14 DAY TRIAL // A month ago, Apple has announced a new way to get your hands dirty with creating iOS and Mac apps.
Swift is the new programming language nobody new Apple is going to release. It is designed to replace Objective-C and work with it in the same time.
The resources for writing an app in Swift are pretty limited a month after its unveiling so we decided to put together a list of the most useful ones to get you up and running.
Swift was described as "Objective-C without the C" and while still in BETA, Apple has high hopes about it. Craig Federighi, Apple's own Senior Vice President for Software Engineering said "When it comes to speed, Swift is great. Swift is also modern with features like closures, multiple return types, and namespaces. Swift is completely native to both Cocoa and Cocoa Touch."
Apple higher ups believe that Swift is going to help developers write safer and more reliable code "by eliminating entire categories of common programming errors".
One of the best places to start learning about Swift is on Apple's developers website.
You need to have a developer ID in order to access that huge resource. After Sign-in your are being asked to download the latest BETA version of Xcode 6. That is the only way you can interact with Swift.
On its developer website, Apple has posted four videos for Beginers, Intermediate and Advanced Swift users and one about Swift Playgrounds. There's also a link to Swift documentation and sample code so if you learn better and faster by reading others' code you can do that right away.
So far there are only two books in the iBookstore that will explain Swift: "The Swift Programming Language" and "Using Swift with Cocoa and Objective-C".
Both of them are FREE and they have received an overwhelming response in positive reviews and ratings.
Another good resource for learning Swift is an website called udemy.com. They provide a way to learn Swift by examples and in the past month they have put together a collection of over 65 videos raging from the Initial Setup and Swift Basics to everything you need to know about it and how to evolve from Objective C to the new language.
You can preview the course for free and they have a 30 day money back guarantee policy. udemy.com has three other video trainings on how to use Swift to create your first app and the prices go from zero to $39.
Surprisingly, a giant like lynda.com does not have any videos yet, but be sure to check them out soon, as they update their portofolio all the time.
Github is another place to learn at your own pace. There are over 3000 repositories offering sample codes or small apps written with Swift.
Last, but not least, weheartswift.com has a growing collection of articles on Apple's new Programming Language. They've put together a list of the best articles and tutorials on this matter so be sure to check that up.
If you are working with Swift, be sure to let us know in the comments and recommend other great resources.