I need help from blind iOS developers

By Hasan Refaeiah, 10 April, 2023

Forum
App Development and Programming

Hi there everyone, hope all is well with you.
I'm looking to getting into iOS development and I'm looking for full-time blind iOS developers to answer my questions.
First, what kind of difficulties are expected in the hole process from A to Z?
Second, what resources do you recommend to learn the hole aspects of iOS development?
I hope to find answers here.
Thanks in advance.

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Comments

By Jonathan Chacón on Friday, May 5, 2023 - 19:44

Hello,

In my experience, first you have to understand Swift and SwiftUI.

But to do this you have to understand Xcode. Xcode is the development tool and it has a lot of areas. You have good skills using VoiceOver.

Tasks like writing code, managing files in a project or running your app in the simulator or the device are not complicated using VoiceOver. There are some complicated tasks for blind developers like using debugging tools like Instruments, reading the debug console when it is showing thousands messages (you have to manage the amount of messages in console to improve your experience reading debug messages) And finally there are some unaccessible tasks for blind developers because these areas are not accessible with Xcode or they are very complicated (SwiftUI previewer, classMaps, drag and drop)

Some tips:

  • To understand SwiftUI test your app in the device. You can explore each layout and each element moving your finger on the screen.
  • The official Swift documentation is good for all but the official SwiftUI documentation is poor for blind developers
  • Never modify files or folders out of Xcode (for example using Finder) this causes many problems in the project.
  • Learn the shortcuts in Xcode
  • Improve the behaviour of Xcode using the settings area. You can customize the Xcode's behaviour to use a voice and a sound when some events happend (success compiling, error compiling, starting debug, etc)
  • Try to explore Xcode using the basic commands of Xcode. Commands like VO+j doesn't run well some times because the interface of Xcode is dynamic and some areas are hidden or visible in different times.

Regards