What is Swift?

Swift is a programming language developed by Apple for building iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS applications. It was first introduced in 2014 as a replacement for the Objective-C language. Swift is designed to be safe and quick, and it is aimed to be simple to read and write. Since the language is statically typed, variables’ data types must be declared before they are used. Swift also incorporates modern programming language features such as closures and generics, making it a powerful and flexible language for building a wide variety of applications.

What is Objective C?

Objective-C is a general-purpose, object-oriented programming language that is widely used for developing applications for Apple’s Mac OS X and iOS operating systems. Until Swift’s introduction in 2014, it was the primary programming language for Apple’s macOS and iOS operating systems. As a high-level language that is a superset of the C programming language, Objective-C offers more object-oriented features while yet being completely compatible with C. Compared to static languages, it uses a dynamic runtime, which offers greater flexibility and usability. Objective-C is still used in some legacy projects and has good community support.

Advantages of Swift:

1. Swift Runs Faster, almost as fast as C++:

And with the newer versions of Xcode released in 2020, it is much faster than before.

2. Swift is easier to read and implement, and is easier to learn than Objective-C:

Objective-C is over 30 years old now and that means that it has a more clunky syntax. Swift is able to streamline code and more closely resembles readable English, similar to C#, C++, JavaScript, Java, and Python. Developers experienced in these languages can easily pick up swift pretty quickly. Also Swift requires less code. Compared to Objective-C which is verbose when it comes to string manipulation, Swift employs string interpolation without the use of tokens or placeholders.

3. Unified files make code easier to maintain:

Again, an age-old standard is holding the C language holds Objective-C back. This is the two file requirement. This means that programmers and developers need to update as well as maintain two separate files of code, compared to Swift, this becomes one. That means less work for programmers and developers, but this does not come at the cost of speed for the front end.

4. Better Compilers mean a better coding experience for developers and programmers:

Swift is built-in with a Low-Level Virtual Machine(LLVM), this is a compiler that is used by languages like Scala, Ruby, Python, C# and Go. The LLVM becomes smarter and faster than previous C compilers. So more workload becomes transferred from the programmer to XCode and the compiler.

5. No pointer means Swift is more secure:

Objective-C similar to C language makes use of pointers, a method that exposes values more directly to data. The problem with using pointers is that it makes and causes vulnerabilities in security. They also create a barrier for finding and fixing bugs. However using Swift, your code’s pointer is missing a value(a nil value) instead of continuing to run the app, it causes the app to crash and allows you to find and fix the bug on the spot. You will also have cleaner code and you will spend less time looking for bugs down the road, as time passes by.

6. Better management of memory:

Memory leaks can occur in object-oriented programming, apps and they are known to decrease the available memory for an app to run causing the app to fail. Typically, Cocoa Touch APIs used to support Automatic Reference Counting(ARC). This is a streamlined way to handle memory management. But when looked upon in the context of the core graphics API, ARC is not available, it is up to the developer. This is a common pitfall when an app is using big data buffers, video or graphics. When the amount of memory used is just too much during a memory leak, the app becomes shut down by the operating system. In order to fix this Swift supports ARC across APIs and this stability means that programmers have to spend less time focusing on memory management.

Hire Swift Developer

Advantages of Objective C: 

1. Backward compatibility:

Backward compatibility is one of Objective-primary C’s features. Because Objective-C has been around for a long time, developers have a large library of pre-existing code and resources to employ.

This implies that developers may use existing code and frameworks while developing apps to save time and money. Furthermore, Objective-C is backward compatible with previous versions of Apple’s operating systems, making it easier for developers to maintain and upgrade their programs. 

2. Performance and stability:

Another advantage of Objective-C is its performance and stability. Objective-C is a mature and well-established programming language that has been thoroughly tested and polished over time. As a result, it is a robust and dependable language for developing high-performance programs. Furthermore, the Objective-C runtime environment is tuned for Apple’s hardware and operating systems, so programs written in Objective-C will perform well on Apple devices.

3. Development community:

Objective-C has a huge and active development community as well. Objective-C, one of Apple’s oldest programming languages, has a large and active developer community that shares expertise, tools, and best practices. This implies that when working with Objective-C, developers may quickly discover answers to issues and solutions to difficulties. Furthermore, several third-party libraries and frameworks available for Objective-C may assist developers in rapidly and simply adding functionality and features to their projects.

4. Freedom and flexibility:

Objective-C also provides developers with a great level of freedom. Objective-C, unlike other languages, is a dynamic language, which means it can be used to construct objects and methods at runtime. This enables developers to construct very adaptable and adjustable programs, allowing them to adapt to changing requirements and user needs. Furthermore, Objective-dynamic C’s binding feature allows developers to alter an object’s behavior during runtime, which may be valuable for designing apps that respond more quickly to user interaction.

5. Simplicity:

Another advantage of Objective-C is its simplicity. The syntax of Objective-C is clear and straightforward, making it simple to learn and understand. This makes it a language accessible to developers of all skill levels, and it might be an excellent alternative for novices learning iOS and macOS app development.

Furthermore, the syntax of Objective-C is similar to those of other popular programming languages as Apple C and C++, making it easier for developers who are already familiar with other languages to learn Objective-C. 

Read More: Factors to Consider before Outsourcing iOS App Development

Features of Swift: 

• Concise code syntax: Swift’s syntax is meant to be simple to understand and execute, making it an ideal choice for both novice and expert developers. Swift’s type system and automated reference counting eliminate several common programming problems, including null pointer dereferencing and buffer overflow. 

