[DOCS-14845] Clarify what is the MongoDB Swift Driver used for Created: 05/Oct/21  Updated: 29/Oct/23  Resolved: 01/Dec/21

Status: Closed
Project: Documentation
Component/s: drivers
Affects Version/s: None
Fix Version/s: None

Type: Improvement Priority: Minor - P4
Reporter: Diego Freniche Brito Assignee: Christopher Cho
Resolution: Fixed Votes: 0
Labels: swift-driver
Remaining Estimate: Not Specified
Time Spent: Not Specified
Original Estimate: Not Specified

Issue Links:
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Participants:
Days since reply: 2 years, 10 weeks ago
Story Points: 1

 Description   

In the MongoDB Swift Driver page (https://docs.mongodb.com/drivers/swift/) there's no mention why this thing exists, or when we should use this instead of the Realm Swift iOS SDK.

 

This is mentioned, though, here: https://docs.mongodb.com/realm/sdk/ios/

> Are you looking for information about using Swift with MongoDB in a backend app, command-line utility, or running on macOS or Linux? See the MongoDB Swift Driver documentation.

 

We should add to the Swift Driver page an Intro paragraph stating exactly that and if you're looking to build an iOS app you should use the iOS SDK.

 

A/C:

 As a reader, I should understand if I want to use the Swift Driver or the Realm IOS SDK after reading the Docs-Ecosystem Swift page



 Comments   
Comment by Githook User [ 01/Dec/21 ]

Author:

{'name': 'Chris Cho', 'email': 'chris.cho@10gen.com', 'username': 'ccho-mongodb'}

Message: DOCS-14845: clarify swift driver usage and link to Realm iOS
Branch: master
https://github.com/mongodb/docs-ecosystem/commit/f694b5f58babc334e1d1d9abc01e1a1112cc5827

Comment by Christopher Cho [ 01/Dec/21 ]

https://github.com/mongodb/docs-ecosystem/pull/778

Comment by Diego Freniche Brito [ 13/Oct/21 ]

My point here is: right now we have "the Realm iOS SDK". But using that SDK you can build for:

  • iOS
  • iPadOS
  • AppleTVOS
  • macOS (Apps with a graphical interface)

So the frontiers are becoming blurrier here and using the same code base you can create an App for different OSes. That's why I think the SDK will be renamed as Realm Swift SDK (I've heard this, needs to be confirmed). If this happens, it'll be extremely confusing to choose between a "MongoDB Swift Driver" and a "Realm Swift SDK" when both are from MongoDB and storing data in Atlas (if sync enabled).

So a quick note at the beginning of the Swift Driver directing people to the iOS SDK will help, I think.

Comment by Kaitlin Mahar [ 11/Oct/21 ]

I mostly agree except for that for some macOS use cases (think a client-side app) Realm is still an appropriate choice and as far as I can tell from https://docs.mongodb.com/realm/sdk/ios/ the SDK works there.

If someone is building a backend app or command line utility to run on macOS the Swift driver would make more sense though.

So, possibly just not mentioning operating system at all and explaining the difference in terms of use case (Realm for client-side, Swift driver for server-side/backend/command line utility) would make more sense.

Comment by Nathan Leniz [ 07/Oct/21 ]

kaitlin.mahar Do you agree with this distinction? If so, we'll add the value proposition to the driver page.

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