sometimes. This makes good tools to help with specific tasks hard to find.
Poor interoperability with third-party tools and IDEs
Apple’s official IDE, XCode, has developers complaining. They often report problems with syntax highlighting, autocomplete, refactoring tools, and compilers.
Incompatibility with earlier versions of iOS
Swift only runs on iOS7 and later versions. In this case, it does not work for older operating system versions.
Could Swift be the future of iOS development?
Many companies have demonstrated the rise of Swift, such as Uber, Lyft, and Fitbit. Even if it is now considered too young, it is still one of the most promising languages.
With each update, Apple strives to improve it with more features and maturity. The adoption of this programming language has not stopped growing and will not stop. It could then completely replace Objective-C and become the leading language for iOS development. However, Swift makes companies ready for any change imposed by the market.
Summary
Like any programming language, Swift has its pros and cons. But the result of using and working with this programming language primarily depends on the user’s knowledge, efforts, and targeted goal. We hope this article about the south-after programming language Swift was exciting and valuable for your thirst for knowledge.