• Automatic memory management system: Swift includes an automatic memory management method called Automatic Reference Counting (ARC) to manage memory, which eliminates the need for developers to manage memory or worry about memory leaks manually.

• Easy to learn: Swift’s syntax is meant to be simple to understand and write, making it an excellent choice for both new and experienced developers.

• Speed: Swift is built to be Fast. It is touted as fast as C code but without the C-level cost.

• Safe programming language: Swift’s type system and automated reference counting eliminate many common programming problems, such as null pointer dereferencing and buffer overflows, making it a safe programming language to employ while designing apps.

Features of Objective-C  

• Dynamic binding: Because Objective-C employs dynamic binding, the method called on an object is determined at runtime. This provides additional flexibility and may make it easier to develop more responsive apps.

• The syntax is similar to Smalltalk: The syntax of Objective-C is comparable to that of Smalltalk, another object-oriented programming language. This syntax is comparable to other popular programming languages, such as C and C++, making it easier to read and understand.

• Dynamic typing: Objective-C is a dynamic language that may be used to construct objects and methods during runtime. This provides additional flexibility and may make it easier to develop more responsive apps.

• Interoperability with C: Objective-C is fully compatible with C, allowing developers to easily utilize C libraries and code in Objective-C. This might be handy for using existing code and resources when developing apps. 

• Huge and active developer community: Because Objective-C has a large and active developer community, developers may readily discover answers to queries and solutions to difficulties while working with it. Furthermore, several third-party libraries and frameworks available for Objective-C may assist developers in rapidly and simply adding functionality and features to their projects. 

• Garbage collection: Objective-C includes a garbage collection feature to help developers manage memory and minimize memory leaks.

Recommended Read: Pros and Cons of Swift for iOS Development

Swift vs Objective C

Swift vs Objective C: Which is better?

There are many elements to consider to decide the best between these two dialects. Relatively, Swift is a later language while Objective C has been there since the last part of the 80s. The capacity for the language to remain comparable to the market request will be delegated awesome!

Both these dialects can make a local iOS application that is practically unclear from one another. Thus, functionality is the deciding element! It is accounted for that Swift uses 60% lesser code than Objective C. As true C has been around any more time, the commonality of the language and openly accessible assets can be an essential variable as well!

Also Read: iOS App Development Trends to Watch Out in 2023

Conclusion on Swift vs Objective C:

There is no doubt that Swift is the future for iOS app development. It is time Objective-C took a back seat and enjoyed the show put up by its successors. If you liked this Swift vs Objective-C article, then do check out our other blogs as well. If you are looking to hire Swift developers or looking to develop an iOS app then do contact us at enquiry@nimapinfotech.com. We have talented developers ready to onboard your project in the best budget for you. You can also alternatively contact us at info@nimapinfotech.com with your requirements. We have talented, seasoned and professional developers ready to take on any challenge for development. 

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Both Swift and React Native are relatively new platforms that facilitate the creation of iOS mobile applications. While Swift is a brand-new programming language, React Native is a framework for JavaScript. So, which one should you use when creating a new iOS app?

iOS critical stats

Unquestionably, the iPhone is more than a gadget; it is a cultural and social phenomenon that sparked the smartphone revolution with its original introduction in June 2007. Since then, sales of smartphones worldwide have increased by an astonishing 152%, reflecting the device’s explosive growth in popularity. Given that Apple is a premium brand and that these numbers also include no-name or low-cost brands that are offered in developing regions, they are all the more astonishing.

Strong economies like those in the US, Canada, Scandinavia, and Australia are where iOS-powered smartphones are most prevalent.

• Currently, the iPhone is used by more than 1 billion people.
• Since its release, more than 1.9 billion iPhones have been sold.
• In 2021, Apple distributed 206.1 million iPhones.
• 65 percent of US smartphone sales are iPhones.
• Apple created six of the top ten selling smartphone models in January 2021.

Given this, it should come as no surprise that Apple is powerful enough to impose its own frameworks and programming languages, which is essentially what Swift is.

What is Swift?

Apple created Swift, a cutting-edge, general-purpose, and multi-paradigm programming language, to create their iOS-powered devices and the rest of the ecosystem. Apps may be created to operate on a variety of operating systems, including watchOS (for Apple Watch), tvOS (for Apple TV), and, perhaps surprisingly, z/OS, which runs IBM mainframe computers.

The language is now made accessible to the community for usage under the Apache License. It was introduced in June 2014, seven years after the initial release of the iPhone. Looking to Hire Swift Developer, contact us now.

React Native: What is it?

React Native is a Facebook-supported technology used to create mobile applications that function on any device. The React Native technology is built on JavaScript and enables users to share the code between numerous platforms, including Android, iOS, and web apps, in contrast to native apps, which require distinct programming languages for each device. Cross-platform mobile app development may greatly save development time because up to 70% of the code may be shared between the apps.

Shopify, Facebook, and Walmart applications, among others, employ React native, a well-known and extensively adopted technology. You can Hire React Native Developer if you are looking to build your App Development.

React Native vs Swift: Why should we compare them?

Mobile applications are evolving beyond being only a problem-solving tool. More emphasis is being placed on lifestyle and building relationships with people; if they have an app loaded, the brand is always with them or in their possession. 80 percent of smartphone owners, or people who check their phones before brushing their teeth, do so within 15 minutes of waking up, according to IDC statistics. Given that, having an app is essential.

