iOS and Android app development has undergone a sort of evolution over the years. Although both platforms have their own loyal audiences and dominate the market, the growing popularity of iOS requires companies to launch their products to maximize profit.
iOS app development began with Objective-C, and for a long time, this programming language was used for high-quality dynamic apps and was the preferred choice of developers due to its stable and mature features.
However, in 2014, Apple introduced the Swift programming language to replace Objective-C as the default programming language for building native iOS apps. Swift is faster, easier, and a smarter programming language than Objective-C.
WHAT IS THE SWIFT PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE?
As described by Apple, the Swift programming language is "Objective without the C," meaning it is not based on the C language, although it is compatible with C libraries and frameworks.
The Swift programming language offers modern coding features such as type inference, closures, and generics. It also has several powerful tools to enhance app security and system performance.
The Swift programming language has all the necessary characteristics to develop custom and dynamic iOS apps. Globally recognized as the best programming language for iOS development, it is used by major companies like LinkedIn, Lyft, and HubSpot.
With several version updates released consecutively, Swift works with the Cocoa and Cocoa Touch frameworks to develop beautiful UI/UX for iOS apps.
WHAT ARE THE FEATURES OF THE SWIFT PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE?
The Swift language stands out due to certain characteristics of its features. Keep reading to learn more.
EASY CODE READABILITY AND MAINTENANCE
This is perhaps one of the most important reasons why the Swift programming language is preferred over Objective-C. To implement a specific part of the logic, you need to write far fewer lines of code in Swift compared to its predecessor.
Due to less code, the Swift programming language is naturally compact and can be reused. Additionally, Swift has eliminated the need to maintain two sets of files - header and implementation - without compromising app performance.
BETTER PERFORMANCE
True to its name, the Swift programming language is super fast compared to its contemporaries like Objective-C or Python. Swift was developed with the aim of greater speed and app performance.
The performance of Swift is comparable to that of C++, which is by far the fastest in arithmetic calculations. Therefore, it is the best language for building super-fast iOS apps.
COMPATIBILITY WITH OBJECTIVE-C
As mentioned above, although Swift has nothing to do with C or Objective-C, it is still compatible with Objective-C libraries and frameworks.
The language's interoperability allows developers to import Objective-C frameworks using Swift syntax. This enables programmers to use Objective-C APIs and classes within Swift programming language code.
SAFE AND LESS ERROR-PRONE
Swift helps programmers write, compile, and fix bugs simultaneously while working on code, thus implementing better quality control. Since errors are fixed and tested during the coding phase itself, the apps are much faster and more efficient, thereby ensuring safety and security.
SUPPORT FOR MULTIPLE DEVICES
Although the Swift programming language was developed specifically for Apple devices, it has not been limited to the iOS platform. Swift, as a cross-platform language, can also be used on Windows and Linux operating systems. There have also been discussions about making Swift compatible with Android, but no developments have occurred on that front yet.
DYNAMIC LIBRARY LINKING
It is now very easy to update from one version of a Swift app to another with the support of dynamic libraries. These libraries are codes executed to store new version codes in memory.
INTEGRATED MEMORY MANAGEMENT
Synchronization with Cocoa frameworks allows the Swift programming language to use Cocoa APIs to handle memory management. It runs through the entire code to manage the memory of all objects by performing automatic reference counting - ARC.