SwiftUI on Andrew Bancroft

SwiftUI Fundamentals

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Developing for iOS is a valuable and in-demand skill, but if you haven’t developed in the Apple world before, it can be surprisingly different.

In this course, SwiftUI Fundamentals, you’ll quickly get up and running using Xcode 15, Swift, and SwiftUI to establish the foundational skills you need to build great user interfaces for iOS.

Resources

SwiftUI Fundamentals

Course Outline

First, you’ll see the tools and learn how to use SwiftUI to create single-screen applications with adaptive user interfaces that work on multiple devices.

Next, you’ll learn how to bring your own style to a SwiftUI user interface by customizing its appearance.

Finally, you’ll explore working with data-driven controls and understand navigation options for multi-screen applications.

When you’re finished with this course, you’ll know current best practices, iOS architecture, and the most important ideas you need to feel comfortable bringing your developer skills into the iOS and Apple developer world.

1 - Building Single-view Applications

Topics in this module include…

Version Check: What You Need to Get Started
The Night Watch Scenario
Creating a Single-view App
Understanding the SwiftUI Framework
Creating Xcode Previews
Understanding Views
Combining and Laying out Views
Understanding the SwiftUI Layout System
Aligning and Positioning Views

2 - Customizing UI Appearance

Topics in this module include…

Applying View Modifiers
Developing a SwiftUI Mindset
Using Icons and Symbols
Implementing Custom View Modifiers

3 - Creating Data-driven Lists

Topics in this module include…

Preparing to Work with Lists
Understanding Lists
Creating a List
Controlling a List with Data
Using Loops to Supply Content for Lists
Adding Sections and Headings
Creating Grid Layouts

4 - Building iOS Apps with Multiple Screens

Topics in this module include…

Defining Apps with Multiple Screens
Implementing Navigation Stacks
Adding Navigation to an Existing Project
Extracting Reusable Subviews
Creating a Tabbed Application
Recapping Multi-view Applications

5 - Adding Behavior and Working With Data

Topics in this module include…

Preparing to Add Basic Behavior
Extending the Data Model
Understanding the View Update Cycle in SwiftUI
Adding Basic Behavior
Connecting a Subview to a Parent View’s Data
Using Classes as Data Models
Sharing a Data Model through the SwiftUI Environment
Bringing the Data Model and Behavior to the Night Watch App

6 - Putting It All Together

Topics in this module include…

Applying What You’ve Learned
Integrating the Extended Data Model
Adding the Mark Complete Behavior
Adding a Toolbar and Toggle Control
Implementing Swipe and Move Actions for a List
Resetting the List
Showing an Alert
Adding Images to a SwiftUI Application
Continuing your iOS Developer Journey

iOS 17 Fundamentals

Sun, 10 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Developing for iOS is a valuable and in-demand skill, but it can be surprisingly different if you haven’t developed for Apple platforms before.

In this course, iOS 17 Fundamentals, you’ll quickly get up and running using Xcode 15, Swift 5, and SwiftUI to build great iOS apps and tap into the latest features of iOS 17.

Resources

iOS 17 Fundamentals

Course Outline

First, you’ll see the tools and learn the core principles for designing iOS apps with adaptive, accessible, and localized user interfaces that work on multiple devices.

Next, you’ll explore how to tackle some of the most common scenarios you’ll run into when you’re building an app for iOS 17, like performing common networking tasks, managing data, adding push notifications to your application, and implementing widgets.

Finally, you’ll learn how to take your app and publish it on the App Store. When you’re finished with this course, you’ll know current best practices, iOS architecture, and the most important ideas you need to feel comfortable bringing your app ideas to iOS 17.

