Swift and iOS resources
August 19, 2019
Swift and iOS resources
Beginner/Just Getting Started
Getting started is difficult. The best advice I’ve seen is to just start making something.
Load up Xcode and get started with any of these tutorials. Get stuck then Google for the answer or shoot an email to the author of any of these resources. I’m sure they’ll be glad to help out.
Books
The Swift Programming Language (Swift 5.0) on Apple Books (Free) Here is Apple’s official book about Swift. If you’re getting started this is a good place to start.
iOS Apprentice | raywenderlich.com Store (Paid) I’d probably put Ray Wenderlich’s books over anything else for beginners. They all take you through building real applications so it’s usually the fastest way to get started with real-world examples.
Video
iOS and Swift for Beginners | raywenderlich.com (Free) If you’re more into video courses and are a beginner, this learning path is just for you.
If you’re a bit more advanced, you can probably skim the first few courses but the rest will take you through core iOS-specific concepts.
Learn Swift Programming on Treehouse (Paid) I wouldn’t say I hear about Treehouse very often but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great starting resource. I went through one of their courses when I was starting and it gave me a good jumping-off point.
Articles
Library | raywenderlich.com | Beginners (Free) Ray Wenderlich’s articles for beginners. You can get through these faster than videos if that’s how you learn.
A Swift Tour — The Swift Programming Language (Swift 5.1) (Free) This is a bit more documentation than a course. But there are few guides as comprehensive as this.
Basics — Swift by Sundell (Free) Swift by Sundell is a fantastic blog period. He was also generous to cover some of the basics everyone will need to know when developing in Swift.
Intermediate/Advanced
It may be safe to say many of us tow the line between Intermediate and Advanced. So sometimes this section can be a catch-all.
A better practice for finding intermediate and advanced resources could be finding the specific problem you’re trying to solve then search for an in-depth guide or Github repo that covers the topic.
Books
Advanced Books | raywenderlich.com (Paid) Ray Wenderlich has everything. So, of course, they have books that are in-depth guides on single features. This is for when you want to dive deep into push notifications, concurrency, ARKit, etc.
iOS Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide (7th Edition): Christian Keur, Aaron Hillegass (Paid) I have never personally read a Big Nerd Ranch book but they have been around for a long time and they not only release books but also do Bootcamps/other training.
Advanced Swift · objc.io (Paid) Objc.io has been consistently putting out fantastic long-form content. They also have videos along with their books but it’s not something I’ve dived into yet.
Video
Int/Adv Videos | raywenderlich.com (Paid) While a number of these videos are paid by a monthly subscription, if you learn best by video these are well made and useful.
Swift - Videos - Apple Developer (Free) WWDC has the best talks out there about Swift and iOS development.
Articles
Int/Adv Articles | raywenderlich.com (Free) These are great and free. What more do you want?
Blogs to follow at any level
Most of the time you can probably find the topics you need covered in one of the blogs below. So check these first or just follow them as they make new content.
Swift by Sundell Swift by Sundell is great because he gives out tips on twitter and his blog posts are always about real-world examples.
Hacking with Swift – learn to code iPhone and iPad apps with free Swift 5.0 tutorials Hacking with Swift always has quick references for example code on just about everything Swift.
iOS & Swift Tutorials | raywenderlich.com I’ve already stated numerous cases for Ray Wenderlich.
A weekly Swift Blog on Xcode and iOS Development - SwiftLee Another great resource. I usually see his Tips & Tricks on Twitter.
Blog · objc.io Most of the time I end up at objc.io when I need something specific that they cover in detail.
Blog - Digital product development agency | Big Nerd Ranch Another advanced blog for when you need to know the ends and outs of something specific. Like using GraphyQL in a production application.
NSHipster NSHipster is another good resource for the line up with in-depth articles and a great writing style.
iOS Archives - Digital product development agency | Big Nerd Ranch (Free) Big Nerd Ranch’s blog usually covers more advanced topics and that makes this a great topic when you’re working with an Apple API you haven’t worked with before.
Blogs I don’t follow myself but I’ve seen referenced
ASCIIwwdc - Searchable full-text transcripts of WWDC sessions
Little Bites of Cocoa - Tips and techniques for iOS and Mac development
Cocoa Is My Girlfriend | Taglines are for Windows programmers
Swiftjective-C | Swiftjective-C is a periodical over modern iOS software engineering.
A blog teeming with tips and tricks about Swift and iOS.