In just 24 lessons of one hour or less, Sams Teach Yourself Swift in 24 Hours, Second Edition, will teach you how to build next-generation OS X and iOS apps with Apple’s Swift 2 programming language. This book’s straightforward, step-by-step approach helps you quickly master Swift 2’s core concepts, structure, and syntax and use Swift to write safe, powerful, modern code. In just a few hours you’ll be applying features such as extensions, closures, protocols, and generics. Every lesson builds on what you’ve already learned, giving you a rock-solid foundation for real-world success. Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the most common Swift 2 programming tasks. Practical, hands-on examples show you how to apply what you learn. Quizzes and exercises help you test your knowledge and stretch your skills. Notes and tips point out shortcuts and solutions. Learn how to... Get started with Swift 2.0’s Xcode 7 development environment Master Swift’s fundamental data types Use operators to change, assign, combine, check, or verify values Retain data and preferences in memory with arrays, sets, and dictionaries Control program flow, modify execution paths, and iterate code Perform complex actions concisely with Swift 2.0’s improved functions Work with higher-order functions and closures Harness the power of structs, enums, classes, and class inheritance Take advantage of Swift’s advanced memory allocation and references Use protocols to define behavior and explore Protocol-Oriented Programming Add type functionality with extensions Smoothly handle errors Leverage the power of generics to create flexible and reusable code Interoperate with Objective-C code Get started with Functional Programming approaches and thinking functionally

Table of Contents:
Introduction     xiv Who Should Read This Book?      xv What Should You Expect from This Book?      xvi HOUR 1: Introducing the Swift Development Environment     1 What Is Swift?      1 Getting Started     2 Summary     10 Q&A     11 Workshop     11 Exercise     12 HOUR 2: Learning Swift’s Fundamental Data Types     13 Constants in Swift     13 Variables in Swift     14 Introducing Data Types     15 Summary     23 Q&A     24 Workshop     24 Exercise     25 HOUR 3: Using Operators in Swift     27 Unary Operators     27 Binary Operators     29 Ternary Conditional Operators     35 Summary     36 Q&A      36 Workshop     37 Exercise     37 HOUR 4: Working with Collection Types     39 Arrays     39 Dictionaries     47 Sets     51 Tuples     55 Summary     56 Q&A     56 Workshop     57 Exercise     57 HOUR 5: Controlling Program Flow with Conditionals     59 The if Statement     59 The switch Statement      64 Summary     73 Q&A     74 Workshop     74 Exercise     75 HOUR 6: Understanding Optional Values     77 What Are Optional Values?      77 How to Designate a Variable as Optional     78 Wrapping and Unwrapping Optional Variables     79 Use Case for Optionals     85 Summary     87 Q&A     87 Workshop     87 Exercise     88 HOUR 7: Iterating Code with Loops     89 Two Categories of Loops     89 Transferring Control in Loops     102 Summary     104 Q&A     104 Workshop     104 Exercise     106 HOUR 8: Using Functions to Perform Actions     107 The Nature of Functions in Swift      108 General Function Syntax and Structure     108 Functions with No Parameters and No Return Type     110 The Type of a Function     110 Functions with Parameters     111 Functions with Variadic Parameters     113 Functions with Return Types     114 External Parameter Names     118 Default Parameter Values     120 Change Argument Values with In-Out Parameters     120 Exiting Early     121 Deferring Execution     122 Summary     123 Q&A     124 Workshop     124 Exercise     125 HOUR 9: Understanding Higher Order Functions and Closures     127 Higher Order Functions     127 Closures     134 Summary     143 Q&A     144 Workshop     144 Exercise     145 HOUR 10: Learning About Structs and Classes     147 Overview of Structs and Classes in Swift     147 What Swift Structs and Classes Have in Common     149 Differences Between Structs and Classes     157 When to Use a Class or a Struct     160 Summary     161 Q&A     161 Workshop     162 Exercise     163 HOUR 11: Implementing Class Inheritance     165 What Is Inheritance?      165 Identifying a Base Class     166 Creating a Subclass     167 Overriding Inherited Methods     169 Accessing super     172 Preventing Overrides     174 Class Identity     176 When to Use Class Inheritance     177 Summary     178 Q&A     179 Workshop     179 Exercise     181 HOUR 12: Harnessing the Power of Enums     183 Understanding Swift Enums     183 Swift Enum Structure     184 Raw Values     185 Enum Shorthand Syntax     187 Associated Values     189 Switching Enum Values     190 Adding Instance Methods to Enums     192 Summary     195 Q&A     195 Workshop     196 Exercise     197 HOUR 13: Customizing Initializers of Classes, Structs, and Enums     199 Initialization     199 Initializing Value Types     201 Advanced Initialization     209 Summary     217 Q&A     218 Workshop     218 Exercise     219 HOUR 14: Digging Deeper with Properties     221 Stored Properties     221 Computed Properties     224 Property Accessors     225 Property Observers     228 Inheriting and Overriding Accessors     231 Inheriting and Overriding Observers     233 Summary     236 Q&A     236 Workshop     237 Exercise     237 HOUR 15: Adding Advanced Type Functionality     239 Type Properties and Methods     239 Type Aliasing     246 Type Access Control     247 Subscripts     249 Type Casting and Non-Specific Types     253 Summary     257 Q&A     258 Workshop     258 Exercise     259 HOUR 16: Understanding Memory Allocation and References     261 Deinitialization     261 Automatic Reference Counting     265 Summary     275 Q&A     276 Workshop     277 Exercise     277 HOUR 17: Using Protocols to Define Behavior     279 Defining Protocols     279 Creating and Adopting Protocols     280 Properties     281 Defining Methods in Protocols     282 Using Protocol Names as Types     284 Adopting and Inheriting Multiple Protocols     285 Optional Protocol Properties and Methods     290 How to Check for Protocol Conformance     291 Using Protocols for Delegation     292 Summary     297 Q&A     298 Workshop     298 Exercise     299 HOUR 18: Using Extensions to Add Type Functionality     301 Defining Extensions     301 Adding Functionality with Extensions     303 Summary     313 Q&A     313 Workshop     313 Exercise     314 HOUR 19: Working with Optional Chaining     315 Defining Optional Chaining     315 Chaining Optional Properties     316 Subscripts     318 Methods     322 Summary     324 Q&A     325 Workshop     325 Exercise     326 HOUR 20: Introducing Generics     327 An Introduction to Generics     327 Type Parameters and Placeholder Types     328 Specifying Type Constraints     329 Creating Generic Types     333 Extending Generic Types     336 Using Associated Types in Protocols     337 Summary     339 Q&A     340 Workshop     340 Exercise     341 HOUR 21: Understanding Protocol-Oriented Programming     343 A Quick Recap of Protocols     343 Implementing Protocols     344 Introducing Protocol Extensions     344 Creating Protocol Extensions     346 What Is and Isn’t Customizable     349 Type Constraints in Protocol Extensions     352 Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Collections     353 Converting Protocol Sequences     355 Summary     357 Q&A     357 Workshop     358 Exercise     359 HOUR 22: Handling Errors     361 Error Handling     361 Swift Error Handling     363 Summary     374 Q&A     375 Workshop     376 Exercise     376 HOUR 23: Adding Interoperability with Objective-C     377 Objective-C Basics     377 Bridging     384 Integrating Swift into an Objective-C App     387 Summary     399 Q&A     399 Workshop     400 Exercise     400 HOUR 24: Functional Thinking in Swift     403 What Is Functional Programming?      403 Thinking in Terms of Functions     404 Summary     418 Q&A     419 Workshop     419 Exercise     420 Index     421