What is CocoaPods? I've seen that a lot of developers have been using Pods when developing apps to install APIs, but I'm not grasping why you couldn't just import the files manually. What is their purpose, and how are they helpful?
From https://cocoapods.org:
CocoaPods manages library dependencies for your Xcode projects.
The dependencies for your projects are specified in a single text file called a Podfile. CocoaPods will resolve dependencies between libraries, fetch the resulting source code, then link it together in an Xcode workspace to build your project.
Ultimately the goal is to improve discoverability of, and engagement in, third party open-source libraries by creating a more centralised ecosystem.
Project link: link
Specs (third-party tools):link
Getting started guide: link