If you are into software development, you must know by now how helpful software libraries are, not only to save you time but also to save you many headaches when it comes to delivering ​​mobile application development services.

In today’s article, we are going to share the top 8 software libraries for iOS app development to give you a hand with your mobile development project and save you the time of researching. Keep reading to learn more!

Software Libraries for iOS: Use

First thing first, let´s review the concept of software libraries and their use before we dive into the top software libraries for iOS. Software libraries are used to provide pre-written, reusable code that developers can use in their applications or projects. These libraries contain modules or functions that can be called upon to perform specific tasks, saving developers time and effort in writing code from scratch.

By using software libraries, developers can focus on building the unique features of their application or software development project, without having to spend time on the more basic or common functionalities that are already provided by the library.

Additionally, software libraries often provide optimized code and can be thoroughly tested, making them a reliable and efficient solution for software developers. In summary, software libraries are an important tool for developers to increase productivity and streamline the development process.

Best Software Libraries for iOS app development

Here is a summary of some of the best software libraries for iOS app development. Keep in mind that the best library for your iOS app development project will depend on your specific needs and requirements.

UIKit

UIKit is a popular and powerful software development library for iOS app development. It has been used for many years, which means that it has been tested and refined over time. This makes it a robust and reliable choice for building iOS apps.

This iOS software library allows developers to create visually appealing and interactive user interfaces while offering a high degree of customization to meet the needs of individual apps. It provides a wide range of components such as buttons, text fields, labels, and more.

UIKit includes support for common app features like navigation, table views, and collection views, making it easier for developers to create complex app interfaces. Check the documentation here.

RxSwift

RxSwift is a reactive programming library that allows developers to write asynchronous and event-driven code more organized and concisely.

This iOS software library is built around the concept of observables, which emit events over time, and provides a wide range of operators for transforming and combining these observables. RxSwift also provides subjects, schedulers, and powerful error-handling capabilities. With its focus on observables and operators.

RxSwift simplifies and streamlines complex asynchronous code, making it easier to build responsive and reactive applications. View the usage and documentation here.

Realm

Realm is a software development library that was developed with the goal of simplifying mobile data storage and synchronization. Unlike the other software libraries mentioned above, Realm can be used for both iOS and Android app development.

This software library provides powerful features like object-oriented data storage, automatic syncing, encryption, and cross-platform compatibility to help developers build responsive and scalable apps with minimal effort. Take a look at the Realm documentation here.

Snapkit

Snapkit is a flexible open-source Swift software library for iOS app and macOS development. It offers a straightforward and understandable API for adding Auto Layout limitations to iOS apps.

The API is designed to be intuitive and easy to read, making it easier for developers to understand and manage their constraints. The API is type-safe, which means that developers can catch errors at compile time, thus reducing the likelihood of bugs and improving the reliability of the iOS app. Check out Snapkit documentation here.

Core Data

Core Data is an Object-Relational Mapping framework provided by Apple that allows developers to manage the model layer objects in an application.

With this framework, iOS developers can create a data model that defines the entities, attributes, and relationships of their data. Core Data manages the data model and provides an object graph that represents the data. The object graph can be used to manipulate the data, and changes are automatically persisted in the underlying database. It also provides data migration tools and in-memory caching.

Core Data can be integrated with UIKit, the software development library mentioned above, to provide seamless integration between the model and view layers of an app. Check the framework documentation for more details.

Kingfisher

Kingfisher is a lightweight software library that allows you to download and cache images from a URL. This helps reduce networking usage, thus improving the performance of your app.

This software library integrates with other popular iOS libraries such as Alamofire, RxSwift, and PromiseKit, making it easy to use in existing projects. It also provides detailed error handling and logging, which helps developers to troubleshoot issues with image loading and caching.

Some of the things you can do include: downloading images in high-resolution, making the corners rounded, showing a placeholder while downloading, animating small thumbnails, and more. Check the documentation for more detailed information on this iOS software library.

Alamofire

Alamofire is an HTTP networking library for iOS app development written in Swift. This library provides a more convenient and easy-to-use interface for making network requests and handling responses than Apple’s built-in networking frameworks.

Some of the features of Alamofire include chainable requests, combine support, HTTP Response Validation, network reachability, Comprehensive Unit, and Integration Test Coverage, and much more.

Alamofire also integrates with other popular iOS libraries such as RxSwift, and Kingfisher, making it easy to use in existing projects. If you are interested in this library, feel free to take a look at the complete documentation here for more details.

SwiftyJSON

SwiftyJSON is a popular open-source library for iOS that provides a simple and intuitive interface for parsing, accessing, and manipulating JSON data in Swift.

SwiftyJSON uses dynamic typing to automatically infer the type of JSON values, which makes it easy to work with different types of data, such as strings, numbers, arrays, and dictionaries. It also supports method chaining, which allows developers to perform multiple operations on JSON data in a single line of code, and uses dynamic typing to automatically infer the type of JSON values.

SwiftyJSON can also be used in Android development using Kotlin. SwiftyJSON has a Kotlin port called KJson, which provides similar functionality to SwiftyJSON. For more detailed information, check the documentation here.

Conclusion

The use of software libraries for iOS can really help you save time when working on a project. As mentioned before, the best library will depend on your needs and app specifications.

At Apiumhub, we help technical teams to deliver more robust, scalable, and better-performing working software on time by improving their estimation, development, QA, automation, and delivery practices. If you need help with your app development project, we can give you a hand with our mobile application development services.Feel free to contact us to get a project estimation, we would be happy to assist you.