It's a good time as any to learn Swift programming and make apps for Apple. Apps coded with Swift run on Macs, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. It is just over two years old and already ranked 13th on the TIOBE Index. Apple's own push and the freshness of the language are two good reasons to learn it for mobile development.

Swift also makes app development more interactive and less overwhelming than the older Objective C. So why shouldn't you keep an eye on the future and take a stab at it? There are after all many ways to step into the world of Swift. There are websites devoted to Swift and then there are online Swift programming classes which are great for beginners.

But what if you just have a few minutes to spare?

TapCoding is a nice way to dip your toes into the basics of the language while on the move. The iOS Swift trainer uses bite-sized interactive lessons to teach mobile programming. Think of it as the "Duolingo for Swift". The app comes packed with hundreds of code building exercises and other drills to help you grasp the basics.

TapCoding

 

An Overview of the Exercises

There are four ways you can practice:

  1. Create code with drag-and-drop.
  2. Practice with code in the code editor.
  3. Learn concepts with True/False exercises.
  4. Detect mistakes in logic or syntax.

At each step, TapCoding forces you to learn Swift by actively practicing it. It follows the usual maxim that unless you type code, you won't learn code.

The introductory level with nine lessons is free. But you have to progressively unlock it by maintaining a learning streak. The full curriculum is available as a $6.99 in-app purchase. For $9.99, you can unlock the full curriculum at launch plus future lessons.

Download -- Swift for iOS (Free, $6.99, or $9.99)

What do you think of TapCoding and its microlearning ease? Is it one of the better ways to get introduced to a programming language?