Hands-On Server-Side Web Development with Swift

Build dynamic web apps by leveraging two popular Swift web frameworks: Vapor 3.0 and Kitura 2.5

Angus Yeung

• Publisher: Packt Publishing
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN:
  9781789341171
• eBook ISBN:
  9781789345865
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Informatique
• Subtopic: Langues de programmation

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.

Vapor Boilerplate Project

This topic in the appendix will give you a clear understanding the boilerplate code in Vapor. Carrying forward from where we left off in Chapter 3, Building Your First Web App, here is a summary of the steps that you've used in creating a helloWorld boilerplate project using Vapor's default template:

$ vapor new helloWorld $ cd helloWorld $ vapor build $ vapor xcode $ open hellowWorld.xcodeproj

After executing the preceding commands in the Terminal, you changed Xcode project's scheme to Run and device to My Mac. The helloWorld server will be running at http://localhost:8080 when you use command + R to run your project.

The following sections will provide you with a better idea regarding the same:

• Reviewing Vapor-generated files
• Understanding the source code files
• Configuring Swift Package Manager
• Starting with entry point
• Instantiating an application object
• Configuring before instantiating application
• Adding initialization code after application instantiation
• Registering the application's routes
• Implementing endpoint logic in controllers
• Using a data model

Reviewing Vapor-generated files

After using the preceding steps to create a boilerplate helloWorld project, use the ls -a command in the helloWorld project directory to list all files and child directories:

# List all files and directories, including the hidden ones ls -a

The -a flag is used here so you can view all files, including hidden files and directories:

. .build .gitignore Package.swift README.md Tests cloud.yml
 .. .git Package.resolved Public Sources circle.yml

Vapor generates some hidden directories, such as .build and .git.

The .build directory contains all the dependencies and temporary files when you build your project. If you execute the vapor clean Vapor CLI command, the .build directory will be removed. Then you have to use vapor...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright and Credits
• About Packt
• Contributors
• Preface
• Introducing Server-Side Swift
• Getting Started with Vapor and Kitura
• Building Your First Web App
• Debugging and Testing
• Setting Up Routes and Controllers
• Working with Template Engines
• Bootstrapping Your Design
• Employing Storage Framework
• Adding Authentication
• Understanding Technologies for Web Services
• Designing for API Gateway
• Deploying to the Cloud
• Developing an iPhone Client
• Developing Microservices
• Vapor Boilerplate Project
• Kitura Boilerplate Project
• Other Books You May Enjoy