Book Image

Swift 4 Protocol-Oriented Programming - Third Edition

By : Jon Hoffman
Book Image

Swift 4 Protocol-Oriented Programming - Third Edition

By: Jon Hoffman

Overview of this book

Swift has become the number one language used in iOS and macOS development. The Swift standard library is developed using protocol-oriented programming techniques, generics, and first-class value semantics; therefore, every Swift developer should understand these powerful concepts and how to take advantage of them in their application design. This book will help you understand the differences between object-oriented programming and protocol-oriented programming. It will demonstrate how to work with protocol-oriented programming using real-world use cases. You will gain a solid knowledge of the various types that can be used in Swift and the differences between value and reference types. You will be taught how protocol-oriented programming techniques can be used to develop very flexible and easy-to-maintain code. By the end of the book, you will have a thorough understanding of protocol-oriented programming and how to utilize it to build powerful and practical applications.
Table of Contents (15 chapters)
Title Page
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
Customer Feedback
Preface

Summary


In most object-oriented programming languages, our type choices are limited. In Swift, however, we have numerous choices. This allows us to use the right type for the right situation. Understanding how the different types work is essential to writing good stable code.

In this chapter, we looked at the different types we can use in Swift and emphasized the difference between value and reference types. While Apple has said that we should prefer value types. We did look at areas, such as recursive data types, that require reference types.

We also discussed how we can optimize our code by using the final keyword when using reference types. In the next chapter, we will look at how we can avoid using a class hierarchy by using extensions.