Top 10 GitHub open source iOS libraries to speed up app development

【51CTO.com Quick Translation】iOS is one of the most popular operating systems in the world today. This means that developers need to rely on iOS on devices to build application services to meet user needs. However, when you need to do every preparation from scratch, development becomes very arduous. So why can't we use "other people's stones"?

By using open source platforms like GitHub, you can easily get a variety of successful development projects and use their powerful features for your own use. The iOS libraries discussed in this article are arranged in star order, and they involve aspects such as conveniently creating calendars for various user interfaces and simplifying the overall development process. So without further ado, let's start to "appreciate" them one by one.

1. Lottie-iOS

11,915 ★

Pod 2.1.5

Lottie is an iOS library for parsing Adobe After Effects animations. It is implemented through the Bodymovin After Effects plugin and ensures that various animations can be beautifully presented on both mobile and web platforms.

With it, the whole development process will become more pleasant, and designers will be able to easily create those beautiful animations that will amaze users.

You can install the library using CocoaPods and simply add the pod to your podfile with the following command:

 pod 'lottie-ios'  

Then run it:

 pod install

Afterwards, you can import it into Objective C using a statement like this:

 #import

In Swift, use:

 import Lottie

If you feel that your participation is not enough, you can contribute to it at the invitation of Airbnb. At the same time, you can also learn more from GitHub (https://github.com/airbnb/lottie-ios) and its official website (http://airbnb.io/lottie/).

2. Chameleon

10,458 ★

Pod 2.1.0

This is an iOS library that helps improve the user interface.

Chameleon is a flat color framework for iOS that helps to ease the workload of development. By using this powerful tool, your application is sure to get a very gorgeous interface.

As we all know, the correct RGB values ​​determine the selection of various colors. With Chameleon, you will avoid a lot of difficult choices when it comes to color combinations.

You can install Chameleon using CocoaPods and simply add the pod to your podfile using the command:

 use_frameworks!  
 pod 'ChameleonFramework'  

You can also learn more from GitHub and its official website.

3.FastImageCache

7,671 ★

Pod 1.3

The process of switching image data from disk and rendering it as a Core Animation layer is often very time-consuming, energy-intensive, and resource-intensive.

However, FastImageCache can store images of similar size together to ensure their persistence and return image data to the user faster.

Fast Image Cache manages cache invalidation based on the age of the image, making the entire development process faster, better, and more economical.

You can use CocoaPods to install the library and easily integrate it.

You can also learn more from GitHub and its official website.

4.FSCalendar

5,789 ★

Pod 2.7.9

This is a calendar rapid development library for iOS. By using FSCalendar, you can create a calendar that is compatible with Objective-C and Swift for your iOS APP without having to write code from scratch. This will make your development more efficient.

You can easily use CocoaPods to install this open source library.

After installation, you can include it in your own iOS8 or later apps using the following statement:

 use_frameworks!  
 target '' do  
 pod 'FSCalendar'    
 end  

And include it in apps running iOS 7 and above using the following statement:

 target '' do  
 pod 'FSCalendar'    
 end  

If you want to use it on iOS7 and above, you need to use NSCalendarExtension to check its compatibility. This GitHub page gives more detailed information.

5.XLForm

4,799 ★

Pod 4.0.0

Are you looking for an iOS library for creating table view formats? XLForm is a very powerful and efficient iOS library that can be used to customize and develop various dynamic table views. It can not only enhance your development experience, but also allow you to get the expected results while saving time.

You can easily install XLForm using CocoaPods.

Please use the following command to add it to the pod:

 pod 'XLForm' , '~> 4.0'  

Then run:

 pod install

If you are used to developing in Swift, the XmartLabs creators of this iOS library have already created a form of Eureka for Swiftc (https://github.com/xmartlabs/Eureka).

For more information, see the GitHub link.

6. JT Apple Calendar

4,082 ★

Pod 7.1.4

Just like FSCalendar, JTAppleCalendar can also be used to design and create beautiful calendars. Since it is also customizable, you can easily create a variety of customized cells and calendar views.

