What You Should Know Now — and What's Next

What You Should Know Now

• Core syntax: constants and variables, type inference, strings, numbers, conditionals, switch, loops, and ranges
• Optionals and every way to unwrap them safely
• Arrays, dictionaries, sets, tuples, functions, closures, and map/filter/reduce
• Structs, classes, enums with associated values, and when to use each
• Protocols, extensions, generics, and access control
• Error handling with throws, do/catch, and try?
• Codable and JSON, networking with URLSession, files, and Swift Package Manager
• Testing with Swift Testing and XCTest, and debugging with LLDB
• ARC and reference cycles, protocol-oriented design, some and any
• async/await, structured concurrency, actors, and Swift 6 data-race safety
• SwiftUI fundamentals and state management, app architecture, performance, security, and shipping to the App Store

What Should You Learn Next?

• Apple platform frameworks — SwiftData or Core Data for storage, MapKit, Core Location, notifications, widgets, and the frameworks for the app you actually want to build.
• Design — Apple's Human Interface Guidelines, accessibility, and animation, which make the difference between a working app and a good one.
• Server-side Swift — Vapor or Hummingbird for APIs, sharing model code with your apps.
• A related language — Kotlin for Android, which shares many of Swift's ideas (optionals, data classes, extension functions); or Rust for systems programming with a similar focus on safety.
• Backend fundamentals — SQL, HTTP APIs, and authentication, so you can build the services your apps talk to.

Build Something

Pick a small app you would genuinely use — a habit tracker, a recipe box, a workout log — and ship it to TestFlight, even if only you and a few friends install it. Finishing and shipping one small app teaches more than starting five big ones.