BFKit
A collection of useful Objective-C classes and categories to accelerate iOS app development.
What is BFKit?
BFKit is an Objective-C library that provides a collection of useful classes and categories to speed up iOS app development. It extends native Foundation and UIKit classes with additional methods and includes helper utilities for common tasks like font management, password generation, and Touch ID integration. The library aims to reduce repetitive code and streamline the development process.
iOS developers working with Objective-C who want to accelerate app development by leveraging pre-built utilities and extensions for common tasks. It's particularly useful for those building iOS 7+ compatible apps and seeking to minimize boilerplate code.
Developers choose BFKit for its comprehensive set of ready-to-use utilities, extensive UIKit and Foundation extensions, and multi-language support. It saves time by providing tested solutions for frequent development challenges, all while maintaining compatibility with older iOS versions and popular dependency managers like CocoaPods and Carthage.
Overview
BFKit is a collection of useful classes and categories to develop Apps faster.
Use Cases
Best For
- Accelerating iOS app development with pre-built utilities
- Extending UIKit and Foundation classes with additional methods
- Managing iOS fonts easily through an enum interface
- Adding Touch ID authentication to Objective-C apps
- Simplifying common tasks like password generation and system sounds
- Localizing apps with built-in multi-language support
Not Ideal For
- Swift-first development teams, as BFKit is Objective-C based and requires bridging headers for Swift integration
- Projects targeting Apple platforms beyond iOS (macOS, watchOS, tvOS), since support is listed as a future TODO item
- Apps with minimal dependencies or strict size constraints, due to the comprehensive nature and additional framework requirements
- Teams using modern UI frameworks like SwiftUI, where UIKit extensions are less relevant
Pros & Cons
Pros
Adds numerous utility methods to NSArray, NSDate, NSString, and other core classes, reducing boilerplate code for common operations like array sorting or string manipulation.
Extends UI elements like UIButton, UIColor, and UITableView with convenient methods, such as easy font access via an enum, simplifying UI development tasks.
Includes ready-to-use classes for Touch ID authentication, password generation, and system sounds, speeding up feature implementation with minimal coding effort.
Provides localization support for over 10 languages out of the box, from English to Simplified Chinese, facilitating app internationalization without extra setup.
Cons
Requires different installation procedures for iOS 7 versus iOS 8, involving manual framework additions and weak linking for features like Touch ID, adding project configuration overhead.
As an Objective-C library, it doesn't offer native Swift APIs, and while a separate Swift version exists, this fragments support and may complicate modern codebases.
The TODO list explicitly notes that support for macOS, watchOS, and tvOS is not yet implemented, restricting its use to iOS-only projects in the Apple ecosystem.
Frequently Asked Questions
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