Apple just rolled out Xcode 7.3 Beta 3 and in it, coders will find visible improvements to Playgrounds, the Swift testing environment.
This means that developers are now able to click, drag and interact with user interfaces, thus testing how the code behaves in a reality-like testing environment.
For non-coders out there, Swift is the programming language that Apple uses to bring iOS, watchOS and OS X to your devices. At the end of last year, executives from Apple decided to unshackle Swift and turn it into open source.
Playground is an interactive coding environment for Swift. What Playground does is that it allows coders to quickly see what their work looks like in a life-like simulation. Due to the interactive environment, developers don't have to create a full-scale project to verify certain aspects of their code.
Before the latest Xcode, developers had restrictions when it came to toying around with the final product.
With the help of UIKit Dynamics, developers are now able to perfect and modify their software directly from the UI that is featured in Playgrounds with Xcode 7.3 Beta 3. This should save a lot of time for developers who will swiftly prototype and construct apps using the Swift language.
Should you be curious about the new Playgrounds feature, visit the Apple Developers portal. There you can also take a look at the NewtownsCradle.playground file which aptly demonstrates the new function.
Download the newest Xcode 7.3 beta 3 from the official page.
Apple surprised everyone when it revealed that it waas turning Swift into an open source project. The shock was understandable, as Apple is a company that made a staple out of refusing to share its proprietary software.
The company's VP for software, Craig Federighi, told the media why Apple took this decision.
"In terms of where we hope the open source project will take Swift, it comes back to the original goals of making Swift the language you learn to program in from the outset," Federighi declared for The Next Web.
Apple's leader went as far as to say that Swift is "the next major programming language." Swift has many qualities, such as its speed, security and soft learning curve.
While this is only the first step of Apple's commitment to sharing digital knowledge, the future is open.
