Fall 2020 Course Descriptions
COMP 150-05 Intro to Mobile App Dev with iOS & Swift
This course introduces the basics of contemporary mobile application development using Apple's iOS platform. The main requirement of the course is to build a functioning application in iOS. The course is divided into six modules, each of which covers a different aspect of development which is used in a final project. Module 1 begins with the major features of the Swift programming language and its standard library, along with use of the Xcode IDE for Swift development. Basic language features are covered lightly so that extensive discussion may be focused on differentiating features of the language including closures, optionals, the Swift type system (tuple/enum/struct/class/func), and generics. Module 2 focuses on elements of Functional Reactive Programming with Appleās Combine library. Module 3 deals with correct application architecture, using a uni-directional dataflow model. Module 4 covers drawing, touch handling, layout and programming for devices of various sizes and aspect ratios, making extensive use of Apple's SwiftUI technology. Module 5 takes the student through a full animation cycle showing which elements of the UI can be smoothly animated and how. Module 6 finishes instruction with a discussion of navigation, tabular data presentation, and application state management. Frequent small assignments progress from basic programming to realistic app development with a focus on responsive device graphics and algorithms. Code design and architecture are emphasized. The course culminates in a final project which integrates all topics discussed into a single coherent whole.