More Than Just Code podcast - iOS, visionOS and Swift development, news and advice · Tim Mitra, Jaime Lopez Jr, Mark Rubin

383 Dave Delong

·52 min·3 clips

Dave Delong says the Vision Pro made his “blood pressure drop” the moment he entered the Yosemite environment.

1. More Than Just Code episode 383 focuses on Dave Delong's path through Mac, iOS, Vision Pro, and Swift development. 2. Tim Mitra hosts from Toronto, Ontario, and Dave Delong joins from Salt Lake City, Utah, because Delong has worked on Apple platforms and spoken at Deep Dish Swift. 3. The episode asks what Delong builds, why he prefers framework work, and how he stays involved in the developer community. 4. Delong says he started as a Mac developer in 2003 or 2004 using RealBasic, which he says is now called Zojo. 5. He says he learned Objective-C later, built native Mac apps, and then worked at Apple on UIKit when the iOS SDK arrived. 6. He says he is now going back to his roots by spending most of his time on frameworks and Mac apps. 7. Delong says he still uses SwiftUI most of the time and drops to AppKit only when he needs it. 8. He says working on Mac apps feels “refreshingly straightforward” compared with mobile development. 9. Delong explains that framework work appeals to him because he likes exposing complex ideas through a refined API. 10. He says he tries to make a complex idea work in “two or three lines of code” for other developers. 11. He names type safety and compiler hints as tools he uses to guide correct usage. 12. Delong says he has a Swift package on GitHub for dates and times, and he is learning GTFS, the General Transit Feed Specification. 13. He describes GTFS as a zip file of CSV files and says he wants better planning and tracking for local buses and trains. 14. He connects that work to helping one of his kids get to a new high school on time using public transit. 15. Delong says he also wants an app that can help a parent track someone else's trip, not just a commuter's immediate stop information. 16. On community building, he says a university Objective-C club eventually became the Utah Developers Organization. 17. He says that group now has over 900 people in Slack, over 900 in Meetup, and more than 60 events a year. 18. Delong says the work can be exhausting, but he finds it rewarding because it keeps him connected and helps with networking, referrals, and even home-owner advice. 19. The tone is conversational and personal, with Tim Mitra sharing related stories about Toronto meetups, Vision Pro use, and old Macs. 20. Listeners who like Apple platform history and indie developer community stories will get the most from it, while people wanting only a product news rundown may skip it.

As heard by us

A grounded look at tiny 4K screens, energy storage, and the power brick behind the promise.

Episode 383 uses Dave DeLong's observation that the device was already close to its final form to frame a practical conversation about what advanced hardware still has to prove.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Press play if you want to follow an Apple device from mind-tricking windows to the battery pack it still has to bring along.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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