Can I use a PC, Technically yes, because the program where we write Swift code and design the app is a MacOS app and Apple hasn’t released a Windows equivalent. If you’re technical enough, use virtualization software such as VMWare Workstation and VirtualBox to run MacOS on your PC. In addition to that, there’re a lot of third party solutions to create iOS apps where you wouldn’t need a Mac at all. If you are thinking about buying a Mac, you can buy used to save some money. An iMac, MacBook, Mac Mini.. As long as it can run the latest operating system, you’ll be good to go because Xcode usually requires the latest. A safe bet for current compatibility and getting mileage out of your purchase is to get something less than 2 years old. What sort of equipment do I need, Aside from a Mac (or using one of the PC solutions above), not much else!
You’ll need to download Xcode for free from the Mac App Store. Swift doesn’t need to be downloaded separately. Then you just need to launch Xcode and start following along! You don’t need to pay anything if you just want to run the app on your own device. I’ve noticed that having the right mindset when starting out is a strong predictor of whether or not the student will succeed. So what’s this mindset, Impatience leads to frustration which leads to quitting. As with learning anything new, there’s going to be roadblocks and obstacles but this is where having the right mindset is so important. Those obstacles are opportunities for growth and learning. As a seasoned programmer, I can tell you that a large part of building apps will be troubleshooting and figuring out why your app doesn’t work the way you intended it to. It’s not a knock against the coder; it’s just that when you’re writing code, it’s impossible to foresee 100% of the user scenarios and edge cases and interactions with other parts of your code.
There’s bound to be bugs and unexpected behavior and then you’re going be spending a lot of time debugging and trying to figure out how to fix it. Don’t let that discourage you though because the feeling that you get when you finally solve the problem is a natural high like no other! Not to mention that by overcoming your roadblock, you “level up” and learn a lot! When you get very familiar with Swift code and Xcode, you’ll find that you can hack together an app idea really quickly but the majority of time afterwards is spent refining, debugging and polishing your app. Before you can hack together a prototype of any app idea in a weekend, you have to pass “The Hump”. This is a certain point on the learning curve where too many beginners have given up. They encounter their first adversity and experience frustration. Things aren’t going smoothly. Rather than facing it, overcoming it and learning from it, they decide that app development isn’t for them. If you can beat “The Hump”, you’ll be flying and learning faster than you thought you ever could.
0 Comments