When it comes to cutting-edge cross-platform mobile development, the cost of creating the app might be rather high. Cutting expenses without sacrificing quality might be very beneficial for businesses. The most reliable type of cross-platform mobile app creation requires businesses to take into account the requirements of both iPhone and Android-powered devices when creating apps, effectively creating two independent software components created to accomplish the same work.

However, optimization may have drawbacks that are difficult to accept. Given this, it is accurate to compare the potential of Swift and React Native. Get a direct comparison on React Native vs Swift in this blog.

React Native vs Swift– Platform Comparison

1. User Interface (UI):

Since Swift is an iOS-native language created by Apple to power apps, it fits right in with the iOS design and takes full advantage of all the UX elements. However, creating native apps from scratch with Swift is actually coding. Therefore, each component needs to be polished independently.

On the other hand, React Native employs JavaScript as a backend power and internal APIs to run native components. Given so, the user interface is identical to the native one while being simpler to code. React Native apps also have no problems being presented on different screen sizes thanks to the web development tradition of JavaScipt, which may be a consideration when developing an app for the iPhone and iPad at the same time.

Winner: React Native

2. Coding Speed:

Swift, uh, is… Swift is better than Objective-C when it comes to coding since it removed its shortcomings and the heritage that came with it. It is a practical method for creating native iOS apps.

React Native, on the other hand, is a JavaScript framework that is a straightforward yet effective workhorse for online applications. The language is very simple to learn, and since its introduction in 1995, several help tools have been developed.

When it comes to creating an Android app, the rules are different. React Native may even allow for copy-and-paste operations (to some extent). The procedure starts over if the programme was created using Swift.

Winner: React Native

3. Best Performance:

According to performance intuition, the native app ought to run faster than the framework-based one. But it’s not quite that easy.

Based on memory utilization, CPU and GPU usage of GPUs in iOS apps developed with Swift and React Native, we estimated the performance characteristics of Swift vs. React Native.

Numerous web-based experiments demonstrate that when contrasting two applications that do the exact same operations, the variances depend on the task. React Native performs somewhat better when it comes to CPU consumption and optimization, but the framework may have greater difficulties handling graphical effects. React Native provides the ability for developers to embed native code into the app, supplying the code chimera utilizing various tools and resources to handle various tasks.

However, the fact that there are no changes at all is a fantastic endorsement of React Native. Therefore, we can conclude that React Native is the greatest option for creating your own app from a performance perspective.

 Winner: React Native

4. Groups & Assistance:

One of the most widely used programming languages today, JavaScript is utilized in the creation of hybrid mobile apps. In fact, over 97.8% of websites on the internet utilize it, making it the most popular programming language for the sixth year in a row.

Even when supported by Apple, JavaScript has a strong position in 2014 and is difficult to overturn.

On the other side, because of the smaller population, there is a far fewer amount of low-class stuff available. When looking for anything regarding JavaScript online, there are innumerable answers linked to a tonne of issues that are unrelated to the issue at hand. Because of this, finding the solution may really be compared to hunting for a needle in a haystack despite the enormous community of JavaScript programmers out there.

 The dilemma is further evident since JavaScript is so prevalent and adaptable. There are frameworks that combine neural networks and javascript, and they are much more than just an intriguing toy or a phenomenon. The language is used to solve many different types of problems, including those related to machine learning, web development, mobile app development, and even machine learning.

As a stark contrast, Swift-related issues only apply to one programming discipline: iOS app development. Due to the challenges’ specific classifications and the assumption that one is not searching for an answer to a particularly complex problem that has never been seen before, finding the answer or seeking it out in the community can be much simpler.

As a result, a bigger community may occasionally cause more confusion than actual gain.

Winner: React Native

Learn More: Importance Of Developing iOS Application For Your Business

5. Stability:

Despite being supported by one of the most well-known programming languages, React Native does not produce truly native apps. To make the app function, it makes use of internal APIs and libraries. As a result, it’s important to put a middleman between the code and the platform.

Swift, on the other hand, creates a native program that can take full advantage of the platform’s capabilities. The Swift technology performs better when dealing with graphic effects and computationally intensive jobs, as was already established. The Swift technology may thus be a better option to energize the platform.

But do all apps energize the iPhone? And how many Swift programmers have the necessary skills to create an app that is efficient enough to run more consistently than a React Native one?

Winner: Swift

6. Technology User Guide and Documentation:

Tech behemoths support and maintain Swift as well as React Native. Swift is an Apple product, while React Native is a Facebook-backed initiative. Given that, both initiatives are structured and well-documented. In actuality, both technologies offer standards for commenting the code in a style that can be quickly turned into documentation, thus cutting down on the needed time. To be precise: JSDoc for Java Jazza, which transforms Swift-written markdown comments.

The convenience and automation of documenting the given code is another facet of delivering the IT project, in addition to the documentation provided by the project owner. Regarding the requirement to produce trustworthy documentation and make comments for all code created, there is a (not really) hilarious statement.: 

Any code of your own that you haven’t looked at for six or more months might as well have been written by someone else.

– Eagleson’s Law

So in reality, every poorly described code appears to be spaghetti at first look, regardless of how talented the coder is. Automated documentation capabilities, which make it possible to add comments and export the entire document, may save a tonne of work.

With regard to automating the delivery of documentation or even facilitating programmer conversation throughout the development process, React Native provides a far more advanced set of features.

 Therefore, from this perspective point, React Native has the edge.

Winner: React Native

7. The platform’s maturity:

React Native and Swift both have a recent history, having been introduced in 2015 and 2014, respectively (being a direct descendant of React.js which has been in use inside Facebook since 2011 and gone open source in 2013). Although these technologies are new, there aren’t many notable distinctions.

