1. Best Free Mac Apps

Just bust out your iPad andopen the Apple Store app to purchase a Mac. That’s right, Apple’s actual real-code-writing program, Xcode, is only available for Mac. It’s free, you just.

Swift Playgrounds is a revolutionary app for iPad and Mac that helps you learn and explore coding in Swift, the same powerful language used to create world-class apps for the App Store. Engaging lessons and challenges help students learn the core concepts of coding by writing real Swift code in an interactive environment.

Learn and Explore

In Swift Playgrounds, a single line of code can make amazing things happen. You’ll create small programs called “playgrounds” that instantly show the results of the code that you write. Interactive lessons teach key coding concepts, and additional challenges and starting points encourage you to explore code in exciting new ways to build unique creations. And third parties publish playgrounds you can use to control robots, drones, and other hardware accessories with Bluetooth. It’s easy to share your creations with friends, or record and post videos of your playgrounds in action.

Coding Concepts

Swift Playgrounds includes interactive lessons that use puzzles and experimentation to teach the following core coding concepts, and more:

• Commands
• Functions
• Parameters
• Loops
• Conditional statements
• Variables
• Operators
• Types
• Initialization

Real Swift. Real Frameworks.

The Swift programming language was designed to be approachable enough to be your very first programming language. Swift is also incredibly powerful, used by professional developers to create over half a million apps on the App Store. Using Swift Playgrounds, you’ll be coding within minutes. Even as you become more proficient, you’ll never outgrow Swift.

Swift Playgrounds gives you access to key frameworks, such as UIKit, SpriteKit, Bluetooth, and Metal. Your code can directly interact with the iPad or Mac on which it runs. For instance, on iPad your playgrounds respond to touch gestures and interact with hardware, such as the accelerometer, gyroscope, and camera.

Experiment with Code

Sometimes the best way to learn is to explore on your own, and Swift Playgrounds is a great place to let your imagination run wild. In addition to the guided Learn to Code lessons, Swift Playgrounds includes many challenges, with new ones on the horizon, so you can keep coming back to try something new. Some challenges encourage you to play with code to create interesting effects, while others include engrossing puzzles that require all of your coding skills to solve.

Additional starting points included in Swift Playgrounds help you create playgrounds from scratch. With access to thousands of APIs in the iOS and macOS SDKs, you can create amazing playgrounds that explore the web, generate 3D worlds, experiment with physics, and much more.

Many playgrounds let you edit multiple Swift source files and add your own to the included modules to create infinitely powerful programs. Most playground files can be edited, extended, remixed, or completely reinvented. Collaborate with friends or reimagine them on your own.

Built for Touch

Swift Playgrounds for iPad was designed from the ground up for touch, so you can create entire programs with only a few taps on the screen. Unique coding features include:

• QuickType for code. The Shortcut Bar intelligently presents the most likely next commands or values based on context. It’s easy to write entire lines of code without touching a keyboard.
• Coding keyboard. When the time comes for typing, enter numbers and symbols commonly used in Swift coding by dragging your finger across a key to select one of the alternate symbols.
• Touch to edit. Tap a color value to display a color picker or tap an image value to choose a photo from your library. You can even restructure your code by simply dragging a brace to wrap around the surrounding code.

Swift Playgrounds helps you write correct code by identifying mistakes as you type and offering suggestions to help correct the errors.

Powerful on Mac

Swift Playgrounds for Mac adds features that take advantage of the wide screen on Mac, and includes an always-available keyboard. Unique coding features for Mac include:

• Code suggestions with help. Code suggestions appear with brief help so you can pick exactly the correct code.
• Keyboard navigation. Press the Esc key to toggle between the editing area and the code suggestion list, so you never have take your fingers off the keyboard.
• Sidebar. Expand the sidebar to reveal the complete list of pages, and jump anywhere within the playground. In more advanced content, quickly open supporting Swift files in additional editor tabs with a click.

Code editing on Swift Playgrounds for Mac closely matches Xcode, the professional developer tool used to create apps for the App Store. And because both apps are on Mac, you can experiment with ideas in Swift Playgrounds and easily copy that code into Xcode.

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Command Robots, Pilot Drones, and More

Swift Playgrounds includes accessories playgrounds that teach you how to use Swift code to command LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 robots that you build, use iPad to guide a Sphero SPRK+ robot around the room, pilot a drone from Parrot or Tello, or even teach a MeeBot to dance. Swift Playgrounds includes guided lessons for each accessory, as well as template starting points you can use to write your own programs that control the following devices:

• LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3
• Sphero SPRK+
• Drones by Parrot and Tello by Ryze
• MeeBot by Jimu Robots
• Dash by Wonder Workshop
• Skoog musical instrument

Because Swift Playgrounds uses real Swift code with access to the Bluetooth radio on iPad and Mac, any developer can create a playground to connect to additional robots and and devices, then share them with the world.

Author Your Own Content with Xcode

If you’re an experienced developer, you can create incredible playgrounds to share with the next generation.

