SwiftUI Masterclass: Building a Complete App

Unlock the full potential of SwiftUI with our Masterclass. Dive into iOS development, navigation, data management, and user interactions.

Himanshu Pant

Published: December 18, 2023

Key takeaways

SwiftUI for UI Development: SwiftUI is SwiftUI is a modern approach to create user interfaces of modern iOS applications with a layered, declarative approach. Navigation and data management help simplify the process of creating applications.
Core Data Integration: With Core Data, you are able to store and manipulate data in your app effectively This is done by integrating Core Data in your app. They improve the functionality of large-scale data storage and retrieval as it fastens the task processing or accomplishing.
Navigation and User Interaction: Meaningful navigation between the views and the user interactions such as adding or deleting a task feel very natural. Such setup shows that various components of SwiftUI can be integrated to develop a working tool for managing tasks.

Introduction

SwiftUI has revolutionized the way developers create user interfaces for iOS apps, offering a declarative and intuitive approach. In this masterclass, we will embark on a journey to build a feature-rich iOS app using SwiftUI. From navigation to data management and user interactions, this comprehensive guide will walk you through each step, accompanied by code examples and images.

Prerequisites

Before we dive into the masterclass, make sure you have the following:

Xcode: Install the latest version of Xcode from the App Store.
SwiftUI Basics: Familiarize yourself with the basics of SwiftUI. If you’re new to SwiftUI, Apple’s official SwiftUI documentation is an excellent resource.

What is swift?

Swift is a programming language developed by Apple Inc. for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and Linux. Swift programming language was introduced in 2014 as a replacement for Objective-C, which had been the primary programming language for Apple’s platforms.

Setting Up the Project

Let’s start by creating a new SwiftUI project in Xcode. Open Xcode and choose “Create a new Xcode project.” Select the “iOS” tab and choose the “App” template. Set the interface to “SwiftUI” and click “Next.” Name your project and choose a location to save it. Finally, click “Create.”

Building the UI

Our app will be a task management tool with a list of tasks and the ability to add new tasks. Open the ContentView.swift file and replace the existing code with the following:

import SwiftUI

struct ContentView: View {
    @State private var tasks = ["Task 1", "Task 2", "Task 3"]
    @State private var newTask = ""

    var body: some View {
        NavigationView {
            List {
                ForEach(tasks, id: \.self) { task in
                    Text(task)
                }
                .onDelete(perform: deleteTask)
            }
            .navigationTitle("Task Manager")
            .navigationBarItems(trailing: addButton)
        }
    }

    var addButton: some View {
        Button(action: {
            // Add a new task
            tasks.append(newTask)
            newTask = ""
        }) {
            Image(systemName: "plus")
        }
        .disabled(newTask.isEmpty)
    }

    func deleteTask(at offsets: IndexSet) {
        tasks.remove(atOffsets: offsets)
    }
}

struct ContentView_Previews: PreviewProvider {
    static var previews: some View {
        ContentView()
    }
}

import SwiftUI

struct ContentView: View {

@State private var tasks = ["Task 1", "Task 2", "Task 3"]

@State private var newTask = ""

var body: some View {

NavigationView {

List {

ForEach(tasks, id: \.self) { task in

Text(task)

}

.onDelete(perform: deleteTask)

}

.navigationTitle("Task Manager")

.navigationBarItems(trailing: addButton)

}

var addButton: some View {

Button(action: {

// Add a new task

tasks.append(newTask)

newTask = ""

}) {

Image(systemName: "plus")

}

.disabled(newTask.isEmpty)

}

func deleteTask(at offsets: IndexSet) {

tasks.remove(atOffsets: offsets)

}

struct ContentView_Previews: PreviewProvider {

static var previews: some View {

ContentView()

}

This code sets up a simple task list with the ability to add new tasks. The List displays existing tasks, and the NavigationBar allows you to add new tasks.