A new programming language called Swift was created to replace Objective-C. Since a programming language is the foundation of all software, it is a difficult process to design one.

On the other hand, React Native is a new technology that is supported by JavaScript, a proven technology. As a result, it is simpler to examine the code, identify issues with the framework, and find defects.

Winner: React Native

8. The development’s expense:

Last but not least, while considering the technology to use to complete the project, the development cost is one of the important factors to consider. The majority of the problems in this industry may be resolved with a straightforward graph that shows how quality rises as price rises. However, it isn’t always the case, especially in light of the iOS app development.

Various estimates indicate that the somewhat higher hourly pay of the quick development teams has little impact on the hourly salary of coders.

Evidently, there isn’t much of a difference when it comes to a single coder, but there is when there are plenty of coders on a team or working on a major project.

React Native is therefore somewhat more affordable when considering the development costs measured in hard cash while maintaining all the advantages it offers.

Winner: React Native

9. Talent pool of developers:

The figures above may leave you wondering why, for Linus Torvald’s sake, the programmer who creates an app for only one mobile OS gets paid more than the person whose code gets utilized simultaneously on two major platforms, hence cutting the development time and expenses in half.

The reason has to do with the talent pool that is out there. One of the most widely used languages is JavaScript. Swift barely makes it into the top twenty, whereas 65 percent of users, according to a Stack Overflow study, would choose JavaScript as their language of choice.

Because of this, there are numerous JavaScript programmers available, however there are much fewer Swift programmers. Building a team of JavaScript programmers or developers is going to be a lot easier given the community of developers present.

Winner: React Native

Read More: Flutter Vs Swift: Which One Is Best for iOS App Development?

Examples of Apps:

Now that we have all the technical wizardry behind us, the important issue of what the actual differences are between these two languages and if they are noticeable arises. The ideal test runs on two similar-yet-completely-different apps, such as the iOS Facebook app and the iOS LinkedIn app.

Both are social networking programs that use a lot of bandwidth to display feeds, exchange messages, and display advertisements. In the end, the mobile app is one of the finest methods to gather the data the firm finds difficult to collect in other ways, including localization or behavioral patterns. Additionally, both supply a sizable quantity of material, and developers should optimize to run properly and harness the user’s data.

Performance and features are two essential areas where there are significant disparities. Despite having far less data to collect and analyze than Facebook’s, the LinkedIn app in Swift appears bulky. The LinkedIn app also appears less user-friendly, but its a problem with UX and design rather than the programming technique employed to provide the product.

In the end, it appears that when it comes to delivering rich material, javascript-based technology performs far better than native language.

What factors should I consider?

While many aspects go into creating a successful app, there are just a select handful that are most important. Let’s start comparing Swift with React Native.

React Native VS Swift- Direct Comparison in 2023

Also Read: Swift vs Objective C: Which one is better for iOS App Development?

Summary- a programming language robustness:

Building new things using outdated technologies is the foundation of programming and the IT industry. Despite the efforts of IT companies and the emergence of programming languages, they become prodigies, outdated and occasionally even antique technology persists. not readily, at least. This React Native vs Swift blog gives you the similarities and differences between these technologies

One very resilient programming language, Fortran, launched in 1957, nine years before the moon landing and four years before Yuri Gagarin’s first space voyage.

Oh, and the initial release of the Windows operating system was 28 years ago. However, Fortran is continuing in use, particularly in industries that need complex processing, such as astronomy and weather forecasting.

The same fate seems to befall JavaScript, which, although being almost 20 years old, nonetheless drives the modern web. Given the dynamism of React Native development firms, it has a possibility to utilize even more as a workhorse for mobile devices thanks to React Native.

Swift preparation of the app may result in certain performance improvements and allows the developer to take full advantage of all iOS’s potential. But when comparing the React Native vs. Swift options, the benefit often doesn’t seem to be that large.

Not to add that there are many Android users who are eagerly awaiting native apps.

Conclusion:

Even though our analysis indicates that React Native is a superior option, we are unaware of the problem that your company is now facing that an app might help to address. The context may also make a difference; even when two technologies appear to be identical at first look or when one appears to be superior, there are occasionally specifics that force the choice between them. We hope you liked this React Native vs Swift comparison. If you are looking to hire React developers or Hire Swift developers then do contact us at enquiry@nimapinfotech.com. 

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According to Statista, mobile apps have bought in total revenue of $462 billion for the year 2019. The two popular apps stores being Play Store and the App store closely offer. According to Hootsuite, all of these apps are consumed by about 4.5 billion internet users worldwide.

Particularly, it would be a good opportunity for many growing businesses to be a part of this trend. Let us check which technology can easily help you make a better deal. In this blog, we compare and contrast solutions provided by Two Giants, Google and Apple. Therefore let us dive deep and find out which is best for you, Flutter Vs Swift.

What is Swift?

Swift is Apple’s answer to programming technologies for iOS. Swift, the successor for Objective-C used by Apple. Therefore its offered to developers in order to create their own applications. These applications run on iOS powered devices. Due to the extension of Swift by SCADE, it can now support the development of Android and Windows applications as well.

Swift launched in 2014, and since then has gone through several updates and improvements. The latest release of 5.3.1 came about 13, November 2020.

What is Flutter?

According to Google, Flutter, a cross-platform UI toolkit designed specifically for allowing code reuse between operating systems like Android and iOS. It is open-source as well as free and is based on the Object-Oriented programming language called DART.