Swift Playgrounds authoring templates for Xcode can help you create powerful playground book files to publish as a subscription. The interactivity of playgrounds combined with the power of the iOS SDK and Mac Catalyst lets you express your creativity and skills in an entirely new way, create lessons that teach coding concepts, and employ fun, new approaches to content.

Learn serious code. In a seriously fun way.

Swift Playgrounds is a revolutionary app for iPad and Mac that makes learning Swift interactive and fun. It requires no coding knowledge, so it’s perfect for students just starting out. Solve puzzles to master the basics using Swift — a powerful programming language created by Apple and used by the pros to build today’s most popular apps. Then take on a series of challenges and step up to more advanced playgrounds designed by Apple and other leading developers.

Robots and drones await your commands.
Now you can make robots do incredible things with code you write yourself. Learn to program connected devices like the Sphero SPRK+, LEGO® MINDSTORMS® EV3, and drones by Parrot, and watch them come alive right before your eyes.

Real Swift code.
Real simple. Real playful.

Learning to code with Swift Playgrounds is incredibly engaging. The app comes with a complete set of Apple-designed lessons. Play your way through the basics in “Fundamentals of Swift” using real code to guide a character through a 3D world. Then move on to more advanced concepts.

Close apps in mac from docks. What you see is what you code: Create code on the left side of your screen and instantly see the results on the right — with just a tap.

Conquer levels, puzzles, and coding concepts.

Starting with the “Fundamentals of Swift” lesson, you’ll tackle goals using the same code professional developers use every day. As you move along, more advanced concepts come into play. You’ll continually build on what you’ve learned and create even more complex code.

Fundamentals of Swift.

You’ll start out by learning the important concepts you need to understand code.

• Commands

• Functions

• Loops

• Parameters

• Conditional Code

• Variables

• Operators

• Types

• Initialization

• Bug Fixing

Master the basics,
then step up to more challenges.

In addition to the built-in library of lessons, Swift Playgrounds includes a collection of extra challenges — with new ones added over time. Go deeper on a topic you’ve already studied or try your hand at something new. You’re not just building fun creations, you’re building your skills, too.

A big world of playgrounds from a big community of developers.

Discover dozens of channels with fun new challenges created by leading developers and publishers. Subscribe to your favorites and you’ll receive their latest creations right in the app. Now there are no bounds to your playgrounds.

A new way to create code.
On the best device for learning.

Easily drag braces around code, wrap existing code in a loop, or choose from dozens of drag-and-drop snippets included in Swift Playgrounds — right from your iPad or Mac. Take full advantage of powerful Multi-Touch, multitasking, and split view capabilities on iPad. Also, enjoy the view from your Mac. The larger screen makes room for a new sidebar with a complete table of contents and quick access to other Swift files. Just tap, drag, or type text and numbers. Then interact with what you’ve created.

QuickType and coding keyboard.

Best Free Mac Apps

Write an entire line of code with just a tap. With QuickType for code, the Shortcut Bar automatically and intelligently suggests commands as you go. When typing is the best option, iPad has an innovative keyboard designed for coding. Simply touch a key to access multiple characters, then drag to choose the one you want. Experience similar code suggestions on Mac, which comes with even more help to complete your code.

Snippets Library.

Quickly drag commonly used pieces of code from the Snippets Library to minimize typing.

Touch to edit.

Conveniently drag the boundaries of a statement around existing code.

Help is just a tap away.

If you come across a command that’s hard to understand, simply tap it and hold. A menu of options will appear. Choose the most relevant one and get the answer you need.

Jump-start your creativity with Starting Points.

Use what you’ve learned to create something brand new. With Starting Points, you can get a head start on more advanced coding, add multiple files to your playground at once, and use iPad features such as Multi-Touch interactions, accelerometer, and gyroscope. Personalize your project by adding graphics, audio, and more. Then easily share with friends, family, or the world. Students can also share code with classmates when teachers use Starting Points to create lessons.

Explore your creations in full screen.

Immerse yourself by using the vivid Retina displays of iPad or Mac. Simply tap the center divider, then drag to view your code or live project on the full screen. You can also customize built-in games like Battleship and Brick Breaker, then immerse yourself by letting them take up the whole screen.

See your code crawl, roll, or fly through the sky.

Watch your code spring to life by programming real robots, musical instruments, and drones. The Accessories channel is filled with engaging playgrounds that let you configure and control popular educational toys like LEGO® MINDSTORMS® EV3. And that’s just the beginning.

Sphero playgrounds let you guide this spherical robot through tricky courses, accelerate over jumps, and change colors.

Dash playgrounds challenge you to make it sing, dance and respond to sensor inputs to react to their environment.

MeeBot playgrounds guide you through coding Jimu Robot Meebot’s six robotic servo motors to make him move in lifelike ways. Or even dance.

Tello EDU playgrounds let you command multiple Tello drones to fly in a swarm, perform flips and other acrobatic movements, and push the limits of your creativity.

Explore robots, drones, and many other connected devices that support Swift Playgrounds.