Its 2021 and maybe you made a new year’s resolution for yourself to learn to code, maybe you have an app idea. Or maybe you lost your job and want to gain a new skill or maybe you just want to try something new. In my new series I will be breaking down a number of resources you could use to learn how to code and describe what goes into said development. Plus in the future you can expect this “I want to learn” series to break down other areas in tech that maybe you want to progress into.

Learning Swift is one of the great starting points for jumping into Object Oriented Programming. Object oriented programming is what C++ is, Java, Python and the list goes on. Swift is a language that was built by Apple to help make coding apps easier for apps on apples ecosystem from the max to the iPhone etc. To me it is a very pick up and go language but since this might be your first time diving into coding let’s start with some free learning resources and then also discuss some books that have helped me on my journey of learning Swift. I have also decided on not just touching on the code aspect but also bringing in resources for the designer and even the advanced coders who want to touch on something that maybe isn’t app development

FOR THE BEGINNER – With zero code experience

If you are just starting out as a developer and have zero code experience, that is no problem. We all start somewhere then study and practice and move forward that’s how it all works. Having never touched code is no problem, we can always start at the beginning.

Swift Playgrounds by Apple

If you have a Mac or iPad you are fully able to download apples useful learning tool called Swift Playgrounds. It’s one of those fun learning games that shows you what your code is doing compared to it just “running” it gives you the basics and makes you run in small bite sized chunks. Some of  of the coding challenges get tough but as you progress you can move onto the tougher and more specialized courses.

Intro To App Development With Swift

This free book series on apple books gives you a basic beginning touch on apps. And since its ibooks part of the books and items within the chapter are interactive and do test your knowledge. This is definitely good for someone who prefers the old book and doing it at your own pace in micro chunks with of course a twist of having quizzes and a slightly less grandiose book that doesn’t drone on and on. Trust me I have used those books that could have been a lot smaller .

FOR THE DESIGNER – Who hasn’t designed apps

If you hate coding but want to learn about designing apps, that is perfectly fine too. Designing and developing can take a different type of mind set.

App Design Apprentice by Prateek Prasad

Designing apps vs website vs print, each of these design fields has its own ruleset and requires a new set of tools and way of thinking. If you are a designer that is deciding that they want a change of scenery and want to jump into app design I would suggest this new book. This is for designers and future app designers who need to understand the rules and design systems that go into creating apps for iOS and more. Just like web design there are best practices for crafting that excellent app experience, and rules you might not even realize your breaking when designing your future app idea and its best to understand it without just flying blind into it.

FOR A CODER WITH KNOWLEDGE BUT NO APP BACKGROUND

For the people who have some background in coding development if its C++, Python or some other language and are wanting to get into app development for iOS I would suggest jumping into the Ray Wenderlich website. I have spoken about it and reviewed it before, but it is one the best go to learn about building apps for iOS and the many different things you can do with it.

RAYWENDERLICH.com

Ray Wenderlich is a tutorials website with great video tutorials for those looking to dive in at a do it at your own pace. The ease of use and easy to follow guides makes learning app development fun in bite sized courses. Also, if you enjoy reading there are a lot of books that are done from the videos and allow you to read at your pace and not have to worry about missing what someone said in a video. So there are a lot of different ways you can learn. Yes, it can seem a bit pricy but when you are all in on learning and having the first few chapters free to get a feel of it, then this is for you.

FOR THE INTERMEDIATE – WHO WANTS USE SWIFT FOR OTHER MEANS

Swift isn’t just for iOS you can build server-side applications and full stack development with Swift in general.

Full Stack Development with Swift by Packt

There is more to Swift and as it’s a growing language, it is expanding into other areas of technology. Not just apps for the Apple ecosystem but it’s going into full stack dev for web development and building websites using vapor. Yes, it does cover some of the basics as well but it also goes into more of how to develop websites using Swift and deploying them to a server.

FOR EVERYONE – AND I DO MEAN EVERYONE

FIRESIDE SWIFT

A podcast that every Swift should heck out is a podcast where two programming guys talk about anything and everything revolves around Swift. From commenting your code, to dark mode, to problem solving issues.

iOS & Swift – Complete Bootcamp

I am still currently going through this course and working on a review for it, but as far as I am, I can highly recommend this course. Dr. Angela Yu has crafted a course that fits to a lot of different people’s levels and knowledge of programming. You can go into this as a complete beginner, or if you have some advance knowledge in Swift you can start at a different position. One thing that I love about her teaching is something I have yet to see in a lot of other areas, she stresses that it is ok to ask for help and search on Stack Overflow and the web. Yes she breaks the mold of “developers must know it all” and I do think more bootcamps need to teach this.

IN CLOSING

This new series I have been spending some weeks off outlining and writing on will touch on how someone can get into a new field, in the future you can expect blogs like this that will touch on areas such as Salesforce, Web Development, Email Marketing, WordPress Development and so on and so forth. With so many people I know asking me where they should start in wanting to jump into a tech field for whatever reason. This I hope helps them. I will also touch on other areas such as Project Management and working on Enterprise Teams cause maybe people will want to learn where they can start with that. So, in 2021 expect a massive drop of knowledge.