Do you have a great idea for an app, or do you simply want to learn more about programming? Then you’ve come to the right place. Learn to make your own iOS apps.
Create your own iOS apps
Apple uses its own programming language for iOS and it has been open source since 2015. This means that anyone can start working with it. At the time, Apple CEO Craig Federighi said: “It is the perfect language for anyone getting started with programming. We want everyone to learn Swift as their primary language and that it can be used for everything. ”
So do you want to learn to code and do you use iOS? Then Swift is the ideal option. It is also a relatively accessible language. And have you made something beautiful? Who knows, it may be accepted in the App Store.
Intro course Swift from Apple
Through the Everyone Can Code books, Apple tries to get everyone to program. The free App Development with Swift course, available through iBooks, gives you the information to become an app developer using Swift. In the course you will learn the basics, such as which tools you need and the basics of programming with Swift. Then you will be helped further until you create your first app from scratch.
Do you want to tackle this more structurally in a school environment? Then the Hogeschool van Arnhem and Nijmegen will soon also start with an annual program around this course.
Swift Playgrounds
Apple is also trying to have children on Swift. Just like Dutch and English, all children should also learn the basics of programming. Swift Playgrounds is a kind of playground for Apple’s programming language to get acquainted with this.
The app presents programming in a playful way and makes it mainly very visual with many colors. For example, children are encouraged to make a figure on the screen do something by adjusting the code. The effect is immediately apparent. There is also a lot of space to add things to the app yourself.
→ Download Swift Playgrounds from the App Store (free)
Learning through apps
Besides Apple, there are also apps in the App Store that help you in great ways with Swift and the creation of your first app. We list three excellent apps that also offer Swift lessons.
Py
Py is a beautiful app, which is very similar to Duolingo language app. That comparison is not strange, because you are learning a programming language. The app immediately asks for your needs. There you indicate that you want to make an iOS app. The app then guides you to that goal in short, manageable pieces in which the basics of programming with Swift are explained very clearly. You also get the choice of how much time you want to spend on this per day, from three to ten minutes.
→ Download Py from the App Store (free)
SoloLearn
SoloLearn is a complete app with clearly arranged lessons. First you are presented with knowledge and then you put that knowledge into practice through a test. The app also gives you the space to write and run code yourself. The app teaches you the fundamentals of Swift until you create your first iOS app of your own. Also very cool is the Code Playground, where you can see and test the code of others. The app also has discussions and challenges.
→ Download SoloLearn from the App Store (free)
Code!
Take a bunch of little lessons and tutorials in this app, in which you write your own code. You don’t need any programming experience to get started, because the app starts with the basics of course. Are you making a mistake in your code? Then an exclamation mark will be added. If you press this, you will receive a step-by-step explanation on how to fix your error. Please note that only the first lesson is free. You have to pay for the other lessons.
→ Download Code! in the App Store (free)