Resources for Learning Swift/iOS Development

Last Edited — Jan. 2023

I’m a University Professor, and I teach an intro course in SwiftUI for iOS Development. You can find hundreds of free, professional videos on my own YouTube channel, including all those used in my full Zero to Full Stack SwiftUI course, free on YouTube and my older course on UIKit. Students often ask me after our course is done, “How Can I Keep Learning?” Thanks to resources like YouTube, Udemy, Medium, and more, it’s easy to keep your skills current. Also note, many of the folks highlighted in one area, also have additional content (e.g. Sean Allen runs a podcast, offers a newsletter, and has paid course offerings) so do explore. If I overlooked some, so sorry. Feel free to share in the comments. Here are some thoughts on resources that I’ve found most helpful:

Use Mastodon (and Twitter)!

Many are surprised when I state social media is my most important educational resource, but by following experts, you’ll see continued info on new offerings, hot topics and content, conferences, and other things you might miss. Combine with a tool like Pocket so you can archive interesting posts to read later. I’ve updated this at a time when many folks are moving away from Twitter toward Mastodon. If you were a heavy Twitter user, you can easily find everyone you followed on Twitter & follow them on Mastodon by using MoveToDon.org. And you can regularly re-run this to catch any new migrants. Follow them all. Mastodon is growing quickly & there are lots of good clients out there. The IceCubes app is getting lots of praise & one I’m currently using.

YouTube

Swift/iOS developers that I follow include:

• Sean Allen @seanallen_dev
  - https://www.youtube.com/@seanallen
• Mohammad Azam @azamsharp
  - https://www.youtube.com/@azamsharp
• Mikaela Caron @@mikaelacaron
  - https://www.youtube.com/@MikaelaCaron/about
• Chris Ching @CodeWithChris
  — https://codewithchris.com/
• Craig Clayton DesignToSwift @thedevme
  - https://www.youtube.com/@DesigntoSwiftUI
• DesignCode @designcodeio
  - https://www.youtube.com/@DesignCodeTeam
• FlowWritesCode @FloWritesCode
  - https://www.youtube.com/@FloWritesCode
• Prof. John Gallaugher (@gallaugher)
  - https://youtube.com/profgallaugher
  Note there are channels for:
  - SwiftUI — https://bit.ly/prof-g-swiftui
  - CircuitPython — https://bit.ly/circuit-python-tutorials
  - and my older UIKit course — https://bit.ly/prof-g-swift
• Paul Hudson @twostraws
  — https://www.youtube.com/@twostraws
• iOS Academy @iosacademy_dev
  - https://www.youtube.com/@iOSAcademy
• Mark Moeykens @BigMtnStudio — https://www.youtube.com/c/MarkMoeykens
• Ale Patron @ale_patron
  - https://www.youtube.com/@AlePatron
• Karin Prater @swiftyplace
  - https://www.youtube.com/@PhysicsNerdDev
• Alex (Rebeloper) Nagy @Rebeloper — http://youtube.com/rebeloper
• Scott Smith @scottsmithdev — https://www.youtube.com/scottsmithdev
• Stewart Lynch @StewartLynch
  - https://www.youtube.com/c/StewartLynch
• SwiftfulThinking
  - https://www.youtube.com/c/SwiftfulThinking
• Tundsdev @tundsdev
  - https://www.youtube.com/@tundsdev/about
• Brian (Let’s Build That App) Voong @buildthatapp — https://www.letsbuildthatapp.com/

Newsletters

Many of the developers above have places where you can sign-up for newsletters and new release info. There are also some very good newsletters aggregating iOS happenings across sources. These include:

• iOS Dev Weekly — https://iosdevweekly.com/
• NotOnlySwift — https://not-only-swift.peterfriese.dev/
  By @peterfriese, a firebase team member
• SwiftLee — https://www.avanderlee.com/
• SwiftUI Weekly — https://weekly.swiftwithmajid.com/
  By @mecid

There are many, authored by the folks mentioned, but a must-have is Erica Sandun’s @ericasadun Swift Style: An Opinionated Guide to an Opinionated Language https://pragprog.com/book/esswift2/swift-style-second-edition. While I have a <$10 book that accompanied my old UIKit course, I do plan to create a new SwiftUI book later this year. Stay tuned!

Sites (often have YouTube Content + Paid Content, as well)

• LearnAppMaking — Reinder de Vries @reinder42 has very high-quality topic-focused posts https://learnappmaking.com/
• Swift by Sundell @johnsundell — https://www.swiftbysundell.com/

Paid Resources

• Kodeco (formerly Ray Wenderlich) @rwenderlich offers a lot of free content, plus wonderful books and a very high-quality set of online tutorials. Perhaps the best collection of paid resources available anywhere. https://www.kodeco.com/
• Hacking with Swift Paul Hudson @twostraws is perhaps the most singularly prolific iOS educator. In addition to his widely available, free, online content, he continues to publish and update a library of books: https://www.hackingwithswift.com/
• Try! Swift World Natasha (Natasha the Robot) Murashev @NatashaTheRobot runs the high-quality Try Swift conferences around the globe, and in the pandemic, she’s assembled some of the most highly-respected iOS trainers to offer online classes. I’ve already attended the Machine Learning course and really enjoyed it. https://www.tryswift.co/world/
• Design+Code Meng To @designcodeio takes a design-focused approach to iOS and offers many paid courses. https://designcode.io/

Apple Developer Resources

There’s so much there, including tutorials, videos, code samples, forums and more https://developer.apple.com/discover/. While sometimes dense, referring to source material from Apple (or the open-source Swift language https://docs.swift.org/swift-book/) is always recommended.

