You're reading from Apple Watch App Development Build real-world applications for the Apple Watch platform using the WatchKit framework and Swift 2.0

Product type Paperback

Published in Apr 2016

Publisher

ISBN-13 9781785886362

Length 358 pages

Edition 1st Edition

Languages

Swift

Tools

WatchKit

Concepts

Wearable Tech

Author (1):

Steven F. Daniel

View More author details

Table of Contents (13) Chapters

Preface

1. Introducing the Swift Programming Language

2. Understanding Apple Watch FREE CHAPTER

3. Exploring WatchKit Controls

4. Using the Core Location and Watch Connectivity Frameworks

5. Navigating Around in WatchKit

6. Implementing Tables within Your App

7. Adding Menus to Your App

8. Incorporating the Glance Interface in Your App

9. Incorporating Notifications within Your App

10. Image Compression and Animation

11. Packaging and Deploying Your App

Index

Getting and installing Xcode development tools

In this section, we will take a look at what Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) and Software Development Kits (SDKs) are needed to develop applications for the iOS platform, which is Apple's operating system for mobile devices. We will explain the importance of each tool's role in the development cycle and the tools required to develop applications for the iOS platform, which are as follows:

An Intel-based Mac computer running OS X Yosemite (10.10.2) or later with the latest point release and security patches installed is required. This is so that you can install the latest version of the Xcode development tool.

Xcode 6.4 or later is required. Xcode is the main development tool for iOS. You need Xcode 6.4 minimum as this version includes Swift 1.2, and you must be registered as an Apple developer. The iOS SDK consists of the following components:

Component	Description
Xcode	This is the main IDE that enables you to develop, edit, and debug your native applications for the iOS and Mac platforms using the Objective-C or Swift programming languages.
iOS Simulator	This is a Cocoa-based application that enables you to debug your iOS applications on your computer without the need of having an iOS device. There are many iOS features that simply won't work within Simulator, so a device is required if an application uses features such as the Core Location and MapKit frameworks.
Instruments	These are the analysis tools that help you optimize your applications and monitor memory leaks during the execution of your application in real time.
Dashcode	This enables you to develop web-based iOS applications and dashboard widgets.

Once you are registered, you will need to download and install Xcode developer tools by performing the following steps:

Begin by downloading and installing Xcode from Mac App Store at https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/xcode/id497799835?mt=12.
Select either the Free or Install button on the App Store page. Once it completes the installation process, you will be able to launch Xcode.app from your Applications folder.
Note
You can find additional development tools from the Apple developer website at https://developer.apple.com/.

In the next section, we will be looking at what, exactly, Xcode playgrounds are and how you can use them to experiment with designing code algorithms prior to incorporating the code into your project. So, let's get started.