UIKit

UIKit is a foundational framework for building user interfaces in iOS, iPadOS, and tvOS applications. It provides a comprehensive set of components and tools that enable developers to create visually appealing and interactive user interfaces. UIKit was introduced in 2007 alongside the first iPhone and became publicly available in 2008 with the release of the iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK). It quickly became the standard framework for iOS app development.

Objective-C, the primary programming language for iOS development at that time, played a vital role in the adoption and implementation of UIKit. Developers used Objective-C to write code that utilized UIKit’s classes, methods, and APIs to create user interfaces.

UIKit vs. SwiftUI

Despite the introduction of SwiftUI in 2019, UIKit remains an essential part of the iOS development ecosystem. While SwiftUI offers a modern and intuitive way to design interfaces, UIKit provides a robust and mature set of APIs that SwiftUI can leverage. This allows developers to combine the power of both frameworks, using UIKit for certain UI components or integrating existing UIKit-based code into SwiftUI projects.

With the release of Swift in 2014 as an alternative programming language for iOS development, developers gained the option to write iOS apps using Swift instead of Objective-C.