You can install it using CocoaPods, and then integrate JTAppleCalendar into your project:

 source 'https://github.com/CocoaPods/Specs.git'    
 platform :ios, '10.0'    
 use_frameworks!  
 target '' do  
 pod 'JTAppleCalendar' , '~> 7.0'    
 end  

Then, run the following command:

 pod install

You can learn more from GitHub and its official website.

7. JL Routes

3,953★

Pod 2.0.5

This is an iOS library developed by Joel Levin that implements URL routing using only a simple block-based API. JLRoutes can effectively manage URL routing schemes in your iOS APP.

The magic of JL Routes is that it makes the whole process smooth and time-saving by supporting wildcard matching and route namespaces.

You can install JLRoutes using CocoaPods or Carthage. You just need to add: github "joeldev/JLRoutes" to your Cartfile.

You can also learn more from GitHub and its official documentation.

8.JBChartView

3,752 ★

Pod 3.0.13

At some stage of the development process, you may need to visualize the data for users to browse. Then JBChartView brought by JawBone can help you achieve it easily.

JBChartView is an iOS-based chart library that can be used to easily create beautiful line charts and bar charts. As a value-added feature, it also comes with a large number of custom options.

In addition to supporting the creation of line graphs and bar graphs, it also supports subclassing of drop-in UI views and can stretch and shrink with various animations.

You can install JBChartView using CocoaPods and add it to your project's podfile like this:

 platform :ios, '6.0'    
 pod 'JBChartView'  

You can learn more on GitHub.

9.BFMSimpleLineGraph

2,665 ★

Pod 4.1

This is another chart library for iOS. BFMSimpleLineGraph can help developers create line graphs for their apps and is highly customizable.

The downside is that it doesn’t support other types of charts except line graphs. However, this doesn’t mean it’s any less capable in creating interactive charts.

It is a lightweight iOS library, so it is very easy to install and there are no dependency issues.

For installation, you can use CocoaPods and add it to your podfile using the following command:

 pod 'BEMSimpleLineGraph'  

You can also learn more from GitHub and its official documentation.

10. FontAwesomeKit

2,594★

Pod 2.2.1

Poor fonts in your app are bound to lead to a poor user interface experience.

FontAwesomeKit is an iOS library created by Pride Chung, which helps in designing beautiful app interfaces by selecting exquisite fonts.

Currently, FontAwesomeKit can support 6 different icon fonts, such as FontAwesome 4.7, various icons, Zocial, Foundation icons (https://dashbouquet.com/blog/web-development/top-5-most-popular-css-frameworks-that-you-should-pay-attention-to-in-2017), Octicons and Material 2.0.0.

You can easily use CocoaPods and add it to your podfile using the following command:

 pod 'FontAwesomeKit' , '~> 2.2.0'  

The font library is added to the podfile with the following command:

 pod 'FontAwesomeKit/FontAwesome'    
 pod 'FontAwesomeKit/FoundationIcons'    
 pod 'FontAwesomeKit/Zocial'    
 pod 'FontAwesomeKit/IonIcons'    
 pod 'FontAwesomeKit/Octicons'    
 pod 'FontAwesomeKit/Material'  

Then run:

 pod install

You can learn more on GitHub.

summary

By using the resources of various iOS libraries, we can speed up the development process. The various iOS libraries listed above have powerful functions. And these are just the tip of the iceberg, there are more resources waiting for you to discover on GitHub.

Let me summarize the various libraries mentioned above:

• Lottie-iOS for animation.
• Chameleon, FontAwesomeKit are used for design.
• FSCalendar, JTAppleCalendar are used to customize the calendar.
• XLForm is used to create forms.
• JLRoutes is used for URL routing.
• JBChartView, BFMSimpleLineGraph are used for data visualization.

Original title: Top 10 Open Source iOS Libraries on GitHub to Speed ​​Up App Development, Author: Anton Shaleynikov

[Translated by 51CTO. Please indicate the original translator and source as 51CTO.com when reprinting on partner sites]