The Identifiable protocol in SwiftUI allows you to add a unique object identity. The protocol requires a single ID property of any hashable type, making it a flexible protocol for all kinds of instances. While it’s a relatively simple protocol, a few possible edge cases can cause unexpected bugs in your SwiftUI code. Therefore, it’s …
Key press events detection in SwiftUI
Key press events detection in SwiftUI allows you to respond to a keyboard key like return (enter), shift, command, and more. While mostly Mac apps use keyboard events, you must consider adding support for iPad apps since external keyboards can be used. SwiftUI offers several modifiers to listen to key press events, making it effortless …
The power of consistency in side projects
The success of your side projects can be mixed, but consistency brings power to your results. It’s often easier to start a new project when results are disappointing rather than sticking to that high-potential project you’ve always believed in. I’ve been developing a few side projects over the years but managed to stay away from …
Test-Driven Development (TDD) for bug fixes in Swift
Test-driven development (TDD) is a technique that requires you first to write a failing test before you start implementing a solution. While it’s a technique developers use during general development, there’s a way to apply it only for bug fixes. Finding out about a bug can already be disappointing, but finding out about a bug …
Optionals in Swift explained: 5 things you should know
Optionals are in the core of Swift and have existed since the first version of Swift. An optional value allows us to write clean code while at the same time taking care of possible nil values. If you’re new to Swift, you should get used to the syntax of adding a question mark to properties. …
Third-party libraries acknowledgments using a Settings bundle
Third-party libraries help developers build apps faster but often come with a license. The MIT license is likely the most common, but there are many others that, together, require you to acknowledge the usage of the library in return for getting free access. I’m not going to dive deep into the details of each license …
Extensions in Swift: How and when to use them
Extensions in Swift allow you to extend an existing class, struct, enumeration, or protocol with new functionality. Whether it’s a custom type defined by you or a current type inside of a framework, extensions can create custom accessors and enhance the types you work with. So-called retroactive modeling allows you to extend types for which …
How to use @ScaledMetric in SwiftUI for Dynamic Type support
The @ScaledMetric property wrapper in SwiftUI allows you to adopt custom values to dynamic type settings. Your custom values will scale proportionally whenever the user changes the dynamic type setting. While elements like text scale are automatically based on the Dynamic Type setting, other values like padding or image sizes might not. Connecting these to …
App Preview Videos Capturing using the Xcode simulator
App Preview Videos allow you to increase the visibility of your app in the App Store. While it’s best to validate whether it leads to higher conversions, it’s certain a moving demo will catch the attention quicker. Creating a qualitative App Preview Video can be time-consuming, especially since Apple has several specifications to which your …
Status bar overrides in the iOS Simulator
Status bar overrides in the iOS Simulator allow you to change the appearance of the network, cellular, time, and battery. You can use this feature to beautify your screenshots and ensure a consistent appearance across, for example, your App Store screenshots. While functionality for overriding the iOS status bar has existed since Xcode 11, it …