Mobile apps have significantly changed the development landscape over the past few years. Developers with varying levels of skills have been able to take on app development on a full- or part-time basis.
While newer programming languages and frameworks have been offering increasing possibilities to such developers, one age-old programming language, Objective-C, was still reigning high within Apple’s developer ecosystem. But it is now finally time for a change.
At the Worldwide Developer Conference 2014 held recently, one of the announcements Apple made was about its new, free programming language, Swift. Apple will accept applications developed using Swift after iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite are released later this year.
Mobile developers at large are ecstatic about the announcement because iOS development is predicted to become easier for all categories of developers. From simple changes such as not having to declare variable types to being able to preview changes without having to compile code, there are a lot of exciting features to look forward to in Swift.
Information about where and how to learn Swift and how to get started using it, especially if you are a rookie developer, has been circulating, creating a win-win scenario for both Apple and its developer community. Reviews have also started coming in, helping developers understand what is new about Swift and how they would stand to benefit from using it.
Besides focusing on aspects such as simplicity and speed of development, Apple has also concentrated on compatibility, ensuring a smooth transition for existing iOS Objective-C developers to Swift. Soon after Apple’s announcement, Facebook also announced support for Swift from its mobile app development platform, Parse.
While most of Swift’s reviews have so far been positive, as with anything different, this new language has also already seen some share of criticism. Some reviews say developers should stay away from it because it is a move by Apple to lock in vendors and developers, and cross-platform technologies such as HTML5 and JavaScript are still better to use because of their wide support.
The main concern about Swift being yet another proprietary language that hopes to commit developers to the world of iOS development cannot be ruled out, making the announcement a reason for some developers to be “cautiously excited.” However, at the end of the day, Apple’s effort to move from its old standby Objective-C to Swift is definitely commendable.
If we were to look purely from the standpoint of an iOS developer who currently uses Objective-C, this is definitely a welcome change because it makes iOS development way easier than what it has been so far. And given Apple’s market share, this is a programming language that will be heavily used and relied upon in the coming years.
