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Apple's Swift Working To Support Android App Development
Apple's Swift programming language is now being officially extended to support Android app development through the establishment of a dedicated Android Working Group within the Swift open-source project.
Originally introduced by Apple in 2014 as a modern programming language for iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, Swift has since expanded to include official support for Linux and Windows. The Swift project this week announced a formal effort to support Android as a target platform, enabling developers to use Swift to build applications for Google's mobile operating system using official tooling and infrastructure.
According to the Swift forums, the Android Working Group's charter outlines a clear set of responsibilities aimed at integrating Android into Swift's officially supported platform ecosystem. These include ensuring Swift can be compiled and run on Android without relying on unofficial forks or downstream modifications, enhancing Swift's standard libraries for better compatibility with Android APIs, and introducing native tools and workflows for developers targeting Android using Swift.
Historically, developing Android applications using Swift has been possible only through third-party solutions such as the Scade framework or via custom toolchains created by individual developers. These approaches often required a significant amount of custom configuration, lacked full support for Android APIs, and introduced maintenance burdens due to compatibility issues with new Swift releases.
One of the primary initial goals is to improve support for Android in the official Swift distribution, removing the need for out-of-tree patches or community-maintained forks, including establishing proper toolchain integration for Android targets and obtaining consistency with other officially supported platforms. The working group also plans to recommend enhancements to core Swift libraries, such as Foundation and Dispatch, so they better align with Android platform conventions and behaviors.
Android app development is currently dominated by Kotlin, which was announced as Google's preferred language for Android in 2017.
How To Write Apps With Swift 3 - Macworld
Swift is used to write or create apps for macOS and iOS devices. Apple designed Swift explicitly to get the fastest and most efficient performance from devices, and Swift 3 expands upon its already impressive feature set.
What's new in Swift 4?"Swift was released as an open-source project just six months ago," says Ted Kremenek, Senior Manager, Languages and Runtimes at Apple. "A big part of doing that was not just to shove out a bunch of sources to GitHub, but to create a fully open community that drives the evolution of swift going forward. Swift 3 is the first major update to swift that is intended to a product of that community."
Another big aspect for Swift is that it's no longer just about iOS and OS X development. Since Swift went open-source, a version has appeared for Linux computers. This has opened up Swift to server developers, as well as app coders.
"Today's software ecosystems are really diverse," says Kremenek. Whether they're working on servers, or working on apps. We want Swift to be for everybody. This is the first major update since Swift was ported to Linux."
We've got an article devoted to the new version here: How to make apps with Swift 4.
How to write apps with Swift 3: Getting the core fundamentals right with new Swift 3 API languageWhat may surprise developers who've been using Swift 2 (or before) is how much the language is changing in Swift 3. "A big thing about Swift 3 is that we really want to get those core fundamentals into shape and build on top of them going forward," says Kremenek. "We really want to awesomize Swift for awesomeness."
Chris Lattner, Sr. Director, Developer Tools Department at Apple, agrees. "We want to make the core experience of Swift great.
"This is a hard problem. This isn't just a matter of if we use commas or colons. It's also about compatibility. So we're doing everything we can to get Swift into that shape so we can live with it forever."
So there are bunch of new features in Swift:
As well as adding features to Swift 3.0, Apple is taking features away. Here are some removed features for Swift 3.0.
"Some of these, I realise, may be polarising or controversial," says Kremenek. But he points out that they are the result of extended discussion with the developer community, and all the logs are available online.
Read next: How to use Swift Playgrounds and learn to code
How to write apps with Swift 3: Install Xcode 8 betaSwift 3.0 is now available to all developers, and you don't need to be part of the paid-for Apple Developer Connection to start using it. Downloading the Xcode 8 beta enables you to start using the Swift 3.0 language right away. Apple has also made the Swift 3 Programming Language guide available on iBooks Store, so you can get up and running with the new features and syntax.
Read more: Complete guide to Swift 3.0: All the new features in Apple's programming language
How to write apps with Swift 3: What does Swift being open-source mean?As of December 2015, Swift 2 was open source. But what does that mean for programmers and app users?
Open-source typically means that the source code behind a program, or programming language, is made available to the general public. Coders can then inspect, modify and deploy the program wherever they want.
In practice this means that developers can take the Swift programming language and build it for deployment on non-Apple operating systems. In particular we now see Swift on Linux OSes (because both Linux and OS X share a similar underlying Unix-like structure).
