iOS – Compare with Android

Project Configuration

Dependency Management

gradle = CocoaPod

Configuration file

Android

AndroidManifest.xml

iOS

info.plist

Resources

Android

res folder with XML files, image files

iOS

App screen

User Interface

Storyboard lets you connect your ViewControllers to each other

View class components

Activity = ViewController

Android

• ListActivity
• RecyclerView
• ListFragment

iOS

• UICollectionView
• UITableView

Orientation changes

• iOS: Auto Layout default support, with custom implementation through OS rotation methods firing, maintains state
• Android: Several options available including destroying/rebuilding Activities for the new orientation, using new layouts based on qualifiers

Transitions between Screens

startActivity(Intent) = Segue

App life cycle

Resume

Android

Maintains a stack of the activities. This allows the app to restore with loadState and saveState methods.

iOS

Unless you’re using the state restoration principles, your iOS app will start from scratch and relaunch the app

Programming

Terms

Android – Java

• @override
• this
• implements
• extends

iOS – Objective-C

• subclasses
• inheritance
• encapsulation
• objects
• overriding methods
• polymorphism
• delegates

Async logic

Android

• Background Service
• AsyncTask
• IntentService

iOS

• Dispatch
• OperationQueue

Adaptor

Android

Android uses Adaptors, which is a bridge between the AdapterView and data from the view.

iOS

Delegation is used for iOS development. This is a pattern where one object from a program acts in coordination with another object.

The delegated object keeps the other object, known as the delegate, as a reference and sends it a message when appropriate.

This message informs the delegate about an event that was just handled.