WWDC 2024 has come and gone, which appears to occur faster and faster every year, and in its wake are a number of movies to take a look at. There have been so many movies this yr, Apple began releasing them Monday evening after the Platform State of the Union, so that you knew it was going to be a packed week. It will be unimaginable to cowl all the brand new materials in a single article. Nonetheless, between the Keynote, the Platform State of the Union, and a few choose movies, listed here are some stuff you undoubtedly want to take a look at. These are in no specific order, however all are must-watches for those who’re an Apple developer.
Swift
Swift 6 is the massive change this yr, though you may fortunately undertake the brand new protected data-race security conformance at your personal tempo, module by module, because of compiler’s Swift 6 language mode choices. Along with utilizing Swift on embedded units, improved C++ interoperability, and non-copyable sorts, two actually cool objects stood out.
Totally Static Linux SDK for Swift
Now you can cross-compile your apps for Swift on Linux and embrace the Swift libraries as a totally static element of your app. This implies the vacation spot doesn’t have to have Swift put in. This may be nice for deploying issues like net service apps over to a Linux system.
Typed Throws
Now you can used typed throws to get higher suggestions on precisely what error is caught. For instance:
enum MyError: Error {
misTyped, whatWasIThinking
}
func foo(string: String) throws(MyError) -> String {
//.....
throw MyError.misTyped(string)
}
do {
let response = strive foo(string: "Hi there world!")
} catch {
//the error right here is of kind "MyError" as an alternative of simply "Error"
}
For extra on Swift this yr, make sure you try What’s new in Swift, and for extra on migrating your challenge to Swift 6, try Migrate your app to Swift 6
SwiftUI
SwiftUI received a good variety of updates this yr, as common. Listed here are among the issues that stood out.
View Is now on the @MainActor
You not have to mark your views with @MainActor as a result of the View protocol now has that ornament. That’s one much less line of code to write down!
The Magic Floating Tab Bar (or Is it a Sidebar?)
One thing that’s already getting a blended response is the brand new tab view fashion:
struct TabBarExample: View {
var physique: some View {
TabView {
Textual content("Tab 1")
.tabItem {
VStack {
Picture(systemName: "1.circle")
Textual content("Tab 1")
}
}
Textual content("Tab 2")
.tabItem {
VStack {
Picture(systemName: "2.circle")
Textual content("Tab 2")
}
}
Textual content("Tab 3")
.tabItem {
VStack {
Picture(systemName: "3.circle")
Textual content("Tab 3")
}
}
}
.tabViewStyle(.sidebarAdaptable)
}
}
This can lead to one in all two pictures, relying on whether or not you desire a floating tab bar on the prime (assume visionOS) or a conventional sidebar (assume NavigationSplitView):
I haven’t had an opportunity to play quite a bit with this one, however as with all paradigm-breaking issues, there’s normally a little bit of disagreement locally about it. We’ll see how this one shakes out!
New Modifiers for Presentation and Zooming
For views represented in a sheet, a brand new modifier enables you to specify web page, type, or customized sizing:
.presentationSizing(.type)
And to get a pleasant zoom in animation when bringing views to the foreground, a brand new pair of modifiers may also help you:
.navigationTransition(.zoom(
sourceID: merchandise.id, in: namespace))
///....
.matchedTransitionSource(id: merchandise.id, in: namespace)
}
For extra on SwiftUI this yr, make sure you try What’s new in SwiftUI.
SwiftData
SwiftData didn’t have an enormous replace this yr like some have been hoping, nevertheless it did get some very mandatory updates to assist with efficiency and queries. This yr, Apple added the flexibility to specify distinctive constraints with the #Distinctive macro and generally listed fields with Index. With just some strains of code, you may add these options to an current @Mannequin:
import SwiftData
import Basis
@Mannequin
class KodecoArticle {
#Distinctive([.name, .dateWritten, .author])
#Index([.name], [.dateWritten], [.author], [.name, .dateWritten, .author])
var identify: String = ""
var writer: String = ""
var content material: String = ""
var dateWritten: Date?
var dateUpdated: Date?
init(identify: String, writer: String, content material: String, dateWritten: Date? = nil, dateUpdated: Date? = nil) {
self.identify = identify
self.writer = writer
self.content material = content material
self.dateWritten = dateWritten
self.dateUpdated = dateUpdated
}
}
The #Distinctive line states that entries are distinctive on that mixture of properties, and the #Index line lists which properties, or mixture of properties, are added as additional metadata to the mannequin so it might probably carry out quicker queries.
Apple additionally unveiled different new options for SwiftData, resembling utilizing your personal customized knowledge retailer! For extra, try What’s New in SwiftData.
Frameworks That Are In all places
There have been two robust examples of frameworks that have been gaining parity and energy over many if not all the platforms Apple supplies. There’s quite a bit to cowl right here, so right here they’re together with hyperlinks to the WWDC movies.
App Intents
Over the previous few years, App Intents has change into a serious participant in the case of surfacing your app’s options; whether or not or not it’s to shortcuts, Siri, or widgets.
This yr, App Intents will get one other improve as a result of it’s the mechanism to hook your app into Apple Intelligence. For extra, make sure you try What’s new in App Intents, Convey your app’s core options to customers with App Intents, and Convey your app to Siri.
RealityKit
Through the years, RealityKit hasn’t been very uniform throughout the platforms, making it laborious to deploy the identical app to totally different Apple {hardware}. That adjustments this yr, as RealityKit has a number of new cross-platform APIs throughout all the varied platforms — visionOS, macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. For extra, try Uncover RealityKit APIs for iOS, macOS, and visionOS.
Swift Testing
Along with transferring the open supply Swift parts to the swiftlang group at GitHub, Apple has formally included Swift Testing in that household of libraries. Swift Testing is a brand new means of testing in Swift (however complementary to XCTest), introducing extra “Swifty” syntax to your take a look at code. Right here’s a fast instance:
import Testing
struct WWDCTests {
@Take a look at func testExample() async throws {
let worth = 2
#anticipate(worth + worth == 3)
let value2: Int? = nil
_ = strive #require(value2)
}
}
After importing the Testing framework, you embellish your assessments with the @Take a look at attribute. This implies you not want to call your take a look at strategies so they begin with “take a look at”. I’ve added just a few issues to check. The primary makes use of the #anticipate macro, which replaces the household of XCTAssert calls and checks to see whether or not the situation inside is true. The following code block checks that value2 will not be nil earlier than continuing by utilizing the #require macro. See what Xcode says when the take a look at button is clicked:
In the best gutter, you see indications that the expectations failed. For the primary one, for those who hover over the error, a “Present” button seems you can click on to get extra particulars, as proven within the screenshot. This allows you to dive into why precisely the examined code failed.
This appears to be like to be quite a bit cleaner than XCTest (though you should utilize each in your assessments!), and I can’t wait to begin utilizing it. For extra about Swift Testing, try Meet Swift Testing.