Theoretically you could also see Swift implemented on Windows computers eventually, although we are still waiting to see a usable version of Swift on Windows. There are also rumours that Google, which currently uses Java for Android, could move to Swift. We think this is unlikely, especially after Google won its API in Java copyright case against Oracle.
Great! Will we be able to run iOS apps on Android phones?While you'll be able to use Swift code on other devices, don't believe that this means you'll be seeing OS X and iOS software running on Windows and Android. While it'll make it easier to port software from one device to another, we expect Apple to retain control of its SDKs (Software Development Kit). While we don't know which parts of Swift Apple intends to make open-source, we believe Apple will still retain the source code for Xcode, so you'll still be using a Mac to develop OS X and iOS software.
While Apple is a very private company, and very protective of its own creations, so to a non-developer open source seems an odd fit for the company. However, Apple isn't a stranger to the open-source community by any means. OS X is built upon UNIX and much of its software components are open source.
Apple's Open at the source page says: "Apple believes that using Open Source methodology makes Mac OS X a more robust, secure operating system, as its core components have been subjected to the crucible of peer review for decades."
How to write apps with Swift 3: What is Apple's Swift programming language like to use?Apple's Swift programming language, first unveiled at WWDC 2014, is designed to make it much easier to program Mac OS X and iOS devices. The rest of this article looks at what Apple Swift is like as a programming language, how to get Apple Swift set up on your Mac, and how to learn to program in Apple Swift.
Swift augments, and is set to eventually replace, Apple's current Objective-C programming language. Objective-C was developed in the 1980s and brought to the Mac in 1996. Prior to 2014 it had been 17 years since Apple released a new programming language so Swift is very important to the Apple developer community.
Swift is a programming language for Cocoa and Cocoa Touch (which are the programming frameworks for Mac OS X and iOS, respectively). Swift programs are created using Xcode 6, the latest edition of Apple's integrated development environment (IDE).
Swift is a relatively new programming language, introduced in 2014, but it is designed to sit alongside existing Objective-C programs (which is what OS X and iOS programs used to be developed with This enables developers to add Swift code to existing apps without having to replace all the older Objective-C code.
How to write apps with Swift 3: What are the advantages to programming in Apple Swift?Apple has outlined a number of advantages that Swift has over older Objective-C code. Since the language is relatively new there is much that remains to be see, but here are some of the reasons why Swift is a better programming language than Objective-C:
Apple Swift has clean syntaxApple Swift is designed to be a much easier programming language to read, and code. Swift's syntax (the formatting) does not require semi-colons at the end of each line, and functions are easier to understand. For example, the humble Print command, which most people are familiar with from Basic is NSLOG in Objective-C (NS is a throwback to NextStep, the company that Steve Jobs set up when he left Apple, which shows you how much legacy Apple is replacing); in Swift that command is a far more familiar 'println'. There are fewer symbols required to code, and in general Swift is much more efficient than Objective-C.
If we look at the classic Hello World program in each language (the program that writes "Hello, world!" on the screen). You can see that Swift is simpler, and makes much more sense than Objective-C.
Objective-C: Hello WorldHere is how the Hello World program appears in Objective-C:
#import
#import
int main(void)
{
NSLog(@"Hello, world!N");
return 0;
}
Swift: Hello World
Here is how the Hello World program looks in Swift:
println("Hello, world!")
As you can see Swift is a much cleaner and simpler code to read and learn. Here are some other features that Apple lists as important to ensuring code is expressive:
One of the big advantages to Swift is that developers do not have to manage memory allocations. In Swift variables are initialized before use, arrays and integers are checked for overflow and memory is managed automatically. This makes the Swift programming language safer to use for developers who aren't quite as experienced. Swift's memory management will make apps more reliable, which will benefit developers and non-developers.
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How to write apps with Swift 3: Where can I get Apple Swift for my Mac?Swift is part of the Xcode IDE (integrated development environment) available as a free download from the Mac App Store.
The general consensus from developers appears to be that Swift is a great programming language. Swift is similar in many ways to Python, another highly-regarded programming language. Swift should be a much easier programming language for newcomers to pick up than Objective-C. Python is regularly used as the language of choice for programming classes, so many programmers may already be familiar with much of the Apple Swift syntax.
Read more: How to code using Python on Mac
But it's also better for established developers who will find the cleaner syntax easier to use.
If you've spent time becoming familiar with Objective-C you should find much about Swift that makes life easier, although having to move to a new programming language requires learning new code, which will be a distraction for current developers. But in the long run Swift coding is expected to pay off even for seasoned Objective-C developers.
