7 Questions on “Swift” with Iurie Gutu, Senior Mobile Developer
30 January 202414 July 2023 | People
Last month, our colleague Iurie Guțu, Senior Mobile Developer and Engineering Manager, was one of the speakers at The Developers Conference in Cluj-Napoca. We wanted to question him a little about his experience as a speaker at this event and find out more about his presentation. And maybe also get some insights on delivering custom iOS applications at Fortech, the latest trends and challenges in the mobile development industry.
Iurie is a technology geek and a developer with over 13 years of experience. He is currently using his knowledge as a Mobile Developer inside Fortech to grow the internal mobile community, not only on native iOS and Android but also through several cross-platform solutions. All this, while trying to build a strong, high-performance team as an Engineering Manager.
He finds motivation in helping developers to grow, in helping them understand concepts more easily and see their progress. This was also the main topic of his presentation at The Developers Conference, an event that gathered almost 300 tech enthusiasts. Keep reading to discover more about Iurie’s journey and gain valuable advice for tech-savvy developers.
1. Tell us a bit about your talk at The Developers, Iurie. What was it about and how did it go?
Since it wasn’t a conference dedicated specifically to mobile app development experts, I tried to find common ground from what I do day-to-day and share bits of information with the participants. Therefore, my talk was based on a more general topic so it could fit all levels of interest. To use a word play from my introduction, I took them on a “Swift” Journey 😊
I must say it was probably one of my nicest experiences as a speaker until now, and the atmosphere itself was what you would expect from a developers-to-developers conference, with all kinds of deep tech discussions.
2. If you were able to share just an idea from your presentation, what would be the most valuable information?
If I had to extract just one main idea, it would be that code should be adapted to specific needs. When it comes to writing code, one size does not fit all. Different projects have different requirements, constraints, and objectives. Therefore, code should be adapted to specific needs to ensure that it works efficiently, effectively, and reliably.
Also, you should consider the context in which it will be used and the users who will interact with it. By customizing code to meet specific needs, developers can create software that is crafted to the unique requirements of each project, providing the expected outcomes and user experiences.
Iurie’s presentation on Main Stage at The Developers Conference.
3. What do you want people to take away from your talk?
Well, if I had to choose one important thing to remember, it would be that coding is actually fun. When you look at it from a different point of view, you discover new and surprising ideas. Take these ideas and adapt them to fit your team’s needs, and you’ll get the best results for them. By customizing the coding process to match your team and consistently getting great outcomes, you’ll feel rewarded every day. That’s why I always look forward to starting each morning.
4. Can you tell us what is, in your opinion, the biggest Swift advantage?
I think it would be that it’s a relatively new language, with little history behind it, and its modern features that makes programming in Swift quite easy.
Being considered one of the fastest-growing languages in history provides the developer with an opportunity to take charge and prioritize the language’s future development instead of spending time searching for the right tools for specific tasks.
5. What new iOS features offer great advancements for the functionality and design of mobile app programming?
Although I am big fan of SwiftUI, even though iOS was not the first to pivot in this direction, credit should be given to them for being one of the frontrunners in this area. Swift UI is a declarative UI that reinvents the way of designing screens.
A “Swift” Journey presentation at The Developers.
6. How do you see Xcode (Swift) evolving over the next years?
What I noticed to be a trend these past few years and what I hope to continue is that the barrier to entry for new iOS developers has been lower and lower. In old times, Objective-C times, you needed pretty high skills to craft a good code for iOS apps. Now, in Apple fashion, it “automagically” works.
This is a big deal because it allows developers to skip the time-consuming process of software distribution, which I consider a significant advancement.
7. Iurie, what are you working on right now? Can you give us some insights?
At this moment, I’m part of an exciting series of projects related to Future Mobility. My role is to drive new features that bring immediate value to users – like watch companion apps. for iOS and Android. Also, I act as an enabler for team members to do the same – bringing new ideas to the table, moving them along the pipeline to search for support within the organization, and preparing the technical groundwork for it to become a reality.
What advice do you have for someone who wants to learn more about working in “Swift”?
It’s important to master the basics and learn the fundamentals of the Swift language as you’d do for whatever you want to start learning. Find some online learning resources that can help you achieve that. There are plenty, but here’s one you can find useful to start with: Beginning iOS 16 Programming with Swift Book. After that, you can gradually build up your knowledge and take your Swift skills to the next level by starting to apply them and build apps, as a hands-on exercise. Learn how it works and then make it work.
Swift is not only future-facing and an improvement on Objective-C in terms of iOS Development, but also more beginner-friendly than other programming languages for Mobile App Development. So, you surely will find lots of tutorials, courses, and articles online.
