Swift UIKIT Style, iPhone App Development, Adding Videos in Different Formats

Developing iPhone apps requires many technologies and frameworks. Among them, UIKIT is the most commonly used user interface framework. In this article, we will discuss in detail how to develop an iPhone app using UIKIT with the Swift language, as well as how to add various video formats to the app.

1. Overview of Swift and UIKIT

Swift is a powerful programming language developed by Apple, primarily used on Apple platforms such as iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. Swift is designed with safety and performance in mind and features modern syntax that allows developers to easily learn and use it.

Meanwhile, UIKIT is the fundamental framework for creating the user interface for iOS. With UIKIT, you can easily create and manipulate various screen elements such as buttons, labels, and images. UIKIT is based on the MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture, helping to efficiently manage visual elements.

1.1 Installing and Setting Up UIKIT

To use UIKIT, you need to install the Xcode IDE. Xcode is the development environment officially supported by Apple and provides all the tools necessary to work with Swift and UIKIT.

  • Search for Xcode in the Mac App Store and install it.
  • After installation, run Xcode and select “Create a new Xcode project.”
  • Select the iOS > App template and enter the project name and information, then click “Next.”
  • You will choose whether to use Storyboards or SwiftUI, and to use UIKIT, you must select Interface Builder and Storyboards.

2. Creating a Basic App with UIKIT

Now, let’s create a basic UIKIT app. This app will have a simple button and label, and it implements functionality that changes the label’s text when the button is pressed.

2.1 Setting Up the UI

Open the ViewController in the storyboard and drag to add the following elements:

  • UILabel: Set the default text.
  • UIButton: Set the button’s title.

After placing the UI elements, connect the IBOutlet and IBAction for each element to the ViewController.swift file. The code below is a simple example of the connection: 


@IBOutlet weak var myLabel: UILabel!
@IBAction func buttonTapped(_ sender: UIButton) {
    myLabel.text = "The button has been pressed!"
}

2.2 Writing Swift Code

In the ViewController.swift file, write as follows: 


import UIKit

class ViewController: UIViewController {
    @IBOutlet weak var myLabel: UILabel!
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        myLabel.text = "Hello, World!"
    }

    @IBAction func buttonTapped(_ sender: UIButton) {
        myLabel.text = "The button has been pressed!"
    }
}

Now, when you run it in the simulator, you can see that the label’s text changes when the button is pressed.

3. Understanding Video Formats

Adding videos to your iPhone app is a great way to enhance user experience. However, videos are provided in various formats, each with its pros and cons. The most commonly used video formats are MP4, MOV, and AVI.

  • MP4: A lossy compression format that is playable on most devices and browsers.
  • MOV: A format developed by Apple that supports high quality but may have larger file sizes.
  • AVI: Supports various codecs but may have issues playing directly on iOS.

4. Adding Videos

4.1 Using the AVKit Framework

To play videos, you can use the AVKit framework. AVKit provides a high-level interface for video playback, making it much easier than managing the loading, playing, and pausing of videos manually.

4.2 Using AVPlayerViewController

To play the video, use AVPlayerViewController. You can add it in the following way: 


import AVKit

class ViewController: UIViewController {
    @IBOutlet weak var myLabel: UILabel!
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        myLabel.text = "Hello, World!"
    }

    @IBAction func buttonTapped(_ sender: UIButton) {
        let videoURL = URL(fileURLWithPath: Bundle.main.path(forResource: "video", ofType: "mp4")!)
        let player = AVPlayer(url: videoURL)
        let playerViewController = AVPlayerViewController()
        playerViewController.player = player
        present(playerViewController, animated: true) {
            playerViewController.player!.play()
        }
    }
}

This code adds functionality to play the video when the button is pressed. The video file must be included in the app bundle with the name “video.mp4.”

5. App Distribution

After developing the app, the next step is distribution. To distribute, you must submit the app to the App Store, which involves several basic procedures.

  • Join the Apple Developer Program.
  • Use the Archive feature in Xcode to create an .ipa file.
  • Fill out the app-related information in App Store Connect and upload the .ipa file.
  • Wait for app review, and once approved, it will be released on the App Store.

Conclusion

In this post, we learned about the basic methods of developing iPhone apps using Swift and UIKIT, as well as how to add various video formats. UIKIT is a very important element in iOS app development, and you can easily play videos through the AVKit framework. Based on this foundational knowledge, you will be able to develop more advanced features.

We hope you will continue to learn and utilize various technologies to develop apps that provide a richer user experience.