Hands-On Server-Side Web Development with Swift

Take advantage of using the same programming language for both server and client-side with this hands-on book for building web applications with Swift.

Key Features

• Build a full-stack iOS and web applications using Swift, Vapor, and Kitura Framework
• Leverage ORM abstraction drivers to make queries to SQL database
• Develop your very own containerized microservices with Swift, Docker and Kubernetes

Book Description

This book is about building professional web applications and web services using Swift 4.0 and leveraging two popular Swift web frameworks: Vapor 3.0 and Kitura 2.5. In the first part of this book, we'll focus on the creation of basic web applications from Vapor and Kitura boilerplate projects. As the web apps start out simple, more useful techniques, such as unit test development, debugging, logging, and the build and release process, will be introduced to readers.

In the second part, we'll learn different aspects of web application development with server-side Swift, including setting up routes and controllers to process custom client requests, working with template engines such as Leaf and Stencil to create dynamic web content, beautifying the content with Bootstrap, managing user access with authentication framework, and leveraging the Object Relational Mapping (ORM) abstraction layer (Vapor's Fluent and Kitura's Kuery) to perform database operations.

Finally, in the third part, we'll develop web services in Swift and build our API Gateway, microservices and database backend in a three-tier architecture design. Readers will learn how to design RESTful APIs, work with asynchronous processes, and leverage container technology such as Docker in deploying microservices to cloud hosting services such as Vapor Cloud and IBM Cloud.

What you will learn

• Build simple web apps using Vapor 3.0 and Kitura 2.5
• Test, debug, build, and release server-side Swift applications
• Design routes and controllers for custom client requests
• Work with server-side template engines
• Deploy web apps to a host in the cloud
• Enhance web content with Bootstrap
• Manage user access using authentication framework
• Design for API gateway
• Develop an iPhone app to work with web services
• Deploy your app as a microservice in a cluster
• Deploy Swift web services with a RESTful API design

Who this book is for

This book is about building professional web applications and web services using Swift and leveraging two popular Swift web frameworks: Vapor 3.0 and Kitura 2.5. We assume the readers to have some working knowledge of Swift programming language. The readers could be beginners of Swift programming, seasonal iOS or macOS developers, or software developers who want to work on practical Swift applications while learning the language itself. By the end of the book, you would be able to successfully create your own web applications and web services by leveraging the powerful ecosystem of Swift.

Table of Contents

1. Introducing Server-Side Swift
2. Getting Started with Vapor and Kitura
3. Building Your First Web App
4. Debugging and Testing
5. Setting Up Routes and Controllers
6. Working with Template Engines
7. Bootstrapping Your Design
8. Employing Storage Framework
9. Adding Authentication
10. Understanding Technologies for Web Services
11. Designing for API Gateway
12. Deploying to the Cloud
13. Developing an iPhone Client
14. Developing Microservices
15. Appendix A
16. Appendix B

Angus Yeung works for Intel Corp., responsible for the architectural design of back-end cloud services for virtual reality sports broadcasting. He is also a computer science lecturer at San Jose State University. Prior to Intel, he held CTO and engineering director positions in several companies including a start-up he founded in 2002. Angus' technical interests include mobile computing, distributed computing, computer vision and artificial intelligence. He holds BS, MS and PHD in Electrical Engineering from Univ. of Rochester, and MBA from UC Berkeley. Angus owns 18 pending and granted patents. Angus lives with his lovely wife and three handsome boys in Palo Alto, California.