IOS is the second most popular operating system for mobile devices in the world. Also, in some regions, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, Apple devices outsell Android devices in terms of sales numbers. Businesses and developers are also primarily focusing their Software Products on the IOS platform, which they perceive as a strategic opportunity, in some cases even investing solely on it.
If you are an iOS application developer, one of the most important decisions you will have to make is what technological toolbox your product will require. Even if you decide to go with Native Development rather than Cross-Platform Solution, you still need to decide which language you will use, Objective-C or Swift. Swift is a compiled language that can be used to develop apps for iOS, WatchOS, MacOS, TVOS, and Linux.
Let’s take a look at some of Swift’s prominent features. The Swift programming language was developed by Apple in 2014. Apple is one of the most influential tech companies in the world, and Swift is on its way to becoming the most dominant language for IOS development.
As a result of Swift’s syntax, developers are encouraged to write code that is clean and consistent. It is even possible for this to feel strict at times. Besides safeguarding against errors, Swift also improved readability.
Swift is built with a heavy focus on performance. As reported by Apple, Swift is 8.4x faster than Python and 2.6x faster than Objective-C. Swift’s Simple Syntax and helping-hand approach help developers develop applications more quickly.
The creators of Swift acknowledge that in order to emerge as a prominent programming language, code and technology should be open source. Swift has quickly gained the support of a large community and a large number of third-party tools since its launch.
According to the latest rankings, Swift is now the 10th most popular programming language, surpassing GO, Objective-C, Scala, and It has more than 40K stars on GitHub and more than 187K StackOverflow Questions, making this relatively young language one of the leading technologies in mobile application development.
What is Swift?
Swift is a general purpose, multi-paradigm programming language used for developing iOS, tvOS, and watchOS applications for iOS and OS X. It was developed by Apple Inc.
Swift is a powerful, intuitive, safe, precise, and fast programming language. Swift follows Objective-C runtime library, which supports C, Objective-C, C++, and Swift code within one program, and is built on LLVM, an open source compiler that is included in Xcode 6 and 7.
How does Swift work?
Swift may seem daunting or complex at first. Here’s a brief overview of its functionality for beginners. Swift code translates source code (what you write) into machine language for execution by your computer. A compiler changes source code in order to make it executable by this language. This is also called compiler software. Once Swift code has been reviewed by a compiler, it produces machine code that can then be executed across different platforms to produce executable programs for distribution and operation.
There are many similarities between Swift and other well-known programming languages such as Objective-C, C++, and Java.
The Swift programming language can be considered a high-level language that is suited to anyone looking for an approachable programming solution without getting bogged down in technical details.
Most modern programming languages provide tools for producing readable, understandable code. Swift’s grammar (set of rules) makes it easy to write error-free programs with readability in mind. Swift also features type inference, which determines the type of an object based on its usage.
A number of powerful features are available in Swift, including protocols, which help define behaviors for classes and structs, and optional, which helps determine when specific behaviors should be executed. One of Swift’s standout features is its extensions feature, which allows developers to add new features without rewriting existing code. This makes code easier to update and reuse.
Learn Also: What is Node.js and why it is used?
Advantages and disadvantages of Swift
A Swift programming language is based on three principles: security, performance, and simplicity. There are a number of important advantages to making it so popular and dynamic. Some of these are:
- A high level of performance. Swift provides very decent code and program execution speeds. According to Apple, it is 8 times faster than Python or Javascript, and 2.5 times faster than Objective-C.
- An easy syntax to follow. Swift is a minimalist, logical, and structured language that does not require a lot of coding. Its code is also easy to read and well-organized
- Not only for experienced people, but also for beginners. The syntax of Swift has been simplified significantly over Objective-C, and the amount of code has been reduced as well.
- Protection. It has important security features, such as protection against unauthorized data access and memory leaks, control over critical scripts, and automatic correction of routine errors (unlike C++, you don’t have to specify them manually).
- The license is free. Swift is an open-source programming language that is completely free to use. An additional reason for its popularity and rapid growth was the creation of a large community of developers to exchange experiences and refinements.
- Workspace that is user-friendly. Apple offers an integrated development environment called Xcode for iOS and macOS. Interface Builder GUI development functionality, LLVM compilers, and Apple-supported developer documentation are all included.
- Swift is backwards compatible with Objective-C. As a result, developers can easily convert their Objective-C projects to Swift and use Objective-C functionality within Swift.
- A dynamic library. It is dynamic libraries that are used here, rather than static ones. By doing this, Swift can be changed and improved more quickly (without waiting for a new release of iOS), and programmers can create their own libraries without waiting for a new version of iOS to come out.
Final Thoughts
Swift was introduced by Apple in 2014 and is used for developing software for iOS and MacOS. As of today, it is the primary language in Apple’s ecosystem, replacing Objective-C, which it previously used. There are several advantages of Swift, including high performance, simple syntax, decent security scores, open licensing, a sandbox, and other useful features.
The Swift programming language is among the youngest, fastest-growing, and most promising languages on the market. It is also relatively easy to learn, making it a good choice for beginners and experienced developers alike.