Understanding Swift Programming

Covers Swift 2
Swift, Apple's new language for app development, has been widely praised for its clean, safe, and feature-rich design. The language is poised to quickly replace Objective-C for developing iOS apps.

Swift is now the 14th most popular language (Objective-C is #18, having sunk like a stone from #3) as of January, 2016.

If you are serious about iOS app development, you should start learning Swift now.

Although Swift at its core is a fun and easy-to-use language, it does have some aspects that are likely to be new to you. Like optional values. Its more sophisticated use of functions and closures. The new class-like data types of structures and enumerations. The sophisticated matching in swift statements. Generic programming. And the use of protocols as a substitute for inheritance in the new approach of "protocol oriented programming".

And there are some complicated nuances that you'll occasionally run into that you need to understand. The initializing of new objects, especially when inheritance is involved. Type casting. Variations in function calling and the Swift compiler's intelligent response to the surprising variations allowed in closure syntax.

What's the best way to learn Swift?

You need a way to learn it that doesn't involve incomprehensible jargon and head-scratching convoluted language.

Understanding Swift Programming is a book that has been carefully designed and written to introduce programmers (with at least some programming experience) to the new language. It has been crafted with clear explanations of everything about Swift, when possible in ordinary English with a minimum of technical jargon.

Does it dump everything about a topic on you at once? No. It has a carefully layered organization, introducing you to essentials first and taking up a topic a second and sometimes even a third time to discuss further nuances.

Is this a quickie book leaving out what you will actually need when you code an app? No. It offers complete coverage of all but the most obscure aspects of Swift.

Does this just show you code without much explanation? No. As the title suggests, the goal is to help you fully understand the language, not just memorize code samples.

Is this a book that you might read but then, as is common with many programming books, retain little of when you actually start coding? No. First, the book is organized so as to help you build up your understanding conceptually. It has an often light style, with over 35 cartoons that keep the mood informal and fun and aid retention. And second, at the end of every chapter, readers are invited to get a web browser and participate in the hundreds of exercises offered as part of the Hands-on Online Exercises. Studies have shown huge increases in retention when readers actively think in this way immediately after absorbing information.

The book is inexpensive--with its 480 pages (est.) on an Ebook reader or 392 pages in its print version, compare its per-page cost with other books on Swift.

A web site, understandingswiftprogramming.com, keeps track of (the still continuing!) changes to Swift and informs you of errors.

The book covers the new Swift 2, including a 21-page chapter on Protocol Oriented Programming that we think is the most clearly written description of the new approach available anywhere.

There's no risk. The Kindle version can be returned for a full refund if Amazon receives the request within 7 days. (Log in, go to Manage Your Content and Devices, select the book and then Return for Refund.) The print version can be returned within 30 days for a full refund. See the Returns Center.

Understanding Swift Programming is more than a book. Its carefully crafted organization and writing, together with the Hands-on Online exercises, makes it a complete course for learning Swift, unique among what is available today.

The author, Craig Will, is currently an iOS app developer based in Northern California, both writing code (Objective-C and Swift) and doing usability design. He is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine. He also has a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego. He has worked in product development for software, particularly mobile devices, and in research, where his specialties have included artificial intelligence, neural networks, speech recognition and human-computer interaction. He holds 19 patents, mostly in the areas of mobile devices, speech recognition, and telecommunications.