From CocoaPods to Swift Package Manager: Why Eventogy Made the Switch

At Eventogy, we strive to continually refine our development process to ensure we deliver top-tier solutions to our corporate event clients, including users of our mobile apps for event organisers and attendees.Regarding our Attendee App, we recently made a significant change in our dependency management approach by switching from CocoaPods to Swift Package Manager (SPM). This decision was driven by several factors, and we believe sharing our experience can benefit other developers considering a similar move.

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The challenges with CocoaPods

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CocoaPods has been a staple in the iOS development community for years, and it served us well for a long time. However, as our projects evolved, we encountered several challenges:

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1. Complex integration: Integrating CocoaPods into our projects often required additional configuration steps and maintenance. The Podfile syntax, while powerful, added a layer of complexity to our build process.
2. Slow build times: With larger projects, the time taken to install and update pods became increasingly burdensome. Waiting for pods to install or update frequently disrupted our workflow.
3. Dependency conflicts: Managing multiple dependencies sometimes led to version conflicts, requiring manual intervention to resolve. This issue became more pronounced as our project dependencies grew.

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Why Swift Package Manager?

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After thorough consideration, we chose Swift Package Manager for several reasons:

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1. Native integration with Xcode: SPM is integrated directly into Xcode, making it easy to add, update, and manage dependencies within the IDE. This seamless integration eliminated the need for additional configuration files and tools.
2. Simplified dependency management: With SPM, dependencies are managed through a straightforward Package.swift file. This simplification reduces the risk of conflicts and makes it easier to maintain the project.
3. Improved build performance: SPM’s integration with Xcode has led to faster build times. By avoiding the overhead introduced by CocoaPods, we’ve experienced a more efficient build process, which translates to less time waiting and more time coding.
4. Open source and Swift-centric: SPM is developed and maintained by Apple as part of the Swift project. Its focus on Swift and open-source nature ensures that it stays up-to-date with the latest language and ecosystem advancements.

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Real-world benefits and results

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Switching to Swift Package Manager has brought about several improvements in our development workflow:

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1. Streamlined workflow: The native integration with Xcode has simplified our workflow. Adding and managing dependencies is now part of the Xcode experience, reducing the friction previously caused by CocoaPods. This has made onboarding new team members quicker and more intuitive.
2. Reduced maintenance: Managing dependencies through SPM has reduced the maintenance overhead. We no longer need to troubleshoot Podfile issues or deal with CocoaPods-specific configuration problems. This has allowed our team to focus more on developing features rather than managing dependencies.
3. Enhanced stability: The stability of our projects has improved with SPM. The simplified dependency management has led to fewer conflicts and smoother updates, ensuring that our projects remain stable and up-to-date with the latest dependencies.

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Conclusion

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Transitioning from CocoaPods to Swift Package Manager has been a positive move for Eventogy. It has streamlined our dependency management, improved build performance, and reduced maintenance overhead. For any iOS development team considering a switch, we highly recommend exploring Swift Package Manager. The transition may require some initial adjustment, but the long-term benefits are substantial.

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If you have any questions or need further insights into our journey with Swift Package Manager, feel free to reach out. Let’s continue to innovate and build better apps together.

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Happy coding!

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