Adding Navigation

Now, let’s add navigation to a detailed view for each task. Create a new SwiftUI file named TaskDetailView.swift and add the following code:

import SwiftUI

struct TaskDetailView: View {
    var task: String

    var body: some View {
        Text(task)
            .navigationTitle("Task Detail")
    }
}

struct TaskDetailView_Previews: PreviewProvider {
    static var previews: some View {
        TaskDetailView(task: "Sample Task")
    }
}

import SwiftUI

struct TaskDetailView: View {

var task: String

var body: some View {

Text(task)

.navigationTitle("Task Detail")

}

struct TaskDetailView_Previews: PreviewProvider {

static var previews: some View {

TaskDetailView(task: "Sample Task")

}

Next, modify the ContentView.swift file to include navigation to the detail view. Update the ForEach block in the List:

ForEach(tasks, id: \.self) { task in
    NavigationLink(destination: TaskDetailView(task: task)) {
        Text(task)
    }
    .onDelete(perform: deleteTask)
}

ForEach(tasks, id: \.self) { task in

NavigationLink(destination: TaskDetailView(task: task)) {

Text(task)

}

.onDelete(perform: deleteTask)

}

Now, when you tap on a task, it will navigate to the detail view.

Enhancing Data Management

To make our app more robust, let’s add the ability to persist tasks using Core Data. Create a new SwiftUI file named Task+CoreDataProperties.swift with the following code:

import CoreData

extension Task {
    @nonobjc public class func fetchRequest() -> NSFetchRequest<Task> {
        return NSFetchRequest<Task>(entityName: "Task")
    }

    @NSManaged public var title: String?
}

import CoreData

extension Task {

@nonobjc public class func fetchRequest() -> NSFetchRequest<Task> {

return NSFetchRequest<Task>(entityName: "Task")

}

@NSManaged public var title: String?

}

Update the TaskDetailView.swift file to use Core Data:

import SwiftUI
import CoreData

struct TaskDetailView: View {
    @Environment(\.managedObjectContext) private var viewContext

    var task: Task

    var body: some View {
        Text(task.title ?? "No title")
            .navigationTitle("Task Detail")
    }
}

import SwiftUI

import CoreData

struct TaskDetailView: View {

@Environment(\.managedObjectContext) private var viewContext

var task: Task

var body: some View {

Text(task.title ?? "No title")

.navigationTitle("Task Detail")

}

Now, let’s modify the ContentView.swift file to fetch and display tasks from Core Data:

import SwiftUI
import CoreData

struct ContentView: View {
    @Environment(\.managedObjectContext) private var viewContext
    @FetchRequest(entity: Task.entity(), sortDescriptors: []) var tasks: FetchedResults<Task>
    @State private var newTask = ""

    var body: some View {
        NavigationView {
            List {
                ForEach(tasks, id: \.self) { task in
                    NavigationLink(destination: TaskDetailView(task: task)) {
                        Text(task.title ?? "No title")
                    }
                }
                .onDelete(perform: deleteTask)
            }
            .navigationTitle("Task Manager")
            .navigationBarItems(trailing: addButton)
        }
    }

    // ... (rest of the code remains the same)
}

import SwiftUI

import CoreData

struct ContentView: View {

@Environment(\.managedObjectContext) private var viewContext

@FetchRequest(entity: Task.entity(), sortDescriptors: []) var tasks: FetchedResults<Task>

@State private var newTask = ""

var body: some View {

NavigationView {

List {

ForEach(tasks, id: \.self) { task in

NavigationLink(destination: TaskDetailView(task: task)) {

Text(task.title ?? "No title")

}

.onDelete(perform: deleteTask)

}

.navigationTitle("Task Manager")

.navigationBarItems(trailing: addButton)

}

// ... (rest of the code remains the same)

}

With these changes, our app now uses Core Data to store and fetch tasks.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve completed the SwiftUI Masterclass, building a complete iOS app with features like navigation, data management, and user interactions. SwiftUI’s declarative syntax and integration with Core Data make it a powerful tool for iOS development. Continue exploring SwiftUI and incorporating more advanced features to take your app development skills to the next level.

Feel free to experiment with additional SwiftUI components and features to enhance the functionality and user experience of your app.

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Introduction
Prerequisites
What is swift?
Setting Up the Project
Building the UI
Adding Navigation
Enhancing Data Management
Conclusion

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