5 Mistakes Programmers Must Avoid During Ios App Development

By Author: Cameron McCaughey
Total Articles: 25
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With the release of the most recently introduced iOS programming language, Swift, the development process has gone more trendy. However, programmers are still seen using the traditional language, Objective-C. But irrespective of the language they use, most of the professionals tend to make some common mistakes that must be identified at the right time and overcome to end up with flawless iOS app development. 
 
Some of these commonly made mistakes are summarised here. 
 
Do not get indulged in MVC trap is fist mistake made by iOS app programmers:
Most of the software developers are all familiar with the MVC architecture concept because of the ease of using it while web development. According to this architecture, there are three layers - Model, View, and Controller. These three layers separate the development logic such as the model for managing the database programming, the view for the visual appeal, and the control to handle the ...
... functions and requests. This logic and architecture have made it easy for multiple developers to work on the same project simultaneously without interfering in each other’s works. The ease of using this structure has made many iOS application developers as well. But unfortunately, this does not really work for building applications for the Apple devices. Using MVC in iOS application development can simply lead to bad coding practices. Programmers can end up with redundant codes if they use this architecture. So, it's better not to get trapped by it. 
 
To resolve this mistake, the developers can create solid and robust application architecture with cautious planning and at the programming level, they can create logic and helper objects to ensure a smooth and seamless ongoing of the development process. Remember, MVC is good for web development not really for the Apple apps. 
 
Avoid the UI operations along with the main thread:
Multithreading issues are quite common in Apple application development as the UIKit is not fully and safely threaded. Hence, programmers experience some weird errors that are difficult to fix. The true reason behind these bugs is the UI elements done on the offside of the main thread during the development process. Keeping this in mind, the developers have to be very careful when executing the concurrent codes. Addressing concurrency can be a little tough. Developers need to rely on various concurrency APIs. For instance, NSOperationQueue saves from blocking the primary threat operation by just placing the operation in the queue and NSBlockOperation is good for defining blocks of codes. 
 
Do not just test on the old iOS versions and devices, it won’t work:
Practically, the iOS simulator is easy and fast for obtaining the desired results with the maximum usability. Hence, most of the developers prefer testing on the simulator. When it comes to the Apple devices and operating systems, touch gestures are distinct. Testing the real-user experiences can be possible only with the real users and devices. Hence, it is essential to test the iOS app on the real devices along with the iOS simulator. 
 
They also avoid the daunting tasks of doing the same with different versions of the operating systems and devices especially the recent ones. Some developers hardly choose the newest devices soon after the releases. But testing on new devices and versions is essential for the sake of device and version compatibility issues and ensure high performance and a flawless app. 
 
Do not forget to take care of the memory usage factor:
It is seen that when the Apple app developers extensively use delegates, it leads to more chances of memory leaks. To avoid this, it is always better to use the ‘Debug Navigator’ tab that is available in the XCode. With this, you can even check the memory usage of the application along with the other required details. 
 
Using the UITableViews in the wrong way is another mistake you need to avoid:
The UITableViews is used for displaying the tabular interface on the Apple devices. It is good if you are recycling the UI for achieving higher performance. Hence, cell recycling practice is common among developers. But unfortunately, using the UITableViewCell properties need careful attention from the developers for defining all the elements properly so that the UI doesn’t behave weird while the users are browsing and scrolling the UI screen. 
 
All these above-mentioned mistakes need utmost attention from the developers. They need to identify these and avoid the same to avoid disasters and errors in the applications. 
 
Cameron McCaughey is an expert in iOS app development and is associated with a leading company in Australia, Vision & Solutions. The author has written this article to help programmers identify the most common and silly mistakes and fix the same for a flawless and high-performing outcome for iOS users.

Cameron McCaughey is a techie, software developer, App Developer at Vision & Solutions, a top-ranking company providing expertise entrepreneurial solutions, including ERP and CRM software solutions to businesses of all types and sizes.