Learning to Code with Swift

Best Way to Use Time During Lockdown

I was listening to a podcast the other day and the guy on there was talking about his application and how he got to learn to code for iOS. This was Alex Hay who is the guy responsible for Toolbox Pro. I found it amazing to find out he hasn’t been coding for very long. He mentioned a site he used for learning how to code with Swift. I did try learning Objective-C coding before Swift was announced. That was a good few years ago! Objective-C was kind of difficult and I couldn’t get my head around it. The promise of Swift is that it’s much easier to understand and to learn. And I’m finding out that is truly the case. Although I have other work to do I couldn’t help myself, but to click on the link to find out more about learning Swift. Many of us have plenty of time at the moment due to being locked down in the house. The Covid 19 virus for all its other faults could turn us into coding geniuses.

Hacking with Swift

The test might ask you to verify if the code is correct. It also could ask for you to mark which statements about the topic are correct. There are one or two where you have to move lines of text around to create code that works. The tests are helpful in getting you to read code and follow it. I get caught out sometimes by not noticing a line has set a constant when I know it should be a variable.

What's the Point of It All?

I have been enjoying the coding possibilities of the Shortcuts app. It’s limited in how far you can take it though. At the moment I’m wondering if I might be able to learn enough Swift to make an application. I’d like to make an app which could replace one of the more complicated Shortcuts. With it being its own application, it would be more reliable and probably would work faster. I’ll have to do is see how far I can take my knowledge of Swift. Aside from that, I don’t expect to become a professional Swift coding expert. It is mostly just for fun and a way to keep my brain in trim.

Running Xcode

I find with some of the tests it is good to write the code out and correct it to make it work. It’s practice in writing the code and seeing how Xcode works. It can confirm to you that you got the right answer.

There are daily challenges aside from the learning. Some I can’t do because I haven’t got far enough in the learning side of the app. You get points in these challenges completed added to your total. Makes it a game and help you feel like you are winning.