Chapter 2. Building a Foundation with Swift

Now that we have had a short tour of Xcode, it is time to start learning about Swift. Remember, if you are new to programming, things will be very different for you, so take your time. The important skills that you will learn here will set you up with a solid foundation in iOS development. If you have previous programming experience, you should still review this chapter, as it can only enhance your programming skills and act as a refresher for you.

On June 2, 2014, Apple changed the game for iOS development, because this was the day Swift was announced to the world. With this announcement, everybody was put on an even playing field, because they had to learn a new programming language. Swift has brought a more modern approach to developing apps and has seen a huge influx of new developers of all ages wanting to build iOS apps. But, enough about history! Let's dig in and see what you are going to learn.

The following will be covered...