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Swift Playgrounds teaches programming not only to children but also to adults

Filip Brož
16

I always wanted to be able to program. Even as a little boy I admired people who had a screen in front of them full of numbers and code that didn't say anything. In the 1990s, I came across the Baltík programming language and development environment, which is based on the C language. I used to move icons to give commands to a little wizard. After more than twenty years, I came across a similar application that has a lot to do with the Baltic. We are talking about the Swift Playgrounds educational application from Apple.

In terms of programming, I'm stuck with plain HTML code in a notepad. Since then, I've tried various tutorials and textbooks, but I've never quite gotten the hang of it. When Apple introduced Swift Playgrounds at WWDC in June, it immediately dawned on me that I had another opportunity.

It is important to say at the outset that Swift Playgrounds only works on iPads with iOS 10 (and a 64-bit chip). The app teaches the Swift programming language, which the California company introduced at the same conference two years ago. Swift replaced the object-oriented programming language, Objective-C for short. It was originally developed as the main programming language for NeXT computers with the NeXTSTEP operating system, i.e. during the era of Steve Jobs. Swift is primarily intended for developing applications that run on macOS and iOS platforms.

For children and adults

Apple presents the new Swift Playgrounds application as being primarily intended for children who teach programming logic and simple commands. However, it can also serve adults very well, who can learn basic programming skills here.

I myself have repeatedly asked experienced developers how I can learn to program by myself and, above all, which programming language I should start with. Everyone answered me differently. Someone is of the opinion that the basis is "céčko", while others claim that I can easily start with Swift and pack more.

Swift Playgrounds can be downloaded for iPads in the App Store, completely free, and after turning it on, you will be immediately greeted by two basic courses - Learn to Code 1 and 2. The entire environment is in English, but it is still needed for programming. In additional exercises, you can easily try to program even simple games.

As soon as you download the first tutorial, instructions and explanations of how everything works await you. Subsequently, dozens of interactive exercises and tasks await you. In the right part you always have a live preview of what you are programming (writing code) on the left side of the display. Each task comes with a specific assignment of what to do, and the character Byte accompanies you throughout the tutorial. Here you have to program for certain activities.

Initially, it will be basic commands such as walking forward, sideways, collecting gems or various teleports. Once you get past the basic levels and learn the basics of syntax, you can move on to more complex exercises. Apple tries to make everything as easy as possible during training, so in addition to detailed explanations, small hints also pop up, for example, when you make a mistake in the code. A red dot will then appear, by which you can immediately see where the error occurred.

Another simplifying element is a special keyboard, which in Swift Playgrounds is enriched with characters needed for coding. In addition, the top panel always tells you the basic syntax, so you don't have to type the same thing over and over again. In the end, you often just choose the correct form of the code from the menu, rather than having to copy all the characters all the time. This also helps with maintaining attention and simplicity, which is especially appreciated by children.

Create your own game

Once you think you've programmed Byta correctly, just run the code and see if you've really done the job. If you are successful, you continue to the next parts. In them, you will gradually encounter more complex algorithms and tasks. This includes, for example, finding errors in the code you already get written, i.e. a kind of reverse learning.

Once you've mastered the basics of Swift, you can code a simple game like Pong or a naval battle. Since everything happens on the iPad, Swift Playgrounds also has access to motion and other sensors, so you can program even more advanced projects. You can easily start with a completely clean page in the application.

Teachers can download free interactive textbooks from the iBookstore, thanks to which they can assign additional tasks to students. After all, it was precisely the deployment of the programming application in schools that Apple drew attention to in the last keynote. The ambition of the Californian company is to bring many more children to programming than before, which it can do due to the absolute simplicity and playfulness of Swift Playgrounds.

It's clear that Swift Playgrounds alone won't make you a top developer, but it's definitely a great starter meta to build off of. I myself felt that gradually a deeper knowledge of "Céček" and other languages ​​would be useful, but after all, this is also what Apple's new initiative is about. Arouse people's interest in programming, the path of each user can then be different.

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