Swift is not going to make it easy to move code from Mac OS X and iOS to other platforms, such as Android. Many developers are weighing up the advantages of Swift development against further lock-in to the Apple environment. For the time being Apple is supporting both Objective-C and Swift code for building Cocoa and Cocoa Touch apps, but eventually we expect it to move everybody over to Swift.
How to write apps with Swift 3: How do I learn Swift programming?If learning Swift takes your fancy then there are a range of resources available. You can pick up Xcode from the App Store and Apple has already released a book on Swift programming on the iBooks Store: The Swift Programming Language (iBooks Store). Anybody can download the book incidentally, you don't need to be a registered Apple Developer.
Apple's Swift Programming Language book can be read using iBooks on Mac OS X, or you can read it on an iPad (or iPhone). Apple's book takes you from Basic Operators through to Inheritance; but The Swift Programming Language book does not cover iOS app development in the Xcode environment. We expect more detailed books on Swift, as well as tutorials for beginners, to appear shortly.
Here are some Apple Swift programming resources:
We'd also recommend checking out online tutorials on sites such as Udemy, which offers lots of courses for developers including:
In the meantime many developers are taking to the internet to outline Swift and its features. Here are some great websites potential Swift programmers should bookmark:
There are also some great online videos from universities like Stanford, MIT and Harvard. Check out Stanford's Developing iOS 9 apps with Swift course in iTunes U. Watching these is a great way to get an overview of general development
Please let us know of any more Swift programming websites (or books) in the comments section.
How to write apps with Swift 3: What's the best way to learn Swift programming from scratch?If you're a newcomer to programming, or want to learn how to program in general then there are a range of websites and services that can help. Here are some of the best coding sites to look at:
If that's not enough you can already play Flappy Bird in Swift thanks to a developer called Nate Murray. The Swift code for Flappy Bird is available over on GitHub.
Let us know of any other links or resources you think we should include.
See also:
Complete guide to Swift 3 and its new features
macOS Sierra announced at WWDC
iOS 10 preview: Hands-on first impressions with iOS 10 beta
Apple's New Swift Playgrounds For IPad Is A Killer App For Teaching ...
At WWDC, Apple introduced Swift Playgrounds as a "revolutionary new app for iPad that makes learning Swift interactive and fun." A closer examination shows the new app is a powerful authoring tool any developer can use to teach critically important software coding skills.
Apple's focus on SwiftApple first introduced its new Swift programing language at WWDC 2014, building upon groundwork invested in the company's development tools ranging from its LLVM compiler to its Cocoa and Foundation frameworks.
Alongside Swift 1.0, Apple also introduced Playgrounds in Xcode (above), a tool to provide immediate visual feedback of Swift code as it ran. Since then, the company has worked to advance Swift development in tandem with feedback from developers and partners including as IBM.
This year, Apple demonstrated a new version of Swift Playgrounds customized for iPad (below). It supports advanced multitouch gestures for selecting and editing code by touch, as well as a new development-oriented keyboard with code completion suggestions.
The company profiled the new app as an "innovative new app for iPad that makes learning to code fun and easy for anyone," and briefly introduced its series of programming lessons within the app designed to introduce new users to the world of writing code.
A platform for teaching SwiftApple depicted the new Swift Playgrounds app for iPad— which will be publicly released for free this fall as part of iOS 10— as a fun way to introduce children to code development concepts (as show in a preview video clip below).
"In Swift Playgrounds, you create small programs called "playgrounds" that instantly show the results of the code that you write," Apple notes on its Swift Playgrounds page. "A single line of code can make amazing things happen. Interactive lessons teach key coding concepts, and additional challenges and templates encourage you to explore code in exciting new ways and to create something completely unique. It's easy to share your creations with friends, or record and post videos of your playgrounds in action."
Beyond being a basic coding concepts tutorial, Swift Playgrounds also opens the door for third parties to create their own Swift lessons in the form of interactive Playgrounds Books.
Playgrounds Books are written in Swift code as collections of Pages, organized into Chapters, that present an interactive lesson somewhat similar to iBook Author. Rather than just being dynamic iBooks with some interactive elements however, Playgrounds Books contain live code that a user can interact with and then immediately see the results of within Playgrounds.
For beginners, a Playgrounds Book might initially start with a page that introduces a line of code with a selectable variable the user can change. To create this, the Book developer can hide much of the code involved behind the scenes (as Hidden Code) and only highlight Editable Regions, using markup in the code that makes up the Book.
Descriptive text and graphics, starting with an introductory "cut screen" page that introduces the topic of the lesson, can be used to guide the user through a given lesson.
