Rudrank's Dispatch: Cursoring.

Hi everyone! It has been a while since I sent a dispatch. I am writing this from Kowloon, Hong Kong, waiting for my next Seoul flight.

It still amazes me that I started my international conference circuit mid-last year with Deep Dish Swift, Chicago, as a speaker, and I am already at my sixth conference talk! One in the US, three in Europe, one in Singapore and now in Korea in a few days.

As a non-native English speaker, I can finally share my two cents about my struggles, anxiety attacks, and how I overcame them to deliver some decent talks, all the way from opening a conference to closing one!

Cursoring

Also, I have been playing around with this AI IDE, which has helped me ship some of my apps, many Swift packages, and a few client projects. I am glad Cursor exists for someone who loves the outcome of programming instead of the journey of programming itself.

Cursor

The AI Code Editor

I have had enough of Xcode since the last 16.0 update, and the hype around Cursor also got me. I started documenting my journey using it and making the environment similar to iOS developers who use Xcode. Surprisingly, people are interested in it—a lot.

You can find all my posts here:

Cursor - Rudrank Riyam

I also went all the way to Menlo Park in California to meet my friend, Ray, to record a live stream about it:

We went ahead and did another one the night before. But this one turned more into a debugging session and my nervousness showed. My back still hurts a bit after that 3.5-hour live stream!

Exploring Cursor

I just had a lot to write.

So, I started writing a book about it, with everything I had learned about making Cursor a great tool for iOS developers. I even bought a domain "tab to code" because I am going all in.

Exploring Cursor AI Editor for iOS Development

Disclaimer: I am still writing this book, and it will be way more comprehensive, probably 200 pages with visuals. $44 is more than 2 months of Cursor Pro, and I will justify that cost.This book offers a practical guide to using Cursor, an AI-powered code editor, in your daily Swift and SwiftUI workflows.Includes ready-to-use scripts for creating Xcode projectsXcursor: CustomGPT Chat about anything related to Cursor and iOS development (Beta)This book is for:iOS and Apple platform developers are looking for ways to improve their workflow with AI assistance and reduce friction.Table of ContentsIntroductionCurrent state of Apple Platforms DevelopmentIntroduction to CursorWhy Cursor and value of Cursor over Xcode and CopilotGetting Started (Still Writing)Configuring Cursor on macOS, including setting up language preferences. And pretty Xcode midnight themeWalkthrough of Cursor’s main interfaceHow to customize keybindings similar to XcodePrivacy and SecurityPrivacy Mode: How to enable Cursor’s privacy featuresUsing Your Own API KeysEnterprise ProblemsTab-Driven Development with Cursor TabWhat is Cursor TabIntroduce the “Tab-driven development” concept, where the Tab key is used for predictive autocompletion and smart suggestions.Magic of the Cursor TabPractical examples of how pressing Tab can auto-generate code snippets, modify existing code, and navigates through the next steps in your projectCompare it to Xcode’s predictive modeUsing Edit for Code Generation (Still Writing)Edit mode for inline prompting and quick code generation and editsCursor Chat for Assistance (Still Writing)Cursor’s chat allows you to ask questions and get help directly within the editor.Practical examplesDifferences between Normal Chat and Long Context Chat, including when to use each based on file or folder sizeComposer – Managing Complex Edits (Still Writing)What is ComposerUsing External DocsUsing WebProject Example: Walk through building a SwiftUI project using ComposerDebugging and Fixing Code with AI (Still Writing)Use Cursor’s auto-debug feature to fix common issuesWhen to rely on AI suggestions vs. when to apply manual corrections.Productivity with Cursor RulesDefining Custom Rules: How to create custom Cursor rules to handle repetitive coding tasks.Real-World ExamplesSweetPad for iOS/Swift DevelopmentSweetPad as Cursor extension for iOS and Swift development.Building and Running on Simulator and Real DeviceAutocompleteKeyboard ShortcutsFormattingHot Reloading with Inject (Still Writing)What is InjectSetting Up InjectionIII and InjectReal-Time UpdatesPractical WorkflowLimitationsFinal Thoughts and What's Next (Still Writing)Reflecting on Cursor’s ImpactWhat’s Next

I believe in the team, especially after watching their latest podcast with Lex. I recommend that you watch it, too:

Is it too much of Cursor already? So here are a few SwiftUI posts that I wrote:

Exploring SwiftUI: Understanding TextRenderer to Animate Words

D**Exploring SwiftUI: Creating a Custom Slider Inspired By Camera Control**

Also, people refer to my posts about Swift 6 that I wrote out of frustration.

I truly felt like an artist writing them, converting my misery into beautiful words of art. Give them a read!

Exploring Swift 6: Static property ‘shared’ is not concurrency-safe because non-‘Sendable’ type may have shared mutable state

D**Exploring Swift 6: Task-isolated value of type ‘() async -> ()’ passed as a strongly transferred parameter; later accesses could race**

For those who have been following this newsletter for months, I reserve this section to discuss my non-coding life. Some updates!

The biggest change has been losing 20 kgs in the past year, from barely being able to run 50 meters to running a 5K.

I have changed as a person.

This transformation gave me a glimpse of my potential. I registered for 10K next February and look forward to nailing it in under an hour!

Also, I celebrated my 27th birthday recently! I did a 101 challenge to better myself, and it worked. I hit my first five figures month, a decent number living in a developing nation. This gives me the freedom to travel anywhere, a life I crave.

If you want to read more about it, here is a link to my personal blog:

Exploring Health: 101 Challenge – Rudrank’s Blog

Becoming a better version of myself for my 27th birthday