For a long time, the only way to interact with a computer was to use a mouse and keyboard. There was no touchscreen, no touch-based interface. Today, thanks to the use of mobile devices, interactions with computers have become incredibly easy. Whether you are using a smartphone, tablet, or laptop, there is a way to interact with a computer, in most cases. With that said, many people are finding they are needing to learn more about the new way of interacting with computers. SwiftUI (or UISwift) is one such way of interacting with a computer.
You may have heard of SwiftUI, the newest UI toolkit introduced by Apple to power its iOS apps. However, if you’re like me, you’ve never seen it in action. That’s because it’s not built into your system by default, which makes it pretty difficult to learn. But don’t worry, SwiftUI is not all that tricky to get started with and, in this blog post, I’ll show you how to get started using it today.
What is SwiftUI?
SwiftUI is a tool that makes it easy to experiment with iOS development. It is a feature of Xcode which allows you to experiment with your own apps, or the apps of others, using a simplified version of the interface. The benefit of using this tool is that you can get a feel for how a particular piece of code will look and behave. The downside is that more experienced iOS developers may find the interface more difficult to work with.
Here are the basics of using SwiftUI:
- Creating a new app from scratch.
Creating a new app may not be as difficult as everyone thinks, and if you are interested in learning to program, you can learn to do so with a new tool called SwiftUI. SwiftUI is a free, interactive, visual programming environment that helps you to build apps, games, and user interface elements. You can also use it for reporting, prototypes, and formal documentation.
- Designing the UI.
Today, we will talk about a tool that helps us create user interfaces. SwiftUI is a framework that helps us design and create UIs that look amazing, are easy to maintain, and are easy to extend. This means that you don’t have to spend as much time as you used to designing your own user interfaces. Instead, you can focus on what your users will actually do with your app.
- Using components to create custom controls.
If you’ve been following along with the SwiftUI tutorial, you’ve probably noticed that the controls are very functional, but lack the polish and business-like feel of controls you would find in a typical Xcode project. Well, it turns out that the SwiftUI framework includes all the code you need to create beautifully designed, customizable controls. If you’re willing to put in the time, you can even create custom controls that are completely unique to your app.
- Adding animations and transitions.
Besides reading this article, you’ve probably been hearing all the great things about SwiftUI and how it’s revolutionizing the way you build iOS apps. But what is it all about, and how do you get started?
SwiftUI is a new open-source library that’s designed to provide an amazing user experience inside your apps by adding animations, transitions, and other visual enhancements to your views and controls. The library is being developed by a team of iOS developers and designers, who are experts in user interface and interaction design. They provide a wealth of knowledge and advice they have gleaned over the years.
- Using data-type classes with pictures.
Data type classes are a new way for developers to specify what type of data a variable can hold. They are similar to the way generics work in Swift but offer much more functionality. A great feature of data type classes is that you can specify the data type of a variable at runtime.
- Using SiriKit and the camera.
Both new to the iPhone XR, SiriKit and the camera seem like they should be easy to understand and use. SiriKit, essentially, lets you use the voice assistant and microphone to perform tasks on your iPhone. On the other hand, the camera is where the new “Portrait Mode” feature is, which will allow those great-looking selfies to have the distracting background taken out of the picture and allow for better lighting and exposure.
SwiftUI has been out for more than a year now, but it has a long way to go before it can be called a household name. Thousands of developers have used this framework for hundreds and thousands of apps, and it is exciting to see what it has the potential to become.