1 - Preparing to Build iOS 17 Applications

Topics in this module include…

Version Check: What You Need to Get Started
How to Learn iOS Development
Introducing “Improvado” - An App for Continuous Improvement
Transitioning an App to iOS 17
Supporting Older Versions of iOS
What Every iOS 17 App Needs

2 - Designing Applications for iOS 17

Topics in this module include…

Introducing Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines
Making an Adaptive User Interface
Adding and Customizing Layout Variations
Supporting Dynamic Type
Implementing Dark Mode
Working with SFSymbols 5
Making Apps Accessible
Localizing an iOS Application

3 - Performing Common Networking Tasks

Topics in this module include…

Understanding URL Sessions
Checking Network Connectivity
Sending HTTP Requests
Requesting Data from REST APIs
Inspecting HTTP Responses
Handling Networking Errors
Organizing Networking Code
Integrating Networking Tasks with SwiftUI

4 - Managing Data

Topics in this module include…

Understanding Data Management Scenarios
Encoding and Decoding Data
Managing Preferences with UserDefaults
Synchronizing Settings with iCloud Key-value Store
Configuring Apps with Property Lists
Performing File Management Tasks

5 - Adding Push Notification Support

Topics in this module include…

Understanding Notification Scenarios
Requesting Permission to Deliver Notifications
Sending Local Notifications
Sidebar: Understanding the Delegation Design Pattern
Responding to Local Notifications
Configuring an Xcode Project for Remote Notifications
Testing Remote Notifications
Making Notifications Actionable
Sending Silent Background Notifications
Setting Up a Remote Notification Server

6 - Implementing Widgets

Topics in this module include…

Adding a Widget to an Xcode Project
Configuring a Widget
Sharing Data between an App and a Widget
Making Widgets Configurable
Creating Interactive Widgets

7 - Publishing to the App Store

Topics in this module include…

Preparing to Publish Your App
Adding an App Icon
Creating an iOS App Launch Screen
Building a Release Version of Your App
Configuring an App in App Store Connect
Submitting an App for Review

Building iOS User Interfaces with SwiftUI

Sun, 22 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Designing efficient and dynamic apps is essential for taking your iOS developer skills to the next level.

In this course, Building iOS User Interfaces with SwiftUI, you’ll build upon the basic knowledge of iOS development you’ve already gained in order to build compelling iOS apps that engage your users.

Resources

Building iOS User Interfaces with SwiftUI

Course Outline

First, you’ll see the tools and learn how to create iOS apps with adaptive user interfaces that work on multiple devices.

Next, you’ll learn how to manage iOS projects and define the building blocks of your own iOS applications.

Finally, you’ll explore working with data-driven controls and understand navigation options.

1 - Designing Interfaces with SwiftUI

In this introductory module, we begin where the iOS Getting Started course left off and prepare you to handle next-level interface building with SwiftUI.

Topics in this module include…

Preparing to Design User Interfaces with SwiftUI
The Snowhaven Renovation Scenario
Defining SwiftUI Views
Creating Basic Designs and Layouts
Representing Data in User Interfaces
Customizing the Appearance of Views
Changing the Size and Scale of Views
Adding Effects to Views
Layering Views with ZStacks
Implementing Navigation and Displaying a Modal View

2 - Handling User Input

There’s no such thing as an app without data. In this module, I set you up for building dynamic, interactive applications by unpacking questions like:

How do we model real-world objects and concepts as data that SwiftUI can work with?
How do we integrate data into an app, so it’s usable in the right views at the right time?
And how do we load data that’s been saved… display it… and, most importantly, for this module…change it using different editing controls with SwiftUI…

Topics in this module include…

Working with Data in SwiftUI
Establishing an App’s Data Flow
Loading and Displaying Data
Editing Text Data with Text Fields
Persisting (or Cancelling) Data Changes
Working with Picker Views
Switching Between Binary Options with Toggles
Editing Numeric Data with Text Fields
Displaying Editing Controls in a Form

3 - Bringing Apps to Life with Drawing, Animation, and Gestures

SwiftUI provides you with all the tools necessary to make your apps even more dynamic by responding to user gestures like taps and swipes… The framework also gives you everything you need to express your creativity by drawing your own graphics, and adding animations throughout your apps to bring things to life.

Topics in this module include…

Understanding the SwiftUI Drawing System
Drawing with Paths
Using GeometryReader
Applying Transformations to Paths
Building Reusable Shapes
Understanding Animations
Adding Basic Animation
Animating View Hierarchy Changes with Transitions
Combining Multiple Animations and Transitions
Responding to Gestures

4 - Integrating SwiftUI and UIKit

By now, you know that SwiftUI is wonderful, but… it’s not the only Apple UI framework used in today’s Apple Developer world. UIKit is still very widely used and even includes some UI components that are not currently available in the SwiftUI framework.

