#56: Diving Into Dependencies

In this final episode of 2023, the trio dive into the topic of dependencies! What kinds are there? How do you manage them? What are some examples? This episode is jam packed with great advice and a ton of useful links (see below!) to help you think about the tradeoffs of different kinds of dependencies as well as concrete advice on how to write cleaner code that your future self will appreciate. Have a great holiday season and a happy new year as you embark on your own developer journey into 2024! The trio will return in January!

Topics Discussed:

Introductions
Dependencies Intro
- Metal shaders
- Godot vs Unity
  - https://godotengine.org
  - https://unity.com
Platform Dependencies
- Godot/Unity
- Vendor like Apple/Google/Windows/etc.
Library Dependencies
- Analytics
Infrastructure Dependencies
- Linode
- Buddy Build
- OpenAI
Managing Dependencies
- Platform alternatives
  - How much work to migrate?
  - Noclip Documentary: Remaking Demon’s Souls
    - https://youtu.be/hCBJ2fiiUXk
  - Emulators
  - Getting updates “for free” when you use platform provided controls
- Programming Techniques
  - Protocol Oriented Programming
    - Themes
      - Pragma Conf 2023 - Token Driven UI Development
        
        https://youtu.be/YvAkyiy6B3g
      - Atomic Design by Brad Frost
        
        https://atomicdesign.bradfrost.com
    - Protocol composition for dependency injection by Krzysztof Zabtocki
      - https://www.merowing.info/using-protocol-compositon-for-dependency-injection/
  - Protocol Witnesses by Point-Free
    - https://www.pointfree.co/collections/protocol-witnesses
    - Dependencies Library: https://github.com/pointfreeco/swift-dependencies
  - Protocol Witnesses Introduction by NSScreencast
    - https://nsscreencast.com/episodes/486-codable-witnesses-1
  - SwiftData management
Dependency management tips
- Don’t be too dependent
  - Kotaro’s story about XLForm
- Think carefully about letting your “moat” be dependent on a third-party API
  - e.g. DividentCalc
  - What are your options for platform changes?
- Fork/mirror third-party SPMs and Pods
  - https://github.com/apple/swift-evolution/blob/main/proposals/0219-package-manager-dependency-mirroring.md
  - https://www.sonatype.com/products/sonatype-nexus-oss-download (cocoapods)
Off Topic: Auto generating acknowledgements
- SwiftyStack
  - https://www.swiftystack.com
- AcknowList
  - https://swiftpackageregistry.com/vtourraine/AcknowList
Wrap-Up & thanks!