Google invented both Flutter and Dart. Dart was released in 2011 while Flutter was released in 2015. Flutter allows developers to create two similar versions of your applications at the same time.  Due to its platform-agnostic nature, Flutter uses a single code base to work for both Android and iOS.

While Swift is a programming language, Flutter is basically a platform, that combines Dart and the widget concept to build intuitive applications.

Flutter Vs Swift, Why should you compare the two?

Like indicated before, one is a programming language, and the other is a toolkit platform. They both are upcoming and popular solutions for mobile as well as web development. You can use any of them, they both deserve credit and are apt for development.

Many years of experience indicate that you don’t need a platform native solution to develop a good application. Especially when you think to widen your offering for the public, and deliver the same application across different platforms. So which is better and is apt for your business. Let’s dive deep and find out!

How to compare and contrast Flutter Vs Swift?

We shall use 10 factors to compare these technologies. When the question is about UI, it’s important how well and well your app works with the platform’s native features and functions. The speed of coding is also important for high time-to-market applications as well.  This goes hand in hand with cost and efficiency.  The performance provided by the app tells you how capable the app is with regard to your platform potential and device capability. Community support provides help when you need answers to your doubts and questions. It helps you tackle challenges in an easy and efficient manner.

The stable state of the application is responsible for providing a reliable experience to the user.  Comprehensive and easily understandable as well as accessible documentation helps and supports the development process.  The maturity provided by the platform helps performance and stability. The overall cost of development is important for business needs. Finally, the overall talent pool and amount of developers impact the maintenance and development of your app as well as the costs.

User Interface:

• Because Swift is a native developed language, there will be no issues for you to implement any native iOS features for your interface.
• The overall user experience will be closer to iOS as possible. Therefore you will require to create each and every feature from the ground up and from scratch. Even UI needs to be created from scratch.
• When you use Flutter you will have plentiful UI elements to try with. To give you an example, you can use Material and Cupertino widgets to start with.
• Usually, you will not need any backing or support from Swift. From the point of view of the user, the UI created using Flutter will be indistinguishable compared to Native Swift.
• The entire UI will be similar and there will be no differences for you to debate on.

Speed of Coding:

• Swift is exceptional and quick for creating an iOS app right from scratch or the beginning.
• Moreover, it works well but making changes in code takes more time and effort.
• However, swift developers claim that development time is cut short and boosts the application development efforts easily.
• The initial build of an iOS application is smooth.
• Compared to Flutter is supported with multiple widget options as well as libraries, navigation, and testing tools that accelerate and boost the speed of coding.
• Flutter developers don’t need to pay attention to polishing UI elements. This is because flutter does it for them automatically.
• The HOT RELOAD capability provided by Flutter shortens the time to see the recent changes done to code.
• Modifications are therefore much quicker.
• When you compare the same code written in Swift for an application, it requires fewer lines of code to achieve the same app function in Flutter.

Performance:

• Moreover, Swift is a native language for iOS app development has a serious advantage to it.
• You can easily count on better performance for mundane tasks that needs the help of massive computational power and efficiency it. Such as Games and Real-time chat applications.
• When it comes to fully utilizing the true capabilities of the platform Swift can be an apt choice for you.
• This does not mean that Flutter falls behind. Firstly, Dart uses the concept of a garbage collector.
• Secondly, its compiled ahead of time which means that it allows for faster and quicker communication with the specific smartphone device.
• Unless you really require to make the most use of the iOS platform, Flutter will perform as well as Native Swift language.

Community and Support:

• The Swift community revolves around the provided Swift.ORG platform and organization.
• When you compare the stats for GitHub, there are over 830 contributors to Swift and close to 2600 active watchers for the thread.
• Moreover, you will find about 230 thousand questions that are tagged using the word SWIFT on the most popular code and query exchange platform Stack Overflow.
• Even the figures indicated for Flutter provide an equally good insight. Watched about 3400 on Github with about 770 active contributors for Flutter.
• The number of questions that are tagged Flutter is less than 70 thousand. It happens, there are fewer issues with flutter.
• The total flutter community always watches the Google groups and the various other forums such as Slack.
• Being open-source, Flutter is more community-friendly.

Stability:

• Even though both of these technologies are relatively young and immature, they don’t cause many issues with stability.
• All of the components of the platforms are maintained by professionals who claim to use them every day on a daily basis.
• On paper, Swift being a native technology for iOS app development should be more stable and easily reliable than flutter.
• But that’s the only case when it’s possible for you to find and hire a TOP-Notch swift developer who has years of experience in the development and designing of iOS apps. This will help you to get the most out of apple’s platforms and solutions.

Read More: Pros and Cons of Swift for iOS Development

Documentation:

• Both of these technologies have provided thorough documentation that is available on their official websites. These are easily accessible for developers and programmers.
• For Swift, you should check Apple’s developer documentation through swift.org platform.
• And for Flutter, you need to check Flutter.dev, both provide comprehensive documentation materials to developers and programmers online.

Platform Maturity:

• Even though these platforms are relatively new and young, it does not indicate that they are immature.
• Apple focuses on gaining many years of experience using Objective C and migrated the good qualities that this technology had into the Swift language for use by developers.
• Before releasing Swift, Apple incorporated many good things and improvements from Objective C into Swift.
• Google also counted upon years of development experience before launching Flutter. There have some consistent thought processes behind it.

Cost of Development:

• Both of these technologies are open source in nature. So you do not need to shell out extra money to use these platforms.
• With the competition of experienced developers, hiring effective developers having knowledge is now easier than ever.
• If you consider developing an iOS app the total cost will not be more or huge.
• However, for similar price offerings, you can target more users by developing two apps using Flutter.
• One for the Android platform and the other for iOS platform, at no extra cost to you.