As we wrap up the course, I explore the answer to this question: How can we, as developers, mix SwiftUI and UIKit to leverage the power of both frameworks?

Topics in this module include…

Preparing to Integrate SwiftUI and UIKit
Representing UIKit ViewControllers in SwiftUI
Making SwiftUI Views Compatible with UIKit
Representing UIKit Views in SwiftUI
Sharing State Between SwiftUI and UIKit
Coordinating User Interaction Between UIViewControllers and SwiftUI
Coordinating User Interaction Between UIViews and SwiftUI
Applying the Finishing Touches

Feedback Welcome!

From the beginning my unwavering goal is to help you filter the noise and learn as efficiently as possible. My hope is that this course benefits you in your iOS development career!

I welcome feedback on this course, and on other iOS development courses you might be interested in seeing in the Pluralsight library. Happy learning!

iOS 14 Getting Started

Fri, 04 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Developing for iOS is a valuable and in-demand skill, but if you haven’t developed in the Apple world before, it can be surprisingly different.

In this course, iOS 14: Getting Started, you’ll quickly get up and running using Xcode 12, Swift 5, and SwiftUI to build great iOS apps and tap into the latest features in iOS 14.

Resources

iOS 14 Getting Started

Course Outline

First, you’ll see the tools and learn how to create iOS apps with adaptive user interfaces that work on multiple devices.

Next, you’ll learn how to manage iOS projects and define the building blocks of your own iOS applications.

Finally, you’ll explore working with data-driven controls and understand navigation options.

1 – Preparing to Build iOS Applications

Prepare to implement iOS apps by understanding what’s involved from a big picture standpoint.

We begin at the beginning to bring you up to speed and set the foundation for the remainder of the course.

Topics in this module include…

What You Need for Building iOS Apps
Creating an iOS Project with Xcode
Exploring an iOS Project
How to Learn iOS
The Night Watch Scenario
Working with Xcode Projects
Grasping the Basics of the Xcode Development Environment
Summary

2 - Building Single View Applications

Building single view applications is the starting point for most of us who are learning to build iOS apps because they allow us a simplified architecture that focuses on a single screen performing a single responsibility.

Topics in this module include…

Preparing to Build Single View Apps
Understanding the SwiftUI Framework
Understanding Views
Combining and Laying out Views
Understanding the SwiftUI Layout System
Aligning and Positioning Views
Customizing UI Appearance
Developing a SwiftUI Mindset
Using Icons and Symbols
Managing Views with Groups

3 - Creating Data-driven Lists

Just about any day in which you use an iPhone or iPad for more than a few minutes, you’ll almost certainly end up in an app that uses a List View.

It’s the most common way to show a structured, scrollable series of items, and List Views are a core competency for an iOS developer working in SwiftUI, so it’s the first complex control we dive into.

Topics in this module include…

Preparing to Work with Lists
Understanding Lists
Creating a List
Controlling a List with Data
Using ForEach to Supply List Content
Adding Sections and Headings

4 - Building iOS Apps with Multiple Screens

Here I cover how to create apps multiple screens and how to think about and enable navigation between them.

Topics in this module include…

Defining Apps with Multiple Screens
Implementing Navigation Views
Adding Navigation to an Existing Project
Extracting Reusable Subviews
Creating a Tabbed Application
Recapping Multi-view Applications

5 - Adding Behavior and Working With Data

The thing that makes an app come alive is the behavior we add, and the dynamic responses to that behavior that get reflected in the user interface.

In any application, a user interface has one critical job: to accurately represent the data of our application in what it displays on the screen.

In SwiftUI, data and behavior go hand-in-hand, and I cover how to respond to user interaction in this module.

Topics in this module include…

Preparing to Add Basic Behavior
Extending the Data Model
Understanding the View Update Cycle in SwiftUI
Adding Basic Behavior
Connecting a Subview to a Parent View’s Data
Using Classes as Data Models
Sharing a Data Model through the SwiftUI Environment
Bringing the Data Model and Behavior to the Night Watch App

6 - Putting It All Together

There’s nothing like practicing your skills in new contexts to refine them and solidify what you’ve learned.

