How to Become an iOS Developer as a Professional

Thinking of technologies that have shaped the face of the world in a certain way, iOS technology is the one that comes first to our mind. 

The leader in mobile phone technology, Apple introduced the world to iOS technology with its very own devices such as the iPhone, iPad, and so on. The iOS technology, further expanding to app development, has explained the meaning and benefits of custom iPhone application development to stand out from the rest. 

We cannot deny the fact that the iOS technology at this moment has a significant impact on the world. 

All of this has contributed to a surge in the demand of iOS developers. 

It is high time to better yourself at iOS development for more opportunities and widen the range of possibilities.

Learning and making your way by adapting a few points can help you become a pro at iOS development. 

But, what are these areas to be good at to become an iOS developer as a professional? How long to become iOS developer?

Let's take a look!

How to Become an iOS Developer as a Professional

1.  Learning Xcode and Swift

Believe it or not, but Xcode is the most popular and broadly used IDE (Integrated Development Environment) along with Swift, which is the widely-used programming language for iOS app development. 

Both Xcode and Swift are quite efficient to pick up and work with once you have established a basic understanding of them. 

They certainly offer you a deep ocean of multiple features to wield.

Once you become proficient at using both, you can do wonders with them. 

2.  Developing User Interfaces

Knowing how to build an app properly is what makes you an able developer. This implies that you have to have an idea about putting a decent UI (User Interface) to be a good iOS developer.

There are many ways of creating the UI of your app. 

You can either use interface builder and storyboards or can try to do it programmatically. You can adopt SwiftUI, too, for a declarative UI.

It is best to know to build UI using storyboards or programmatically because you may never know what becomes the need of the hour. Learn both to increase your chances of opportunities to be a good iOS developer. 

Being efficient with SwiftUI, too, is essential, because it is what Apple is expected to follow in the future. 

It would be best in your interest if you adopt the trend. 

3.  Combining Design Assets

While getting your iOS application developed, you will have to pay attention to the graphic assets to integrate them into the app.

Suppose you are working with an iOS app development agency without being aware of which design elements require the use of a graphic asset or styling programmatically with Swift code. This can hamper your image as a developer and turn out as a hurdle in turning into a professional. 

You have to have a knowledge of styling standard UI Kit elements or building custom controls whenever required. 

4.  Working with APIs

The goal of becoming a pro at iOS development is unfulfilled if you don't know about JSON (JavaScript Object Notation). It is the most popular data format in case of working with third-party APIs and data feeds.

Apple networking classes like URLSession and common networking libraries such as Alamofire should be familiar to you for efficient iOS development. 

5.  Grand Central Dispatch

Being an iOS developer, having an idea of the difference between the main thread and a background thread is fine; but what you may not know about is the GCD (Grand Central Dispatch). 

Understanding GCD is highly significant to establish your expertise as an iOS developer.

6.  Operating With Databases

With so many options for databases out there, it is difficult to identify which one to choose and how to use it. 

Go through some standard database options for iOS app development to brush up your skills and have a better idea. 

The list of some popular ones includes MongoDB, Firebase, and Realm.

7.  Integration With Third-Party Libraries

Integrating with third-party libraries tends to open doors to many other possibilities. 

Using them speeds up the development process to a great extent. 

The time-tested ones that have been updated and maintained can prove to be quite beneficial. 

You must also know how to integrate SDKs (Software Development Kits) along with the libraries into your Xcode project by making use of either Cocoapods or the Swift Package Manager.

8.  Importance of Unit Testing

As soon as you realize how vital unit testing is, the better it would be for your growth and journey to be a skilled iOS developer. 

With various developers presenting code on top of each other in the project, there are chances to break some functionality. Discovering this broken functionality later can result in severe potential damage. 

Therefore, developing a test suite to verify the app's functionality can save you from such damage. 

You should know how to write a test case to turn into a professional iOS developer. 

9.  Design Patterns

Design patterns can be considered as software development practices, and they are the programming language agnostic.

No matter what language you use, they would demonstrate the usefulness.

Work on iOS design patterns to get clarity in adopting best practices while writing the code.

10.  Team Tools

Either you are working as a freelance developer or in a company, the team spirit is very crucial. There are tools that teams use and you must know about them to gel up in the team's working environment. 

Make sure to know your git commands with GitHub and BitBucket, too, as skills. 

Lint tools such as Swift Lint, if the team uses, must also be known to you to adjust with the team's coding style. 

The Bottom Line

With the times changing so fast, your plan to move towards becoming a skilled iOS developer, not just benefits at the end of your own personal and intellectual growth but also profits the iOS app development industry. 

You just have to enhance your skills to fulfill the need for a custom iPhone application development of your client in a productive manner. 

As you start rightly with basics and keep going, the experience would certainly turn you into a pro!