This is the day we have all been waiting for. After over two weeks of going through individual concepts of the Swift programming language and countless times through the associated quizzes to make sure we understand what was being taught, it is now time to do what was once unthinkable, we are about to create a project in Xcode and start our journey to building an iOS App.
For many, this this the beginning of a journey that in a lot of ways seemed impossible. Most iPhone or iPad users are what I refer to as “consumers”. They have an idea of what they would like to do on their device and live by the assumption of, “there’s an app for that”. This means that once they have the idea, they immediately go to the Apple App Store and begin searching through thousands of apps looking for one that will meet their needs.
Given the maturity of the App Store there is a good likelihood that they will find an app there that fits some criteria they were searching on. It may not be exactly what they were looking for but it’s something, so they download the app and begin using it. Along the way they may find things that don’t work how they would like or worst-case scenario, the app is not being properly maintained by the developer and the app crashes as a result of new operating systems, new versions of Swift that deprecated calls they were making, or it was just poorly written. No matter what the reasoning, the consumer will become frustrated, delete the app, and either search for an alternative or give up and wait some period of time hoping something new enters the app store that meets their needs.
The vast majority of iOS users will fall into the category of consumers; and there is nothing wrong with that. We all started in that mode and many are content to remain there. But there is a subset of those iOS users who would be categorized as “creators”. Creators may begin the same way as “consumers” and search for an app in the App Store but once there they begin to think differently. They are less concerned about what is in the App Store and more interested in what isn’t there.
These are the people who have ideas and act upon them to develop something either they themselves are interested in or they have identified a potential “consumer” group whose needs have gone unfulfilled. These “creators” will then attempt to provide a solution by building an app based upon the need.
While many may wish they were “creators”, the idea of developing apps or even understanding the steps necessary to create an app is as foreign as the thoughts of taking long walks on the sands of Martian soil watching the sunset.
The price of admission to becoming a “creator” always seems beyond their grasp. Whether it is a lack of knowledge, proper skill set, limited time, or some other barrier they are stopped in many cases before they even begin.
But for those brave souls who stand at the trail head and look at the mountain before them, they throw caution to the wind and take that first step towards becoming a “creator”. The 100 Days of Swift challenge is that trail. Paul Hudson has brought us to this point. We now have a somewhat limited understanding of what equipment and skills are necessary for us to climb this mountain. Most will still have a twinge of self-doubt and wonder whether mountain climbing was really something we signed up for. But like most journeys to a summit, the terrain begins relatively flat and becomes more vertical and difficult as we move along.
The key is continuously putting one foot in front of the other moving forward regardless of how slow or deliberate the pace. Moving forward will get us to the goal as long as we don’t give up. The other thing to remember is that this is not a solo journey. There is a very important reason why part of the 100 Days of Swift challenge requires us to post our progress.
There are more skilled mountain climbers all along the trail. There are also novices who may be struggling like we are but together we can overcome a trail impediment and help each other reach the summit.
And it all begins today. The time is now to cinch up our hiking boots, re-check our backpacks and take one last look at the valley around us. The journey starts today and together we will be able to accomplish anything no matter how difficult.
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