We go into some additional controls and techniques for building apps with SwiftUI before concluding the course.

Topics in this module include…

Applying What You’ve Learned
Integrating the Extended Data Model
Adding the Mark Complete Behavior
Adding a Toolbar and Toggle Control
Implementing Swipe and Move Actions for a List
Resetting the List
Showing an Alert
Creating an Adaptive UI
Adding and Customizing Layout Variations
Getting Ready for the App Store

7 - Publishing to the App Store

Finishing an app and getting it out the door to your users is one of the best feelings in the world.

Beyond the emotional aspect of publishing an app though, more and more employers want to see job candidates who have published at least one app to the App Store.

So in this final module, I complete the journey by setting you up to get an app into the App Store and bolster your resume!

Topics in this module include…

Preparing to Publish Your App
Adding Images and App Icons
Responding to Dark Mode
Creating an iOS App Launch Screen
Submitting an App for Review
Continuing Your iOS Developer Journey

Feedback Welcome!

From the beginning my unwavering goal is to help you filter the noise and learn as efficiently as possible. My hope is that this course benefits you in your iOS development career!

I welcome feedback on this course, and on other iOS development courses you might be interested in seeing in the Pluralsight library. Happy learning!

Using Core Data With SwiftUI - An Introduction

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 04:40:54 +0000

How does Apple intend for us to use Core Data with SwiftUI?

They gave us a path forward with the most recent beta release of iOS 13 (Beta 5 at the time of this writing)!

Resources

First Things First

To work effectively with Core Data in SwiftUI, the Data Flow Through SwiftUI WWDC session is a huge help.
With this talk under your belt, you’ll have at least been introduced to key words like @State, @Binding, @ObservableObject (which replaces @BindableObject as of Beta 5), and @Environment.

On the Right Path

Even prior to Beta 5, the “right path” for using Core Data with SwiftUI seemed to be through the @Environment.

In the release notes for iOS Beta 5, Apple seems to be leading us there:

NSManagedObject now conforms to ObservableObject.

The new @FetchRequest property wrapper can drive views from the results of a fetch request

managedObjectContext is now included in the environment.

With these three pieces in place, Apple has given us out-of-the-box support for using Core Data with SwiftUI.

So…

How Do You Get Started?

I decided to create a basic, single-view app that can

Persist a list of BlogIdeas to a Core Data persistent store
Use the new @FetchRequest property wrapper to fetch BlogIdeas
Use the @Environment’s managedObjectContext to create, update, and delete BlogIdeas

Grab the project over at GitHub and explore!

The sample project that includes a single Core Data Entity named BlogIdea:

I kept as much out-of-the-box stuff as I could.

How Does It Work?

Throughout the project, you’ll notice emoji symbols to help draw your eye to the Core Data pieces.

❇️ Alerts you to Core Data pieces

ℹ️ Alerts you to general info about what my brain was thinking when I wrote the code

Code Walkthroughs

I completely relate if you need to chunk things up and inspect the details of how each piece of the puzzle looks in isolation before you dive into the full app.

I’ve written up two separate how-tos that show you more specific details:

Breaks down how to pass an NSManagedObjectContext instance to your SwiftUI Views.

Breaks down how to use the @FetchRequest property wrapper in your SwiftUI Views.

Using SwiftUI in a Playground

Thu, 13 Jun 2019 04:00:18 +0000

If you’re looking for a quicker way to iterate while you’re building SwiftUI views, and you don’t have macOS Catalina installed, you might enjoy the Playground experience more than you enjoy pressing command + R every time you make a change and want to see it in the user interface.

How do you do it? Here’s a code snippet to copy-paste into a Playground to get you going.

 1import UIKit
 2import PlaygroundSupport
 3import SwiftUI
 4
 5// Make a SwiftUI view
 6struct ContentView: View {
 7    var body: some View {
 8        Text("SwiftUI in a Playground!")
 9    }
10}
11
12// Make a UIHostingController
13let viewController = UIHostingController(rootView: ContentView())
14
15// Assign it to the playground's liveView
16PlaygroundPage.current.liveView = viewController
17
18// RUN!