Swift Developing For The Child And Adult

Throughout the years, we’ve all secretly hoped that we would be able to program computers, you know, make them do what you want them to do. Often times, people think that this is something that is nearly impossible, only for the select few who can keep track of a million things in their head - the Gifted population. But now, it is not. Let’s take a closer look at something that is going to get you going, and may set you on a track of wonder, to change your life for the better. A new skill something that will look great on a resume of any kind, or just something for yourself to be proud of, and keep you occupied in your boredom.

Apple development is something that has truly changed the world of programming, you now have the tools to start your track onto something great. When most people think of programming, we jump to conclusions of something like this:

But truly speaking, programming is not something that involves staring at a bunch of meaningless characters, but rather something that looks more like this:

import Darwin

class HelloWorld: SKScene {

print(“Hello World”)

}

Now, this is much more meaningful and understandable. It may not seem it at first, but when you stop and think about it, it is. This brings a whole new perspective to the world of coding, for it makes it something that doesn’t seem so difficult. And now I have all of you thinking, “I want to code...”

You may be asking why you might need to learn a coding language, why it is even apparent in everyday life. Well, the answer is very simple, because you can. Why, in our modern computer driven society, would you not want to understand how they work? Even a very high level and easy to understand language, something like Scratch, will teach you priceless knowledge about computers, something that you wouldn’t have had without the experience coding will give you.

Apple programming is very basic, in fact, it is most likely(And in my opinion) the most user friendly and reliable coding language to learn, and Apple is not going to be going anywhere in the near future. Apple also has some great tools to get you started, as does online, and this makes it so that it is not to difficult to start learning. Let’s take a closer look at some of these tools and resources for you.

For the very beginner, Apple has recently started an app by them called “Swift Playgrounds”. The audience for Swift PLaygrounds is everywhere, from children to adults, from students to teachers. The Swift PLaygrounds starts out with a step by step tutorial, teaching you things as you go.

The above is a photo from Apple®, one that really shows the all-age availability of Swift Playgrounds. In the app, you are following the story of your pawn, and programming him to walk around, avoid obstacles, and collect gems. The work that the kids are working on seem fun(And they are still learning TONS!!!), and the adults are getting some severe work done while still learning and feeling engaged after a long day’s work.

Image from https://www.apple.com/swift/playgrounds/

Now that you look at it, you see that it really isn’t too difficult for you to get started in Swift programming. However, when you start learning something, and begin to understand it and want more knowledge, what do you do? Well, Swift Playgrounds was designed with this in mind. Off the bat, you have the option to get started on your own, this is if you had some experience with Swift coding previously. You can create your own blank playgrounds, and get started working from the ground up, building everything on your own. This may seem like a lot, but you also have access to hundreds of lessons by Apple to use, as well as a very large internet at your fingertips.

Swift Playgrounds may seem like it is the answer to all, and it is definitely something that is working towards being the answer for all, but when you are a talented programmer, it is very limited as to what you can do. Now, you are looking towards Xcode, an EXTREME developer tool that Apple has created for you and I to get lost in, and not understand a single scrap of information.

The above is Xcode’s official app icon, a recognizable image among Swift developers

Xcode is a tool that developers use to create real apps, ones with APIs, multiple classes, and REAL errors, that make NO sense. Something that may seem like a lot of scary things combined into one for someone who doesn’t know what they are doing. And, this is how I felt when I first launched Xcode, having no idea what I was doing, with so many options and settings to click, not knowing what a single word means. However, there are many resources for new developers looking to get some help. Here, I will give you some insight into just a few.

For the very beginners, who are just interested in playing around in Xcode, trying and experimenting with different things to find what you like to do, a simple Google search is all that it takes to get started in your development career. There are many YouTubers who focus on Swift and development with Xcode. While some of the content is outdated, and you definitely want to make sure that you are using up to date information, it isn’t too hard to find something that will get you where you want to be.

Once you have run out of supplies for the beginners crawl of the web for resources, you must move onto something new, maybe something that will challenge you. There are a couple of free courses out there, and TONS of pay-for-knowledge courses, which most times you can get for under $20! I use Udemy(http://www.udemy.com) for all of my developmental learning. When you do your first search on their courses, you may find them to be slightly expensive, but if you wait a few days, it is more than likely that you can get any course for over 90% off! This is a very good resource for developers, and it is accessible for anyone from beginner to expert niche developer.

A final resource that you can use is Apple’s very own documentation of their programming language. Apple has so much documentation on everything that it is literally impossible for anyone to know all of it. Of course, this is only useful to you if you have a general idea of what you want to do, and how you want to do it.

Lastly, there are many online forums where you can post your questions, and get almost instant answers I use StackOverflow, and I usually do not even have to post any questions, as there are so many answers on there, you can often find so many answers to the same question.

As you can see, developing with a language like Swift is something that everyone can do, and at any level. There are many resources out there for everyone, no matter what their age or skill. Like an art, your developing career will only improve if you start, so get to it!

Have fun learning to code!

Ryan Topham