Category: Swift
-
Adding Annotations and Overlays to Maps
In the last lesson, we explored the joys of making maps using the UIMapView and MapKit. While showing maps is great, we often want to add things to a map, such as locations and graphics. These are known as Annotations and Overlays. In this lesson we’ll make some of each. We’ll start by locating pizza restaurants…
-
How to Use MapKit for 2D and 3D Map Views.
Everyone may remember when Apple first introduced MapKit to replace Google Maps on iPhones, they ended up to apologizing. However over time, developers have found how easy it is to use MapKit. This API provides features which make using both 2D and 3D maps very easy. More importantly, Google charges for map views over a…
-
The Step by Step Guide to Custom Presentation Controllers
Ever wanted that sliding sidebar or an alert with a image picker? Apple has many great ways of presenting view controllers, but sometimes we want something different, something new. For that we subclass UIPresentationController. However there’s a few concepts that you’ll need to wrap your head around first. In this lesson we’ll create a few…
-
Using Settings Bundles with Swift
Have you ever wondered how to put user defined settings for your app into the settings app? Xcode can create a special property list called a settings bundle which can append the NSUserDefaults with more entries from Settings App. You’ll find out in this lesson how to set up a settings bundle in your app…
-
Using WatchOS2 Navigation in Swift
It’s rare to have a one controller application, even in something as small as the Apple watch. Multiple View Controllers, or Interface Controllers as they are called in WatchKit, need ways to move between controllers. WatchOS2 has a simplified version of the iOS navigation types. In this lesson we’ll explore these three types of navigation…
-
How to Use NSUserDefaults in Swift.
While Property Lists can be ways of storing data, there is a better way of handling small amounts of data for preferences and settings that might change over time and user. While built on a property list, NSUSerDefaults Makes for a more convenient way for such data. IN this lesson, we’ll introduce NSUserDefaults and a…
-
How to Use Watch Timers and NSTimers in WatchOS2 and Swift
There’s a legacy from WatchOS1 which is not only frustrating but deceptive. While one would think that a watch would have easy to use built in timers, that is far from the case. WatchOS2 changed this situation slightly, but still makes timekeeping not as easy as one would think. There is a timer in WatchKit,…
-
How to Use Property Lists (.plist) in Swift
This will be the first in a series of lessons on persistence in iOS applications. Persistence is keep data around even if your app ends. As we’ll see in this series there are many techniques to save and read data. One Common one Apple uses frequently in Xcode is the Property list, or plist, named…
-
How To Make Your First WatchOS2 App
It is a myth that using apps on an Apple watch requires a phone. This was true of Watch OS1, but not true of its successor OS. Granted, you still need a phone to load apps, but standalone apps are possible. With the introduction of WatchOS2, this becomes easier as the watch is less dependent…
-
How and Why To Use Unsigned Integers (UInt)
In the beginning there was the unsigned integer, and it was good. If you go deep into machine code you will still find that any device is nothing more than unsigned integers. All other values Int, Float, Bool, Character, and String are forms or collections of unsigned integers. To a modern high-level language like Swift,…
Make App Pie 