Developers Pool:

• There are equally good talent pools available for good professional developers for you to hire.
• Both Flutter and Swift provide talent pools for companies and organizations looking to hire talented expertise.
• Swift is popular among 6.1% of developers while Flutter comes in at about 3.7%.

Also Read: Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Flutter for Mobile App Development

Conclusion

So we have highlighted out the similarities and differences between Flutter Vs Swift technologies for you. You should consider the hard fact that Swift enables you to develop for iOS while Flutter allows you to develop for both iOS and Android.

If you are looking to develop iOS or Android app using Flutter or Swift, contact us at enquiry@nimapinfotech.com with your requirements. You can Hire Flutter Developer from Nimap Infotech.

The post Flutter Vs Swift: Which One Is Best for iOS App Development? appeared first on Nimap Infotech.

It has been included in Xcode since version 6. With more than 700 million iPhones smartphones that are  currently in use, iOS is the second-most popular mobile platform world over.

While Android will be looking to have an advantage worldwide market-share wise, in regions, like the US, France and the UK, Apple devices continue and looks like will also do in future to dominate the market. This is why, so many businesses as well as software companies focus solely on iOS platforms for their software products, as they see it is as their key investment opportunity.
 

Overview

If you are one of those businesses or companies that are looking to follow the iOS app development, then you have a critical decision to make. That is in simple words, you need to choosing the right tech stack for your product. What is that platform that you are you gonna go for? If it is the native development or platform specific development instead of cross-platform, then which language will you use? The good ole Objective-C or Swift programming language?

Apple had first introduced Swift as the newer and the second official language for macOS, watchOS, tvOS and iOS development  way back in 2014

Despite being very young, and very much immature, Swift made its way up from the ‘Apple’s experiment’ status to the 11’s place in TIOBE’s listing of the world’s most popular programming languages. When we compare the ranking positions, it is 7 positions higher than its older brother or predecessor Objective-C, Swift proves to have completed its initial mission.

Here let’s take at the advantages as well as benefits that helped Swift become a major programming language for iOS app development. We will also analyze the disadvantages that may still hold it back. While programmers make use of Swift, there is a hot debate on whether swift proves to be beneficial or not. While Swift is proprietary open source technology, still many programmers use it compared to traditional objective C.  Let us dive deep and know if you should start using swift for apple product development and know the Pros and Cons of Swift. 
 

Pros and Cons of Swift

Pros of using Swift for iOS development

• Transparency:

When we directly side by side compared the language to the syntax of Objective-C, it is closer to the notoriously intimidating syntax of C. Swift owes a lot to to create the simplicity of the syntaxes of much more elegant Ruby, Python and C#. The language has been made and designed to be easily readable, since all of its expressions have transparent meanings, and is very simple to learn. In fact, Apple has been very confident in the simplicity  and ease of learning for the Swift language, they encourage kids to create apps on it via games on Playgrounds.

But there’s more to Swift’s simplicity than just being being kid-friendly. The transparency and the learning friendliness that the code provides, enables scaling up any development project easily. New team members or inexperienced developers are able to  shortly catch up on existing app code and start contributing to it faster than they would do with an Objective-C app. The complete code transparency offered by swift is uncomparable and beneficial to older predecessor Objective C. You can unleash the power of code as it is completely readable and transparent to other fellow coders. Thus provides maximum benefit of transparency to developers and programmers.
 

• Conciseness:

One of the aims that the Apple swift team has committed for is to make the language less verbose or clunky. Thanks to its string interpolation concept alone, Swift has been capable and has been successful in reducing the Objective-C mobile app code by almost 70%. A self-explanatory example is the most popular Lyft app, which lost 2/3 of its initial 75,000 code lines after being rewritten on Swift. Less code always makes faster deployment and fewer bugs, it also states that it causes faster development and testing, cheaper maintenance, as well as fewer resources required for any of these tasks. Code is completely concise in a manner that is well understood and apprehensive to developers and programmers. 
 

• Automatic memory management:

In order to achieve the best app performance as well as avoid memory leaks. Swift employs and makes use of Automatic Reference Counting across all APIs. In other words or simpler words, it handles memory on its own, enabling the most efficient resource consumption. No manual memory settings or its configuration are needed. All of this are the features that are provided while making the necessary adjustments developers are guided and supported by Swift’s convenient tools. Memory management is completely taken care of by Apple technology. Developers and programmers do not have to manage pointers and other memory related stuff to ease the process of programming and development. 
 

• Safety:

Unlike Objective-C or when we compare directly to objective-c, Swift is a strongly and statically typed language, which allows developers to notice bugs prior to compilation and fix them on the fly. Moreover, Swift has also provided its developers with smart null-pointer safety measures that prevent compiling errors due to null references. Swift  provides the much needed safety and security for developers and programmers using the apple ecosystem to design apps. 
 

• Interoperability with Objective-C:

Although this is not an outright advantage or a plus point  over Objective-C, it definitely merits on its own. Swift isn’t been designed to provide as a complete replacement to  Objective-C. It will continue to be and stay a part of many mobile apps that will need maintenance in the future. The new iOS development language is made to be compatible is fully interoperable with its predecessor and can coexist with it in one app, file or code line.
 

• Swift is Brief:

One of the major out right aims of Swift developers was to make the language concise. Owing or when it comes to string interpolation alone.  Swift is designed to become capable enough to reduce the Objective-C mobile app code by almost 70 percent. Less code means faster development, deployment as well as testing processes- thus it provides a cheaper maintenance process and less resource expended.
 

