First released in 2014, Swift is a relatively modern technology and allows developers to create applications for the Apple ecosystem. It is widely regarded in the software community for it's ease of use, in-built safety protocols and current features.
As we have covered above, Swift can be used to build applications for various parts of the apple ecosystem. Let's take a closer look at what exactly this means:
App Development for iOS - Swift is used to build apps for iPhones, iPads and other iOS devices. With over 2.2 million of these devices currently active across the globe, that's no mean feat!
App Development for watchOS and tvOS - More devices - swift underpins application development for Apple Watch and Apple TV.
App Development for macOS - Desktop applications for macOS can also be developed using Swift.
Back end Development - Swift can also be used to create server side applications and APIs.
Game Development - In addition, games can be developed for Apple platforms using Swift.
As with all technologies, there are some cons to using Swift to develop applications -particularly outside of the apple ecosystem. Let's take a look at it's key drawbacks:
It is focused on the apple ecosystem
Unsurprisingly, this programming language is heavily geared towards the apple ecosystem and whilst it is possible to use it to develop applications for Linux and Windows, the tooling is not as advanced as on apple platforms.
It's not as well established as some veteran technologies
Owing to the fact it is a relatively new language, Swift hasn't yet amassed the volume of libraries, frameworks and resources nor the community size of older, more established technologies.
Updates are frequent and often inconvenient
Again, because of it's short time in existence, Swift receives regular updates in order to help it evolve and become mature. Whilst not inherently bad by any means this can cause issues with compatibility, knowledge gaps, third party integrations and can force developers to make significant adjustments to code when new versions are released.
Lack of backward compatibility
A developers worst nightmare, Swift is not exactly well known for it's smooth backward compatibility. In fact, it has historically been quite the opposite. It can be extremely difficult to upgrade older projects in Swift without significant changes and whilst apple have taken measures in recent versions of Swift to make this easier, it is still not always plain sailing.
At Cool Code Company, we immersed ourselves in Swift back when it was first released and now know a thing or two about how to utilise this modern language to produce quality results. so whether you're looking to build a brand new app for the apple platform, upgrade an existing one or something in between - we're in a good position to help. Our Nottingham based development team will work closely with you to understand what you want to achieve, assess your current environment and determine the best path forward - come and have a chat with us today!
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