Apple Videos:

Apple has archived WWDC resources:
http://apple.com/wwdc

Apple has also begun posting some great TechTalks videos:
https://developer.apple.com/videos/

And for my students looking for inspiration — look for former student, Matt Ricketson @ricketson_, presenting! https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2019/216/

Fans of prior Apple launch events will note Boston College alumnus Phil Schiller was a constant presence on stage from the Jobs & Cook years. @pschiller: https://www.apple.com/apple-events/ Phil has kindly hosted my classes at Apple’s HQ in Cupertino, and even had us in VIP seats during the launch of the original iPhone.

Medium: Signup for Medium https://medium.com/ and specify an Interest in Swift/iOS. You’ll get regular, high-quality, curated posts sent to your inbox.

Consider Reddit’s SwiftUI groups. Like many, I’ve found StackOverflow full of comments that are often unhelpful posturing or posts referring to overly-technical & unhelpful content. Reddit’s SwiftUI groups have often been more newbie friend. Do try them both & search Stack Overflow, first, but if you get frustrated by a lack of intelligible StackOverflow response, Reddit’s Swift communities can also be a big help.

And for Bostonians post-pandemic:

• SwiftFest is an in-person conference held in various locations. I’ve attended the last two in Boston and found this a great opportunity to both learn and network. Speakers are not only brilliant, but also broadly representative of our community https://swiftfest.io/

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Are You A Member of an Under-Represented Group? There’s a LOT of Help!

Most tech firms realize that a lack of diversity hurts their prospects. If you’re a woman in tech, a member of an underrepresented group, or a current or former member of the military, there are lots of wonderful resources out there to help. Many firms offer special programs to recruit interns to cultivate more representation, so search online early. Freshman year is not too early to begin! And if you’ve had the good fortune to succeed. Please mentor others. Your shining example can light the way for others of all backgrounds. Peace!

• Grace Hopper Celebration https://ghc.anitab.org/ of Women in Computing. Regular student scholarships. Every year some of my students are chosen to attend. Definitely apply & sign up for mailings!
• Women who Code: https://www.womenwhocode.com/
• Girls who Code: https://girlswhocode.com/
• Code2020 (underrepresented groups in tech): http://www.code2040.org/
• Black Girls Code: https://www.blackgirlscode.com/
• The Disability Network: https://www.disnetwork.org/
• LGBTTech — https://www.lgbttech.org/
• BuildBoston focuses on youth entrepreneurship in under-resourced communities https://www.buildinboston.org/
• CodeNation https://codenation.org/ brings tech training and internships to underrepresented youth (and bonus, was started by Boston College alumna Maurya Couvares @MauryaCouvares)

Many more resources than I can post and curate are available. One starting place: https://www.diversifytech.co/

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A Note on Kindness:

This world needs more good. Many of you know some organizations have had especially troublesome workplace cultures. This is not at all unique to tech. Many firms on Wall Street and beyond have suffered from vile internal cultures for years, and throughout my career, even I have encountered those who are dishonest, belittling, and abusive. You should consider it part of your personal and professional mission to be someone who works to create a positive culture for all colleagues. Everyone starts from a place of learning, and swaggering, sneering, mean-spiritedness has no place in any organization. Positive, encouraging, helpful feedback is always welcome. There are simply NOT ENOUGH tech workers to fill available jobs, and someone who contributes to a toxic environment is working against the goals of the organization. Such actions put the firm at legal risk, reputation harm, and will likely lead to harmful career outcomes. Commit today to continually be a positive force in tech and business culture, and to be brave enough to call out abuse when you see it. The world needs you to use your powers for good!

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About the Author:

Prof. John Gallaugher @gallaugher teaches a zero-to-full-stack iOS development course, as well as a physical computing course and managerial coures at Boston College. Hundreds high-quality, learn-at-your-own-pace videos (his entire flipped-class course) are available on his YouTube channel at: https://YouTube.com/profgallaugher. If you’re an educator + want more content, you’ll find slides and other content at https://gallaugher.com. Prof. Gallaugher founded the worldwide Boston College TechTrek experiences, has received multiple teaching awards, and has been named a “Guru to Grads” by Entrepreneur Magazine. Despite all this, he’s regularly embarrassed by how little he knows and welcomes any corrections and ideas. Reach out if you’ve found his material helpful. For more info on content, courses, books, bio, see https://gallaugher.com/about-john/ Also — he has a fun office to visit. If you’re on campus, stop by!