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iOS 10: Taking a Closer Look at Apple's 'Swift Playgrounds' for iPad
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This is awesome would love to play with this.
The only problem is I wish I had an awesome app idea, but pretty much everything has already been done, or would be done in the web browser anyway.
The only problem is I wish I had an awesome app idea, but pretty much everything has already been done, or would be done in the web browser anyway.
They do offer lower-cost entries. Today's prices of Air 2 and Mini 4 are fantastically low. I remember the time, when I bought my Air 2 at full price.
I agree. Talk about crafty. Introduce the next gen of developers to the platform AND have their quick little minds tell you what doesn't work from a UI perspective and how to fix it. Brilliant!!
Probably the iOS 10 requirement--it doesn't run on anything without a Lightning port. Either that or they don't want budding programmers to be dissuaded by waiting for a five-year-old tablet on every keystroke.
Seriously, have you actually used Rosetta Stone? It's great at getting you used to hearing some basic words and sounds but if you think you are going to be able to have any form of conversation after going though it think again! I spent about 18 months going through all the levels of Spanish - and then I realised would I need to learn Spanish the normal way if I ever wanted to speak it - by going to lessons.
This is something only a non-developer would say or think. It's not happening in the foreseeable future. I know this is like... the favorite conspiracy theory around here, but there's a lot more to development than just Swift and even those using Swift are connecting their apps to remote APIs that aren't written in Swift or an Apple framework.
Go to a web dev conference sometime and just look at the keynotes. At least 50% of the people there are sporting Macs. There is entirely too much you need to work with and interface with for some iOS device to supplant macOS for devs for a LONG time. XCode alone isn't even close to enough... not even a little bit.
Now... with that said, I love this release. It's like Logo on steroids. Haha.
No if you think that, you have missed the point.
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You can always program one,
The only problem with the demo showing its use to teach kids is that now many people are assuming it is just for kids.
Probably the iOS 10 requirement--it doesn't run on anything without a Lightning port. Either that or they don't want budding programmers to be dissuaded by waiting for a five-year-old tablet on every keystroke.
Right they'd rather have budding programmers w/o access to an iPad to learn a language that isn't geared toward Apple. Smart.
Also you talk about Playgrounds as if it is a resource hog. Have you even played with it. It's pretty basic. I've owned every iPad except the 4. The iPad 2 is more than capable. It's just the graphics that are a bit dated being not Retina.
OK, I'm confused. Do you not understand what "basic" means? Because that is word I used when I described the language skills one learns with Rosetta or Pimsleur. I never expressed or implied the idea that one would have the skills as a native speaker or posses Ph.D level knowledge of the language after taking such a course. Same goes with Playgrounds. They are starter kits.
And you can be a language snob if you want. I used Pimsleur to learn basic Hungarian last year. No, I could not go into a book store and understand what I was reading, but I did learn enough to ask basic questions, understand signs, have a basic conversation, and of course, ask where the men's room was
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And kids at heart. I have no problem with it.
It may have to do with the GPU capabilities which are much, much more limited on earlier iPads. And earlier devices won't support Metal at all, which SpriteKit/SceneKit use. The newer graphics APIs with multi-texturing also require more RAM, which again, older devices won't support. Consider, for example, the "Byte" exercises with the 3D world, those could easily run terribly or not at all on an iPad 2. They may also have different hardware capabilities, such as lack of Siri/voice input, lack of cameras, etc. So then you'd have to fragment the courses into those that work on certain devices, which gets really messy.
I don't either. But it would be a shame if people ignored it thinking its "just for kids".
This is pretty innovative IMO. If it has been done already I've never seen it. What a good idea.
I must admit at first look I thought "oh it's a kids thing, I really wanted to do this". I can't code. My skills were limited to putting a rude word on the to screen and making it flash using my Amiga many years ago. That and spending two weeks copying line after line of code from a magazine to get a game to run, only to find an error that couldn't be corrected without skills as it was a typo in the magazine.
However, even though it looks like it's for kids I'm going to try it. I'm not sure I have the patience to learn to code, but I want to give it a shot. I do agree with you though, some will think as we did but not take it further, so it really could put people off which is indeed a shame.
The reason is probably just performance. Of course an iPad 2 can run Swift. That doesn't mean it can run a miniature Swift programming environment that uses 60 fps 3D animation to visually interpret the commands... And they probably don't want to bother making a 32 bit version of it, either. The only device it would seem to exclude that could probably run it ok is the iPad 4.
The transition into Xcode is still going to be jarring, if anything it's still one of the biggest weaknesses in the whole process as the build settings and concepts around creating and managing targets is still pretty bewildering, even for someone who's done it a few times.
I also wonder whether this teaching app is premature; Xcode's Swift editor still crashes on a daily basis for me, thanks to a heap of bugs that I can't diagnose or submit (because it doesn't generate a crash log).
I love the language, and Swift 3 is bringing a heap of important improvements, but I'd still say it's pretty rough around the edges at this point.
I also wonder whether this teaching app is premature; Xcode's Swift editor still crashes on a daily basis for me, thanks to a heap of bugs that I can't diagnose or submit (because it doesn't generate a crash log).
I love the language, and Swift 3 is bringing a heap of important improvements, but I'd still say it's pretty rough around the edges at this point.
Yeah, it didn't connect with me at first b/c I was more interested in it's content, but I see your point now. The name "Playgrounds" probably isn't the best name to reach multiple demographics. It does seem a bit age-limiting even if it actually is not.
There isn't an 'adult version' - the code tutorial demoed was simply an example of a Swift playground running in the Playgrounds app - you could create a Playground that taught programming using another approach or simply create playgrounds that help you develop code on the move for a more serious iOS app.
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True - there are a lot of misconceptions around about what the Playgrounds app actually is.
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It (the 'Learn to Code playground', not the App itself) has a child-friendly UI but the programming lessons are very good. It's not just an app to teach Swift; it's an app to teach programming using Swift. It teaches you the logic and an approach to problem-saving by breaking down problems into smaller steps.
If you know how to program but want to learn Swift, you might be frustrated at the pace ("Yes, I know what a for...next loop is, just tell me how to do it in Swift!").
It's very reminiscent of Stanford University's 'Karel the Robot Learns Java", used in their CS106A course (which is well-sort going if you want to learn the concepts of OOP (object-orientated programming) and the Java language).
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Well, I never addressed the capabilities of Rosetta Stone etc, but the Playgrounds app is more than a teaching tool. Yes, the playground demoed was a teaching tool, but that's just one sample playground shipped with the app. Any number of playgrounds re possible.
One wouldn't say the iPhone is just an music player because when it was unveiled, they demoed a music-plating app.
I don't follow your analogy or argument. The iPhone was not originally introduced as "just a music player." That would be an iPod. OTOH Apple own press release and Playground web page specifically labels the app as a "learning experience."
Whether it's a beginner learning how to correctly form syntax or an experience coder testing out an idea, it's still learning. Learning is never ending. It's a baby figuring out shapes. It's a Ph.D candidate discovering theories yet explored. Sure, you can export your Swift creations from Playgrounds to Xcode and vice versa, but you still have to write real apps in Xcode. Playgrounds is learning tool for Swift, not a substitute for Xcode.
Exactly - and the Playground app isn't just a teaching tool for Swift. Just as one shouldn't look at the Music app and decide that the iPhone is just a music player, so one shouldn't look at the 'Learning to Code' playground and decide that the Playground app is just for learning to code.