Apple Releases Swift Playgrounds App for Mac

[MacRumors]

Apple today released a Catalyst-based Swift Playgrounds app for the Mac, which was built from the existing Swift Playgrounds app for the iPad.

Like Swift Playgrounds for iPad, Swift Playgrounds for Mac is designed to provide exercises and challenges to help users learn the basics of coding. The app requires no coding knowledge to use and is ideal for students who are just starting out with coding.

Swift Playgrounds is a revolutionary app for Mac and iPad that makes it fun to learn and experiment with code. You solve interactive puzzles in the guided "Learn to Code" lessons to master the basics of coding, or experiment with a wide range of challenges that let you explore many unique coding experiences.

Swift Playgrounds requires no coding knowledge, so it's perfect for students just starting out, from twelve to one-hundred-and-twelve. The whole time you are learning Swift, a powerful programming language created by Apple and used by professionals to build many of today's most popular apps. Code you write works seamlessly as you move between Mac and iPad.

Swift Playgrounds for Mac is available from the Mac App Store as of today, and it is a free download. [

Article Link: Apple Releases Swift Playgrounds App for Mac

 

[cmChimera]

YES! This is awesome!

 

[iOS Geek]

Oh heck yeah!!! Awesome!

 

[M.PaulCezanne]

Long, long overdue.

 

[ruka.snow]

This is really fantastic. I can’t wait to try it out, even if it’s a bit basic, I do love working my way through these.

 

[Mythos99]

Sadly, only with Catalina. :/

 

[ElectricPotato]

I would have soiled myself with such a wealth of technological teaching resources back in high school. This is great stuff.

 

[swingerofbirch]

Very cool . . . and then I looked at the screenshots. Catalyst apps still look like a mess.

Mac is *the* product to code with in the Apple platform. This should be a native app.

 

[TheColtr]

Very cool . . . and then I looked at the screenshots. Catalyst apps still look like a mess.

Mac is *the* product to code with in the Apple platform. This should be a native app.

catalyst is native, or at least will be native. AppKit isn’t the future. Also iPad could become a very useful mobile development tool if Xcode and other development tools were allowed to thrive.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

Very cool . . . and then I looked at the screenshots. Catalyst apps still look like a mess.

Mac is *the* product to code with in the Apple platform. This should be a native app.

Ah, so all those schools and students ought to be buying Macs instead of iPads? Forget about making learning to code affordable to the masses, about giving a kid with little money a route up into the middle class... No. You don't like the look of the ported app on Mac, so it ought to have been Mac-native all along.

 

[Appleman3546]

I’m glad that it is available on the iPad, but this will be more useful on the computer. I am surprised it took so long to accomplish this.

 

[superiska123]

I actually think the app looks very good, but it runs like hot garbage on my 2015 MB Air. Not that my Air is a spec beast, but I'd expect the app to run at least decently on it considering it has 8GBs of RAM.

 

[katbel]

Too bad is for Catalina only: it’s not pushing me to update!! Keep using the iPad

 

[MikeZTM]

Very cool . . . and then I looked at the screenshots. Catalyst apps still look like a mess.

Mac is *the* product to code with in the Apple platform. This should be a native app.

This is a native app as all Mac Catalyst apps.

UIKit for Mac is a long overdue also. Developer were asking for a modern UI framework for Mac since iOS 5.

 

[cknibbs]

About time!!! I have wanted to mess around with this for a while but coding is so cumbersome on the iPad!

 

[AMP12345]

I'm SO excited for this! I was hoping this would be part of the project marzipan apps that got ported.

 

[hagar]

catalyst is native, or at least will be native. AppKit isn’t the future. Also iPad could become a very useful mobile development tool if Xcode and other development tools were allowed to thrive.

No developer is waiting to program on an iPad. You can keep saying the iPad is a pro device, but that doesn’t make it one. It’s suited for very specific niche tasks in a mobile environment or requiring touch like graphics design. But for even basic pro stuff like mail/office/project/file management it’s not suited (yet).

 

[CarlJ]

Ah, so all those schools and students ought to be buying Macs instead of iPads? Forget about making learning to code affordable to the masses, about giving a kid with little money a route up into the middle class... No. You don't like the look of the ported app on Mac, so it ought to have been Mac-native all along.

What are you on about? He's not talking about getting rid of the iPad version of the app, he's saying if they're going to release it on the Mac as well, it shouldn't look so much like a port from the iPad.

 

[gsapienza]

No developer is waiting to program on an iPad. You can keep saying the iPad is a pro device, but that doesn’t make it one. It’s suited for very specific niche tasks in a mobile environment or requiring touch like graphics design. But for even basic pro stuff like mail/office/project/file management it’s not suited (yet).

I'm a developer and I want to program on my iPad...
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catalyst is native, or at least will be native. AppKit isn’t the future. Also iPad could become a very useful mobile development tool if Xcode and other development tools were allowed to thrive.

Catalyst is not ever replacing AppKit and nobody should want it to

 

[Mr. Awesome]

Very cool . . . and then I looked at the screenshots. Catalyst apps still look like a mess.

Mac is *the* product to code with in the Apple platform. This should be a native app.

Um... you realize that Catalyst apps ARE native Mac apps, right???

 

[Icy1007]

There is already a Swift Playgrounds app for Mac... it’s called Xcode.

 

[katbel]

There is already a Swift Playgrounds app for Mac... it’s called Xcode.

Maybe not so playful ..but you are right

 

[jacjustjac]

This feels like the number one thing Apple had in mind when developing Catlyst. Swift Playgrounds on Mac is long overdue, it’s that simple.

 

[firewood]

Um... you realize that Catalyst apps ARE native Mac apps, right???

Native in terms of binary code and workable API.

But not native in terms of a great design interpretation of the Mac OS HIG (Human Interface Guidelines), or in terms of an API use that maps well to the Mac HIG. e.g. I can't see many Catalyst apps becoming Apple Design Award winners without significant design rework.

I did some Catalyst conversions of a few of my iOS apps, for quick and dirty demos and some laughs. But then decided to redesign and rewrite the UI of the apps for AppKit instead of UIKit to create a better user experience and a more attractive app on a MacBook.
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I'm a developer and I want to program on my iPad...

Only if I can get a nice Terminal with multiple processes, windows, and tabs, completely usable from (good scissor key) keyboard level.

 

[Janichsan]

AppKit isn’t the future.

For Mac specific apps, it's the past, present, and future. AppKit is not going away. Apple has made very clear that they themselves see Catalyst and SwiftUI only for cross-platform apps, with the former being only a transitory tool.