Objective-C for Swift Developers

INCLUDES FREE UPDATES FOR SWIFT 6 AND BEYOND! Click here for full details.

Swift is a powerful, modern programming language that will continue to grow over the years ahead. But with over a million existing apps written in Objective-C, you almost certainly need to be able to read, write, and maintain both Swift and Objective-C if you want to score a great job making iOS apps.

This book and video course is designed to help you transfer your existing Swift skills to Objective-C. It assumes you already know how to make iOS apps with Swift, so zero time is wasted explaining Swift techniques. Seriously, if you haven't already read at least part of either Hacking with Swift or Pro Swift (or worked to a similar level) this book is not for you.

Instead, I've written this to help you learn Objective-C as quickly as possible – potentially in as little as four hours if you're a fast learner. Alongside the book is a video that walks you through creating a complete app from Hacking with Swift, except this time it's entirely in Objective-C. This means you can literally walk through both projects to see how the code translates, applying your new-found knowledge as you go.

The book follows the same hands-on approach I've used in Hacking with Swift and Pro Swift, which means you learn every concept in context rather than as isolated theory. Once you've finished the course, you'll have all the information you need to create your own Objective-C apps or join a company that requires a working knowledge of Objective-C.

What do you get?

You get a complete, hands-on guidebook explaining how key Swift techniques transfer to Objective-C. I'll be walking you through specific examples like string and array manipulation, blocks vs closures, categories vs extensions, autorelease pools, properties, and more. No time is wasted: I've ruthlessly focused everything so you can complete the course as efficiently as possible.

You'll be learning the latest Objective-C syntax, including generics and nullability, although I'll be marking places where technology is less likely to be adopted in big business.

The pack also includes a video tutorial where I walk you through creating a complete app from scratch. This uses an example from Hacking with Swift, so you can see a side-by-side comparison between Objective-C and Swift.

What's in the course?

• What are pointers?
  
• How do you create strings, arrays, and dictionaries?
• How do blocks differ from closures?
  
• How do properties differ from ivars?
  
• What are weak and strong?
• What are categories?
• How do you handle nullability?
• Where does Objective-C++ come in?
• And much more!

What readers say

"Sometimes you’ve got to go back to keep moving forward. Objective-C for Swift Developers unlocks 25 years of prior art in OS X and iOS development, giving you the best of both worlds." – Michael Mayer

"I just finished reading Objective-C for Swift Developers. Overall opinion: excellent. Just the book I was looking for." – Darren Martin Leith

Download a free sample!

You can download the complete table of contents for this book here, or a 24-page sample PDF here.

The Hacking with Swift guarantee

We want everyone to be happy with all the Hacking with Swift courses they buy, both now and in the future, which is why all our books come with free lifetime Swift updates and free bonus content with our Frequent Flyer Club, and we also encourage folks to join our Slack community to help solve problems.

However, if you aren't happy with a course you bought from us, we offer a 30-day No Questions Asked refund policy. This applies to all books and video courses purchased through Gumroad, which is our primary distributor. So, if you aren't happy with your purchase, if you changed your mind, or if you just bought the wrong thing by accident, we can refund your purchase up to 30 days after it was made.

Got questions?

• You don't need to have read Hacking with Swift or Pro Swift in order to read this book, but you do need to have experience with Swift. I repeat: this book does not teach you Swift. 
• Neither the book or the video will have any DRM attached.
  
• Not all jobs require knowledge of Objective-C, but most do and those that don't are still likely to consider it desirable.
• You can contact me by email at paul@hackingwithswift.com or on Twitter @twostraws.