The Swift programming language is a powerful tool for creating iOS apps. It is developed by Apple and is an open source platform that is continuously evolving to meet the needs of various applications. Currently, it is one of the most popular programming languages for mobile development.
Swift is one of many tools the Wve Labs code developers use to create beautiful, responsive iOS apps. On this page, we'll provide some useful background info about this language and how it can benefit your project.
Swift is a multi-paradigm, interactive programming language that allows for real-time feedback and expressive coding. Initially released in 2014, it supports iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS platforms, and it can be imported into projects written in Objective-C code. Thanks in no small part to its Apple provenance, it was an immediate success, quickly replacing C as the language of choice for embedded programming on the company's platforms.
While Swift is tailor-made for Apple's mobile platforms, it's not the only option. Ultimately, the right choice of coding language for a project depends on technical and personal preferences, among other factors. Some of the main benefits of developing with Swift include:
Designed as a more streamlined alternative to Objective-C, Swift contains several features that make it easier to work with and less prone to errors. Its typing and error handling systems allow for a shorter feedback loop, which makes catching and fixing mistakes simpler — and it helps us deliver a more stable finished product.
True to its name, Swift is also extremely fast — a fact borne out by repeated independent benchmark tests. Its smaller memory footprint makes it ideal for mobile applications where space is at a premium — and processor-hogging apps are the first to go when a user needs to free up room on their device.
Swift also supports dynamic libraries, making it more versatile and making apps more future-friendly as Apple releases new versions of the language.
As noted above, Swift builds on the Objective-C platform — apps originally written in Objective-C can be modified and upgraded using Swift, and vice-versa.
While there are clear benefits to Swift, it does have its drawbacks. Because it is so new, it has yet to be widely adopted, which means the pool of talented Swift code developers is still relatively small. As well, Swift only supports iOS 7.0 or later, which means that organizations running legacy hardware aren't able to use apps developed with it.
The key takeaway from this discussion of Swift is that it's a platform we know inside and out — whether or not it's the best language for your project will depend on many factors. In fact, one of the reasons our clients love working with Wve Labs is because they trust us to make the right back-end choices when it comes to their product.
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