Systems | Development | Analytics | API | Testing

Kotlin was built to replace Java. Or at least, supersede it for a wide range of Android development tasks. Released by JetBrains in 2016, it is designed to address some of Java’s drawbacks and provide a smoother, faster alternative for devs everywhere. So really the question in the title is redundant, right? Kotlin is just better, surely? Well, actually it’s much more nuanced than that.

The relentless rise of ChatGPT and other Large Language Models has brought a major breakthrough in the world of artificial intelligence. With key industry players like Meta, Google, Nvidia and Microsoft competing fiercely to dominate this space, it’s likely we’ve only seen the start of the innovation. Several big companies have made their AI Models and platforms available for the public to use and build on.

Since it was created by Facebook in 2012 and made publicly available in 2015, GarphQL has changed everything about how we fetch data from servers for our front-end apps. Most front-end clients typically use REST APIs to retrieve data from the server, this includes mobile apps for platforms like Android, iOS, and Flutter, as well as JavaScript frameworks like React, Angular, Vue, and Next. A huge advantage of GraphQL is that it enables front-end clients to request only the API they require.

A sub-discipline of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) focuses on the development of algorithms to build systems capable of learning from, and making decisions based on, data. In iOS development, ML allows us to create applications that can identify patterns and make predictions, adapting a user’s experience by learning from their behaviour.

In the last article, we gave a general introduction to using Swift for backend development. We discussed its advantages: its robustness, stability and, above all, its simplicity. Now we’re going to drill a little deeper, and provide some best practices that will help you in your day-to-day work. Our work today will focus on Vapor, an open-source web framework that provides a robust foundation for websites, APIs and Cloud projects.

Swift is a powerful open source programming language created by Apple in 2014 for the iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, known for its modern syntax, safety features and fast performance. Designed as a successor to Objective C, Swift has become a hugely popular choice for frontend and mobile app development, and it’s also shaping up to be an excellent choice for server-side development.

As programmers we know that, despite our best efforts, we’ll never be able to completely eliminate errors from our apps. The sheer complexity of modern apps, not least the reliance on dynamic (often third-party) inputs, means errors are inevitable and error handling (exception handling) is crucial to user experience.

Its ability to simplify a variety of tasks such as making HTTP requests, handling responses, and managing network activities, has made Alamofire one of the most popular and powerful networking libraries in Swift. Today we’ll be looking at how Alamofire can be integrated with Bugfender to cut through the complexities of URLSession to streamline networking operations in our apps.

It might be a cliche, but first impressions really do count. Whether it’s a first date, a job interview or the UI design of your app, looking the part is a massively important consideration. Today we’re going to look at how we can use the SwiftUI Color structure to enhance the visual appeal of our apps and make the right impression on our users.

Google regularly updates its developer policies to make sure Google Play is a safe and trustworthy platform for everyone. While this is unquestionably necessary and essential to protect users and their data, keeping up with the latest changes to ensure applications remain safe and compliant can feel a little overwhelming for developers.