Swift or Obj-C for Mac OS X/macOS app?

App Development
1

I’m looking at developing a Mac OS X/macOS (10.11 or later) database application that’ll pull/edit data from a MySQL server (that I will also need to setup and parse data using phpWebServices). My programming limitations are that of HTML/CSS/some Java so this is new to me but I’ve got to start somewhere. My question is would it be best to learn to program at the beginning in Objective-C, or Swift (with some C code thrown in for areas Swift doesn’t cover)?

Swift seems good on the surface, but from what I can find online it’s more geared for watchOS, iOS, etc. Does anyone actually make real Mac apps/programs with Swift, or are most programmers still using Objective-C in XCode? I do not know if I could get backwards compatibility with my app to run in Mac OS X 10.11. That’s the minimum OS X I’m shooting for, and I don’t see any reason why it couldn’t run or be programmed with newer code and then a few non-essential functions disabled for older system versions? Also, is there is a spreadsheet or resource somewhere that shows what Swift commands, variables, etc. are depreciated as one goes back in macOS version (this one command works on 10.15, but doesn’t work in 10.13, etc.)? What about conversion charts between Objective-C and Swift?

In the future, once the program is running as it should, I’ll integrate watchOS and iOS notifications for various true/false sections of a few MySQL tables and pass those notifications once set. I realize some of the mobileOS features may not function if the program is running on an older system, and that’s why it would be handy to have a resource as to what was done years ago to 1) get the same function in newer version Swift code, or 2) disable that section of code. I’ll be taking on a fire hose of information to figure this out and I’ll do my best to search the Apple dev forums, stackoverflow and other sites before I post questions, but as each situation is unique I’m sure I’ll get stuck somewhere.

2

The first question I would ask is have you written any code using Xcode yet?

If your answer is none, then you have a fairly steep learning curve ahead of you and as the old saying goes, “you have to learn to crawl before you can walk”.

If you are starting out developing using Xcode you would be using using Swift or perhaps even SwiftUI which will soon have some major enhancements as a result of the upcoming WWDC20. I doubt anyone would suggest you consider Objective-C these days.

All of the Apple frameworks that are available in the Xcode environment should enable you to create whatever iOS, macOS, iPad or WatchOS App you can think of.

You would be wise to consider taking on a few courses to get yourself familiar with Xcode and the Development environment it facilitates.

Good luck.

3

Aside from small examples, no. I’ve been thinking about this for years, sketched out goals, functions and UI on paper, and in the past few months I’ve started a big push to learn as I don’t see anything out there that does what I need it to do. So I’ve got to start somewhere. I don’t doubt I have a steep learning curve, but that’s why I want to be as efficient as possible with my time and learn the “right” programming language for my situation, which is basically a heavy MySQL-driven app. Security measures will also need to be in place such as client-server certificates and authentication (my thoughts - enter code provided by server app on client computer that’ll allow client MAC and machine ID to be registered with server to help prevent unauth access) so yes I have a lot to learn and it won’t take 6 months, my guess is 12-24 months heavy development once I even learn everything I need (which will take a few years my guess). Woohoo for me. Software changes so fast I’m hesitant to pick up any books, so yes, online/live courses would be best as they usually are pretty up-to-date.

4

I’d agree with @Chris_Parker go with Swift