<ul data-eligibleForWebStory="true">Delegates in Swift are used for one object to notify another about events or changes.Delegates are implemented through protocols, enabling objects to call methods on their delegates.Delegates facilitate object communication in iOS development and follow the delegation design pattern.In the context of video game controllers and consoles, delegates allow notification of actions.Delegates ensure communication between objects and help in writing cleaner and organized code.Delegates help in creating reusable code and improve the structure of applications.Creating a reference to a delegate should be marked as weak to avoid retain cycles.A retain cycle occurs when two classes hold strong references to each other, leading to memory issues.It is important to extend protocols with AnyObject to use weak references.Weak references only work with class types because only class instances can be deallocated.The delegate pattern is crucial for effective object communication in Swift applications.Delegates contribute to writing more maintainable and scalable code in projects.Delegates are essential in enabling communication and event handling in iOS development.Delegates help in separating concerns and improving the architecture of applications.Delegates are a key aspect of the delegation design pattern in Object-Oriented Programming.