A dynamic workbookAs the Book progresses, descriptive Playground Markup can incrementally introduce increasingly complex functions and code concepts that require the user to enter more of their own code, using the onscreen keyboard, code suggestions or segments of code in a library of snippets.
A Playgrounds Book developer can also include interactive glossary items that describe what an included phrase means, and present Hints that guide the user through the lesson.
As the user interacts with the code in Playgrounds Book pages, a live preview can provide immediate feedback. The user can also undo steps to repeat a section or try different inputs.
Additionally, at any point a user can stop a lesson, erase their progress or edits and reset the lesson over from scratch. This makes Playgrounds Books an ideal way to teach classes of students how to code, as each student's work is kept separate from the core content of the Book.
Apple outlined how the new Swift Playgrounds app for iPad will work, along with demonstrations, in the WWDC 2016 video Introducing Swift Playgrounds.
Not just for kidsWhile Apple has created some initial lesson Books aimed at users completely new to programming (and announced plans to incrementally introduce a veritable library of new Books for the app), Swift Playgrounds isn't just for teaching new users how to code.
"Using Swift Playgrounds, you will code real programs within minutes and even as you become more proficient, you will never outgrow Swift," Apple states on its site.
"Sometimes the best way to learn is to explore on your own, and Swift Playgrounds is a great place to let your imagination run wild. In addition to the lessons that help you learn to code, Swift Playgrounds delivers new challenges on a regular basis so you can keep coming back to try something new. Some challenges are fun ways to play with code to create interesting effects, while others include engrossing puzzles that requires all of your coding skills to solve."
Apple also demonstrated Playgrounds working with variety of iOS frameworks, including SpriteKit and SceneKit for working with 2D and 3D graphics, and Bluetooth for programmatically interacting with other devices wirelessly (including a Spherio robot toy, which was shown on stage being manipulated by lines of code in the new Playgrounds app).
Apple also noted that "because you are coding and running your playgrounds on iPad, your code can respond to touch gestures or interact with hardware such as the camera, accelerometer, and gyroscope," adding that "with access to thousands of APIs in the iOS SDK, you can create amazing playgrounds that explore the web, generate 3D worlds, experiment with physics, and much more."
Apple's history in visual developmentWhile the approach used in Swift Playgrounds involves lots of new innovation and technology, it's not the first time the company has created visual tools to expand interest in development concepts to a broader audience.
In 2005 Apple introduced Quartz Composer (above) as part of Xcode in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. It presented a graphical interface for patching together inputs and processor units to create macros that could be output as dynamic Screen Savers, iTunes Visualizers or other programmatic graphic animations, without any advanced coding experience.
Facebook used Quartz Composer to rapidly prototype a design interface for Home, its failed initiative in 2013 to integrate Facebook onto the home screen of Android phones. The company had hired former Apple user interface developer Mike Matas to work on Home after acquiring his Push Pop Press initiative to build a tool to create interactive, dynamic ebooks, founded in 2009.
In 2010, Apple introduced iAd Producer (below), a graphical development tool for building dynamic ads using JavaScript and HTML5 as an alternative to Adobe Flash.
Apple subsequently released a development tool for building ebooks in iBooks Author, which it released in 2012 as a way to build iBooks for iPad (and later for Macs with the release of an iBook app). The tool enabled developers to build native code widgets to expand the interactivity that could be included in iBooks.
Apple's ancient history in visual developmentMuch further back, Apple released HyperCard (below) in 1987. The program was developed over the previous two years by programmer Bill Atkinson, who then assigned the rights to Apple under the condition that it would bundle it for free on all new Macs.
HyperCard enabled non-technical users to build interactive "stacks" of hyperlinked pages using an easy to understand scripting language called HyperTalk. HyperCard helped inspire Steve Jobs' NeXT, which introduced Interface Builder in 1988 as a rapid application development tool (and is now part of Apple's modern Xcode development tools).
HyperCard also helped inspire the development of the web by Tim Berners-Lee, a project which originated on NeXT systems using its Interface Builder development tools. HyperCard was also ported to X Window for Unix by Pei-Yuan Wei at UC Berkeley to deliver Viola, which then adopted web protocols to become an early web browser, and served as a model for NCSA Mosaic, the foundation of Netscape.
Like HyperCard, today's Playgrounds is intended to introduce broad new audiences of users to the skills required to build modern software. At WWDC, Apple profiled a broad range of programers who have learned to code and use their skills to build tools to solve a wide variety of needs.
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