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iOS

Jonathan Fernandes
PLUS
Jonathan Fernandes
Courses Plus Student 22,784 Points
Posted by Jonathan Fernandes
Jonathan Fernandes
Courses Plus Student 22,784 Points

Am I working backwards?

So I just started using treehouse about a month ago and did so because of my interest in learning iOS development (apps to be even more specific). The track that presented itself was the track for learning the programming language Swift. Should I drop that to learn Objective-C first since that is the predecessor or should I just stick with Swift? And which skill is more marketable in case I want to do this for a future career?

4 Answers

Russell Warwick
Russell Warwick
1,601 Points
Russell Warwick
Russell Warwick
1,601 Points

I would probably learn Objective c + C. C basically what every other programming language is based of and therefore will be useful for your whole life. Objective c to me although it is more typing and words it seems to stick clearer in my mind than swift. Although there is no harm in learning swift over Objective c. There are at least 1 million apps out there written in Objective-C. Swift just got released in June 2014 so chances are that your future employer’s apps will be written in Objective-C. It is essential that you learn Objective-C to get a job as an iOS Developer until Swift becomes a standard, which will take a few years. Until then it would benefit you to learn both the languages. Your future employer might even task you with converting their existing Objective-C app into Swift.

Vrund Patel
Vrund Patel
11,994 Points
Vrund Patel
Vrund Patel
11,994 Points

Since, swift is a modern language it is better to learn that language if you have no experience in Objective-C or C. And, swift is also an easy to understand. It will also be more marketable as future apps will be built on that. Once, you get the grasp of it you can go back and look at C in more depth to pursue a career in IOS development. Final, i am not an expert and it is my general opinion from reading blogs.

Shannon Gold
Shannon Gold
4,426 Points
Shannon Gold
Shannon Gold
4,426 Points

This is how I understand it. If you're a hobbyist, move forward with swift. However, if you're planning to go pro, learn objective-c first. As a pro, you'll often need to work on existing objective-c projects.

Jonathan Fernandes
PLUS
Jonathan Fernandes
Courses Plus Student 22,784 Points
Jonathan Fernandes
Jonathan Fernandes
Courses Plus Student 22,784 Points

Cool! First of all, thanks everyone for your input!

The theme seems to be that if I am doing app development as a hobby, then Swift is fine. But if I want to be taken seriously as a developer, then I need to learn Objective-C. Well, almost done with my current track and then I'll have to switch to Objective-C.

Thanks again everyone!