Chapter 1, Getting Started with Xcode and Swift, introduces you to some Xcode features that are Swift-specific. This might sound a bit advanced for the first chapter, but it is not difficult and it is also very important, mainly for those people who would like to develop professionally.

Chapter 2, Standard Library and Collections, shows you how to manipulate arrays, dictionaries, sets, strings, and other objects using the Swift way. This chapter is very important for people who have been working with Objective-C.

Chapter 3, Using Structs and Generics, shows you how Swift structs are not the same as Objective-C (or even C) structs, and that generics is a feature that allows you to create functions that are not tied to only one type. Both features have their own tricks.

Chapter 4, Design Patterns with Swift, explains how to implement design patterns using Swift, especially if you like object-oriented programming.

Chapter 5, Multitasking, shows you how to use different types of multitasking, a feature that is present in almost every app nowadays.

Chapter 6, Playground, teaches you how to use Playground, a new Xcode feature that allows you to test your code before adding it to your project.

Chapter 7, Swift Debugging with Xcode, explains how to debug Swift code using Xcode, LLDB, and Instruments. Here, you learn some tricks for finding and solving bugs in your app.

Chapter 8, Integrating with Objective-C, shows you how Swift and Objective-C can live together and gives you a step-by-step guide on how to migrate your Objective-C app to Swift.

Chapter 9, Dealing with Other Languages, shows you how to use C, C++, and the assembly language with Swift since you already know Swift is not alone in iOS and OS X development.

Chapter 10, Data Access, shows you different ways of storing data, which can be local or remote.

Chapter 11, Miscellaneous, expounds some topics that are very important in the Swift development world, from new frameworks such as the WatchKit to the widely used ones.

Developing on Swift requires Xcode 6 or higher, which by itself needs to be installed on Yosemite (OS X 10.10), which can only be installed on a Mac computer. So, this is basically what you need.

A few recipes can only be tested on a physical device (iPhone, iPad, or iPod); therefore, they can only be installed if you are enrolled on the Apple Developer Program.

If you are an experienced Objective-C programmer and are looking for quick solutions to many different coding tasks in Swift, then this book is for you. You are expected to have development experience, though not necessarily with Swift.

In this book, you will find several headings that appear frequently (Getting ready, How to do it, How it works, and There's more).

To give clear instructions on how to complete a recipe, we use these sections as follows:

In this book, you will find a number of text styles that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles and an explanation of their meaning.

Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows: "The XCPlayground also helped us with the XCPCaptureValue function."

A block of code is set as follows:

protocol Queue {
    typealias ElementType
    func enqueue(element:ElementType)
    func dequeue() -> ElementType
    var size: Int{
        get
    }
}

When we wish to draw your attention to a particular part of a code block, the relevant lines or items are set in bold:

override func viewDidLoad() {
    super.viewDidLoad()
    // Perform custom UI setup here
    var geekNib = UINib(nibName: "Geekboard", bundle: nil)
    self.view = geekNib.instantiateWithOwner(self, options: nil)[0] as UIView
    self.label.text = currentBinaryText
    self.nextKeyboardButton = UIButton.buttonWithType(.System) as UIButton

Any command-line input or output is written as follows:

xcode-select -p

New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, for example, in menus or dialog boxes, appear in the text like this: "When the application appears, click on calculate, without adding any information into the text fields."

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To send us general feedback, simply e-mail <[email protected]>, and mention the book's title in the subject of your message.

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