Learning Swift 2 Programming

by Jacob Schatz

Overview

Get started fast with Swift 2 programming for iOS and OS X

Learning Swift 2 Programming is a fast-paced, hands-on introduction to writing production-quality iOS and OS X apps with Apple’s programming language. Written for developers with experience in any modern language, this book explains Swift simply and clearly, using relevant examples that solve realistic problems.

Author Jacob Schatz’s popular YouTube video tutorials have already helped thousands of Apple developers get started with Swift. Now, he helps you take full advantage of Swift’s advanced design, remarkable performance, and streamlined development techniques.

Step by step, you’ll move from basic syntax through advanced features such as closures and generics—discovering helpful tips and tricks along the way. After you’ve mastered Swift’s building blocks and learned about its key innovations, a full section of case studies walks you through building complete apps from scratch.

Learn how to:

• Compare Swift with Objective-C, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, and C
• Collect data with arrays and dictionaries, and store it with variables and constants
• Group commonly used code into functions for easy reuse
• Structure your code with enums, structs, and classes
• Use generics to get more done with less code
• Write closures to share small blocks of functionality
• Use optionals to write more robust, crash-resistant, and cleaner code
• Integrate existing Objective-C code into new Swift apps
• Program on the bit and byte levels with advanced operators
• Implement efficient design patterns with protocols and delegates
• Create animated 2D games with SpriteKit, and apps with UIKit

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780134431635
Publisher:	Pearson Education
Publication date:	12/17/2015
Series:	Learning
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	13 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jacob Schatz is a senior software engineer with more than eight years of experience writing code for the masses. His code is often used by millions of people, and his advice is often sought. Jacob also goes by the name Skip Wilson and has a popular YouTube channel currently covering Swift and Python. Jacob is always selectively consuming the latest programming trends. He has a passion for making a difference and is constantly solving problems. Lately he has been deep into Swift, but he also writes tons of JavaScript, Python, Objective-C, and other languages. He is always learning more languages and thoroughly enjoys making new things. He is, at heart, a pedagogue, and he enjoys teaching and finding new ways to explain advanced concepts.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 Getting Your Feet Wet: Variables, Constants, and Loops 5
Building Blocks of Swift 6
    Computed Properties (Getters and Setters) 6
    Using Comments 8
    Inference 8
Merging Variables into a String 10
Optionals: A Gift to Unwrap 11
    Printing Your Results 14
    Implicitly Unwrapped Optionals 14
Tuples 15
Number Types 16
From Objective-C to Swift 17
    Control Flow: Making Choices 18
    Switching It Up: switch Statements 25
    Stop...Hammer Time 28
Summary 29

2 Collecting Your Data: Arrays and Dictionaries 31
Using Arrays 31
    Your First Array the Long Way 31
    A Quicker Array 32
    Using AnyObject 32
    Differences Between NSArrays and Swift Arrays 33
Modifying Arrays 33
    Accessing Array Elements 33
    Adding Elements to an Array 34
    Removing Elements from Arrays 34
    Iterating Over Arrays 35
    Extra Bits of Arrays 35
    Emptying an Array 36
Using Dictionaries 36
    Adding, Removing, and Inserting with Dictionaries 37
    Iterating Over Dictionaries 37
    Extra Bits of Dictionaries 38
    Emptying a Dictionary 38
    Testing Dictionaries for the Presence of Values 38
    Putting It All Together 39
Summary 41

3 Making Things Happen: Functions 43
Defining Functions 44
    Return Types 45
    Multiple Return Values 46
More on Parameters 47
    External Parameter Names 47
    Default Parameter Values 48
    Variadic Parameters 49
    In-Out Parameters 50
    Functions as Types 51
    Putting It All Together 52
Summary 55

4 Structuring Code: Enums, Structs, and Classes 57
Enums 58
    Which Member Was Set? 59
    Associated Values 59
    Raw Values 60
Structs 61
    Defining Methods in Structs 63
    Structs Are Always Copied 64
    Mutating Methods 65
    Classes 66
    Initialization 66
    What Is a Reference Type? 68
    Do I Use a Struct or a Class? 68
    Forgot Your Pointer Syntax? 69
    Property Observers 69
    Methods in Classes 70
Summary 74

5 SpriteKit 75
Introducing SpriteKit 75
    The SKNode and SKSpriteNode 75
Creating a Game 76
    The New Project Screen 76
    The Game 85
Summary 92

6 Reusable Code: Closures 93
What Are Closures? 93
Closures in Other Languages 94
How Closures Work and Why They’re Awesome 95
    The Closure Syntax 96
    Inferring Using Context 96
    Arguments Have a Shorthand, Too 97
    Sorting a Custom Car Class 97
    Closures Are Reference Types 98
    Automatic Reference Counting 99
    Strong Reference Cycles 100
    Trailing Closures 106
Summary 107

7 Creating Your Own Syntax: Subscripts and Advanced Operators 109
Writing Your First Subscript 110
Bits and Bytes with Advanced Operators 113
    Bitwise NOT 114
    Bitwise AND 115
    Bitwise OR 116
    Bitwise XOR 117
    Shifting Bits 118
    UInt8, UInt16, UInt32, Int8, Int16, Int32, and So On 119
    Value Overflow and Underflow 119
Customizing Operators 120
Making Your Own Operators 122
Bits and Bytes in Real Life 123
Summary 127

8 Protocols 129
Writing Your First Protocol 129
    Properties 131
Animizable and Humanizable 134
    Methods 135
Delegation 136
Protocols as Types 138
Protocols in Collections 139
    Protocol Inheritance 140
    Protocol Composition 141
    Protocol Conformity 143
    Optional Protocol Prerequisites 145
Optional Chaining 146
    Back to Optional Protocol Requisites 148
    Useful Built-in Swift Protocols 149
Summary 151

9 Becoming Flexible with Generics 153
The Problem That Generics Solve 153
    Other Uses for Generics 155
    Generics for Protocols 157
    The where Clause 158
Summary 162

10 Games with SpriteKit 163
The Game 163
The Setup 163
Tour the Code 164
The Game 164
    Step 1: Create the World 165
    Step 2: Making Things Move 176
Summary 185

11 Making Games with Physics 187
Making a Physics-Based Game 187
    Creating the Project 188
    Adding the Assets 189
    Adding the Levels 189
    Generating the Levels 190
    Making a Playable Game 197
    Creating the Cage 199
Summary 204

12 Making Apps with UIKit 205
Application Types 205
    Single-View Applications 206
    Creating the User Interface 208
    Adding Constraints 209
    Hooking Up the UI to Code 211
    Writing the Code 212
    The TableView 216
Summary 218

Index 219