• Easily scalable:

The transparency that the swift code provides has been leading to a faster development time. In addition, for a developer you are also entitled you also get a product to become “future-proof” added with new features. Easier scalability, therefore, made possible. Plus, when it comes to your long-term investments. You need to consider this fact that Apple is more likely to support Swift rather than Objective-C.

Looking to build your iOS App, now Hire Swift Developer at affordable price in India.

Recommended Read: Swift vs Objective C: Which one is better for iOS App Development?

Cons of using Swift for iOS development

• Speed:

The actual swiftness or the faster processing done for iOS Swift development causes controversial issue. This long exists since version 1.0, mainly because the initial results weren’t that impressive. But the language has been capable to high evolution. And adaptation for a long time since then. And performance tests results aren’t frustrating anymore. Still, while Apple continues to boldly claim as well as state the fact that Swift is 2 times faster than Objective-C.  Actual tests have been indicating that this is not fully true and don’t back up this statement.

When we compare Swift directly to Java in benchmark task performance.  Swift manages to get an upward advantage here in six tests. Shares almost the same result with Java in two tests, and loses to it only in two tests as well. Yet when we compare it with its rival Objective-C , the speed difference between the two is hard to notice.
 

• No backward compatibility… yet:

The language is radically evolving, and changing in its technological implementation. It s somewhat unstable since currently, each new version of Swift does not support the previous one. This means in simpler words,  apps written in Swift 1.0 and 1.2 cannot maintain in Swift 3.0 and considered history. However, Swift 4.0 does seems at the moment finally turning the situation around. And providing support for Swift 3.0. So, soon there’ll be no need to worry about backward compatibility.

Also Read: Importance Of Developing iOS Application For Your Business

Conclusion- Pros and Cons of Swift:

Swift has introduced many advantages to iOS development:

    its conciseness makes mobile apps more lightweight,

    the simplicity enables fast project upscale,

    full interoperability and expansiveness provided compared to Objective-C enables convenient maintenance or further development of previous projects.

Just like Kotlin for Android development, Swift simply needs time to mature. Hopefully, with the passage of time and with a couple of further releases. Swift will achieve its declared performance speed and become a completely stable development tool.

So this was a blog on Pros and Cons of Swift. We hope you like it and have found it informative. If you want to hire Swift developer then contact us at enquiry@nimapinfotech.com with your requirements.

The post Pros and Cons of Swift for iOS Development appeared first on Nimap Infotech.

Swift has covered a long journey from the date it was announced in WWDC till the last stable release in Oct 2018.during this phase there were many changes related to feature wise and also syntax-wise. Through version 3.0 the syntax of the swift went through significant evolution, with the core team making source stability a focus in later versions. In the first quarter of 2018 swift surpassed Objective -C in measured popularity.

Check the latest update in Swift 4

Swift 4.0 released in 2017, introduced several changes to some built-in classes and structures.also apple send out a notice to developers letting them know that starting in April of 2018, all new apps submitted to the App Store must be built using iOS 11 SDK which can be only done by Xcode 9 and later.

Migrating older codebase are  mandatory for support to iOS 11 SDK.I’m assuming that you have swift codebase in 2.xx and i will guide you the tips and tricks to migrate the whole code base to the latest swift.let’s start with the upgrading to new swift 4.

Note : If your code base is in swift 2.x and you wanted to upgrade to latest swift then it is better to first migrate it to swift 3 by using Xcode 8.xx and then go for swift 4.xx to avoid complications

How to reach 2.x to 3.x?

First download Xcode 8.x.Xcode 8 comes with a Swift Migrator tool that helps you migrate your project to swift 3.x and also update it new SDKs.When you open your project with Xcode 8.x for the first time you will be prompt with the inbuild migration assistant to do a migration process. In case if you miss the prompt the assistant can also be invoked manually from the Xcode menu Edit | Convert |To Current Swift Syntax Now just choose the version and the target to migrate.

Now click next it will bring up the Generate Preview sheet and the assistant will initiate a migration to get source changes. when this is done, now you will be presented with all the changes that will be applied once you click ‘Save’.

Once the conversion is done Xcode show’s the original code and the converted code , the original source is on the right and the changes done by the tool are on the left.Y ou can still make the changes to the left side if you feel like. Now save the changes Xcode will save that changes to the original file. After doing this just clean the project and build it. All the error are not fixed by the migrator tool some error is to be done by the manual process, now we are good to go phase 2.

3.x to 4.x  

Once you have done with the migration to swift 3.x now open the same project in the latest Xcode. Here again, we have to open the migration tool and follow the same process as we have to do in process one of migrating the code.

Required Changes After Migration Tool.

There are some changes which are to be done manually after the migration tool has done with the changes. Here are a few of the most common changes that we had to make.

Closure parameter labels – Swift 3 removed support for argument labels in function types this requires to removing parameter labels from closures. Here we simply remove the argument labels in the closures.  

Optional protocol functions

Signatures for UIKit protocol delegate methods have changed for many classes UITableViewController and UICollectionViewController.

For Example:

Func tableView(tableView:UITableView, cellForRowAtIndexPath indexPath:NSIndexPath) has changed to : func tableView(_ tableView:UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath).

Private Changed to File Private

Private declarations are now changes to file-private which is the new keyword that behaves exactly as private for restricting access to the current file. The new file-private allows access only within the current declaration, restricting access even further than before.

