DAY 1
First steps in Swift
As Mark Twain once said, “the secret to getting ahead is getting started.” Well, you’re starting now, so we’re going to dive in and learn about variables, constants, and simple data types.
Today you have eight one-minute videos to watch. If you want to dive deeper into each topic there is optional further reading, but you don’t need to read that unless you want to. Regardless, once you’ve finished each topic there’s a short test to help make sure you’ve understood what was taught.
I know, I know: the temptation is strong to continue on to watch more videos and take more tests beyond those linked below, but remember: don’t rush ahead! It’s much better to do one hour a day every day than do chunks with large gaps between.
- Variables
- Optional: Why does Swift have variables?
- Test: Variables
- Strings and integers
- Optional: Why is Swift a type-safe language?
- Test: Strings and integers
- Multi-line strings
- Optional: Why does Swift need multi-line strings?
- Test: Multi-line strings
- Doubles and Booleans
- Optional: Why does Swift need both Doubles and Integers?
- Test: Doubles and Booleans
- String interpolation
- Optional: Why does Swift have string interpolation?
- Test: String interpolation
- Constants
- Optional: Why does Swift have constants as well as variables?
- Test: Constants
- Type annotations
- Optional: Why does Swift have type annotations?
- Test: Type annotations
- Simple types: Summary
- Test: Simple types
When you’re finished, don’t forget to tell other people about your progress. Yes, this is only day one, but the more motivation you get now the more you’ll be able to power through when things get tougher!
Reminder: I have a free iOS app that helps you practice Swift right on your iPhone and iPad. It contains the same lessons and tests as above, plus lots more bonus activities. And did I mention it was free? Download it here.
Have some questions about simple types?
Hit Send below to start a virtual conversation with me.
Tips
- You can download Xcode from the Mac App Store by clicking here.
- As you progress in these early days you’ll build up lots of code from each day. You can keep it in different playgrounds if you want, or you can delete it – it’s down to you.
Need help? Tweet me @twostraws!
TAKE YOUR SKILLS TO THE NEXT LEVEL If you like Hacking with Swift, you'll love Hacking with Swift+ – it's my premium service where you can learn advanced Swift and SwiftUI, functional programming, algorithms, and more. Plus it comes with stacks of benefits, including monthly live streams, downloadable projects, a 20% discount on all books, and free gifts!
Sponsor Hacking with Swift and reach the world's largest Swift community!
100 Days of Swift
The 100 Days of Swift is a free collection of videos, tutorials, tests, and more to help you learn Swift faster. Click here to learn more, or watch the video below.
