With the launch of several programming languages, a developer is often confused as to which technology to use. They face the dilemma of choosing between Objective C and Swift both of which are considered to be fine technologies for IOS app development. Recently in an event, Apple unveiled Swift as its new programming language and thereby created a new demand for Swift developers required for quality IOS development.
Swift, therefore, has acquired a fair share of an advantage over Objective C and is now being preferred as a popular programming language for iPhone development. So what features do classify Swift as a better programming language for mobile development? Why should you prefer it? Read below to find out.
- Swift Is Easy to Code and Update
IBM in recent times has invested a lot in Swift development and ever since the launch they are focusing on building this open source language to make it easily available to app developers. Now one can easily get ahold of Swift tools through IBM cloud and can deploy apps over cloud for easy sharing and record maintenance.
Even Objective C is being modified and made compatible with Swift so that the future and existing Objective C applications can easily work with Swift technology. Top officials believe that Swift is the future of app development and it is one language which will be used for quite a long time.
- Easy to understand and work with
While many programming languages do demand high command lines for complex problems, Swift, on the contrary, is pretty concise. With swift, you can substantially reduce the LOC in a programming language which makes mobile app development services comparatively cheaper as well as less costly in terms of time and money. Fewer lines of code performing highly complex tasks allow a programmer to have the option of reusability as he/she can easily identify which part of the code they require and thereby use it in another application.
- Quality Efficient
While there can be no programming language which can be said to be free of any sort of errors, Swift offers a good chance of stability and hence fewer errors. With Swift, developers can be sure of not making, ‘Silly mistakes’ which may cause the program to crash in future and or result in unexpected errors. This will ensure that the quality of code is maintained and the end user isn’t susceptible to strange errors which could have been avoided.
- It Is Faster, however not fastest
Being an iPhone or IOS development company, you would know that C++ is the fastest computing language in terms of algorithmic calculations. Around 2-3 years back a company based in the United States carried out a test of speed between C++ and Swift and Swift was proven to be slower than C++, however much faster than Objective C. The reason for objective C losing was credited to its utilization of C language API. Apple is putting continuous efforts into making Swift faster and once finished it definitely will bring on a revolution in the world of IOS and iPhone development.
- Is Highly Interactive
Those who are familiar with Swift programming would tell you about the playground, which is Swift’s one greatest USP. Working with Swift using playground you can work in a highly interactive environment which will show the output simultaneously as you code. This means while working with Swift you will be shown any errors present or any mistakes you have made while writing a piece of code. If you do have any loops in your code, you can see the variables being calculated in the timeline panel, apart from the flow of each cycle as the same progress during compilation.
- It is Open Source
One of the greatest advantages of having and using Swift is that it is completely open source and one can make this language function in anyway one wants. Swift although right now has been built for Apple devices and does work with Apple’s operating system there is continuous work being done to make it available for Linux and Android. Once done this system would be far more portable and easy to use than Objective C ever can be. Swift author Chris Lattner has already confirmed his plans for making Swift available for Android. However, this is one plan which is yet to be brought into function.
- Is Easy to Learn By the Beginners
Swift as a language is easier to learn and understand by beginners who have little or no coding experiences. Even for the Apple developers who were only familiar with IOS application programming, Swift has come as a boon, as it takes very little time to understand and become familiar with. This saves in cost for the companies which would be spent in training the individuals and thereby allowing the company to invest the time in building quality applications.
Although Swift does have some limitations as compared to the Objective C, however, the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages present. The Swift playground is one effective tool and does allow a developer to reap the benefits of his code almost instantaneously. With these numerous advantages as well as a great framework to support the apps developed are of top quality and free of errors.