Multiple unwrapping conditions

To add Multiple conditions in conditional unwrapping we can trim down the ‘let’ keyword but now it is required.

//This will not work with swift 3.0

If let x = getSetX(),y = getSetY() {

…..

….

}   

//Swift 3.0

If let x = getSetX(),let y = getSetY() {

…..

….

}

Conditions no longer contain where

Before we can use where clause with the conditions making our if let statement more readable but swift 3.0 where is removed.  

// Not work with swift 3.0

If let x = getSetX(), where x== true {

…..

….

}

//Work with swift 3.0

If let x = getSetX(), x== true {

…..

….

}

Vast Renaming

There are vast changes in the class, methods name but you do not have to worry about it will be done automatically by the migration tool, here are the some of the common ones that you’ll likely to run into.

The NS prefix has been removed from the vast majority of APIs and many singleton-like patterns are no longer methods but properties. Also, sharedManager or sharedApplication is now just shared.

NSNotificationCenter,defaultCenter() is now NotificationCenter.default with additional renaming such as postNotificationName -> post

Names for notifications are no longer strings but enums of the type Notification.Name

NSBundle.mainBundle().pathForResource is now Bundle.main.path

.respondsToSelector() is now .responds(to:#selector())

componentsSeparatedByString(“.”) is now components(separatedBy:”.”)

NSUserDefaults.standardUserDefaults() is now userDefaults.standard with additional renaming such as objectForKey() -> object(forKey:)

NSProcessInfo.processInfo is now ProcessInfo.processInfo

enumerate() on arrays and dictionaries is now enumerated()

NSFileManager.defaultManager() is now FileManager.default

NSDate is now just Date

NSDateFormatter is now just DateFormatter

NSUTF8StringEncoding is now much more reasonably named with String.Encoding.utf8

Dispatch_queue_create and similar have been drastically simplified to names such as DispatchQueue.

These are just some of the big items you’ll run into when looking at your Migration tools Diff.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The post What needs to kept in mind for migrating from swift x.x to 4.2 appeared first on Nimap Infotech.

Boolean Toggling

Now it is easy to toggle the boolean value just by calling the function.toggle() function can be used to change the boolean state of the variable from true to false and vice versa.

Try this:

var userPromoCode = false

userPromoCode.toggle()

Here after the execution of the code the value of userPromoCode will be True.toggle() function help in means of readability and easiness if your write complex data structure.

Random Method

For randomizing the number we use C API method arc4random_uniform(10) till now,  which is included in foundation library.Now swift has its own function to do this random() function can be used to generate a range of the random number on whatever numeric type you like. Randomization is not limit to numeric type collection can also be use it .shuffle() and shuffled() are two  methods can be used for collections to shuffle the content of the collection safely.

Try this:

let  random_Num     = Int.random(in:0 ..< 10)

let  random_Float    = Float.random(in:0..< 10)

For Collections.

var diceRoll = [1,2,3,4,5,6]

diceRoll.shuffle()

print(“Dice Rolled \(diceRoll)”)

let itemShuffled = diceRoll.shuffled()      //Returns shuffled array

print(“Dice Rolled \()”)

Sequence Methods

Any one with Java back ground will love this new sequence method in swift .Sequence Methods are used for find the element,Index of match element and direct index of the elements.

last(where:) , lastIndex(where:) , lastIndex(of:) are the methods introduced in swift out which two requires a closure as an argument and last requires the elements to be searched.

Try this.

1.let numberArr = [30,50,60,10,5,12,46,67]

print(“Last Highest Number \(numberArr.last(where:{$0 > 50}))”)

// Prints 67

$0 is the first value compare with the other elements

print(“Last Highest Number \(numberArr.lastIndex(where:{$0 > 50}))”)

// Prints 7

print(“Last Highest Number \(numberArr.astIndex(of:60))”)

// Prints 2

Sequence method not yet done we have allSatisfy(_:) that validate every element and return true  if all match a given condition.

let numArr = [30,50,60,10,4,12,46,68]

let isEvenArr = numArr.allSatisfy({$0 % 2 == 0 })

// isEvenArr hold True value.

removeAll(where:) method remove all items in collection which matches the condition.

Try this

Let empName = [“sam”,”Rocky”,”Smith”,”logan”]

empName.removeAll{$0.hasSuffix(“ky”)}

print(empName)

//Prints sam,logan,smith

Dynamic Member Lookup

Dynamic member lookup allows swift to call a subscript method when accessing properties. It is the easiest way of accessing property just by using dot operator . Once  you register your class/struct with @dynamicMemberLookup  keyword the compiler doesn’t complain with what so ever name you call the subscript method and at the same time it is type safe.

Let try this in playground.

@dynamicMemberLookup

struct Person

{

   subscript(dynamicMember name:String) -> Int

   {

       return name.count

   }

}

let personObj = Person()

personObj.pqwrs

//Prints

5

So it’s No matter what’s the name of the property it call the subscript method name

// 1

@dynamicMemberLookup

class Employee {

 let name: String

 let age: Int

 private let empPersonal: [String: String]

 init(name: String, age: Int, details: [String: String]) {

   self.name = name

   self.age = age

   self.details = details

 }

 // 2

 subscript(dynamicMember key: String) -> String {

   switch key {

     case “info”:

       return “\(name) is \(age) years old.”

     default:

       return details[key] ?? “”

   }

 }

}

// Creating Object of the Class

let details = [“department”: “IT”, “location”: “Mumbai”]

let me = Employee(name: “Logan”, age: 32, details: details)

me.info   // “Logan is 32 years old.”

me.department  // “IT”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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