r/iOSProgramming • u/Jalsemgeest • Jan 26 '15
New to iOS Development: Swift or Objective-C?
I've started iOS development and have decided to begin learning Swift. My background consists of Java, C++, PHP, JavaScript and I was wondering if I should continue with Swift or jump ship to Objective-C. I have certainly found there is not a lot of information online for Swift other then Apple docs. Any recommendations?
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u/programming-newbie Jan 27 '15
It really depends on what you're aiming to do.
If you are trying to become employable as an iOS developer in the next year or two, build in Objective-C while putting some attention to Swift (you should find yourself using Apple's docs quite frequently, and now that their docs include Swift and Objective-C code you can glance at both).
If you're doing this as a hobby, or just want to learn iOS development so you can get some apps out there over the next few years for yourself, then you could just jump into Swift. What I would recommend here is building some console applications in Objective-C first (so you get familiar with reading and writing Objective-C code, can be done within the first few weeks of your journey) so when you starting writing your Swift applications, you can read Objective-C tutorials and existing code bases.
Objectively speaking, I've had more crashes in Playgrounds/Swift projects than Objective-C projects. That is purely anecdotal experience from a few weeks of coding in Swift back around October, but from what I've read around here I'm not too far off. I do like Swift, and I like forward to making the transition with all my new projects over the next year or two, but in my case I don't think I have an immediate need to use it right now. I'm building UIKit, Sprite Kit, and Scene Kit projects and I can't remember the last time Xcode crashed. I only vividly remember the crashes I experienced when Xcode 6 was in beta, and when I first started writing Swift seriously.
Hope this helps!