June 2, 2014
Swift programming language announced at WWDC
Apple announced SwiftApple's language for iOS, macOS, and server apps — designed for safety and performance. at WWDCApple Worldwide Developers Conference — annual June keynote and sessions for iOS, macOS, and Apple platform developers. on June 2, 2014 — a modern replacement for Objective-CA language combining C with Smalltalk-style object messaging — used for macOS and iOS before Swift. on iOSApple's mobile operating system — runs iPhone and iPad with a sandboxed app ecosystem. and macOSApple's desktop operating system — runs on Mac hardware with Unix foundations and the Cocoa UI framework..
What it was for
SwiftApple's language for iOS, macOS, and server apps — designed for safety and performance. is Apple's language for iPhoneApple's smartphone line — touch-first mobile computing and the App Store ecosystem since 2007., iPadApple's tablet computer line — larger touch screens between phones and laptops., Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro apps — safe optionals, value types, protocols, and async/await. It compiles to native code via LLVMLow Level Virtual Machine — a compiler infrastructure reused by Clang, Rust, Swift, and many language toolchains. and interoperates with Objective-CA language combining C with Smalltalk-style object messaging — used for macOS and iOS before Swift. and C. Most new App StoreApple's marketplace for iOS apps — centralized distribution and in-app purchases on iPhone. apps today are SwiftApple's language for iOS, macOS, and server apps — designed for safety and performance. or SwiftUI.
People
- Chris Lattner — creator
Companies
- Apple
Why it's here
SwiftApple's language for iOS, macOS, and server apps — designed for safety and performance. replaced Objective-CA language combining C with Smalltalk-style object messaging — used for macOS and iOS before Swift. as the default for Apple platform development within a few years.
Why it mattered
It brought memory safety and modern syntax to a massive mobile ecosystem without a new runtime.
What it solved
Objective-CA language combining C with Smalltalk-style object messaging — used for macOS and iOS before Swift.'s manual retain/release and dated syntax slowed iOSApple's mobile operating system — runs iPhone and iPad with a sandboxed app ecosystem. development; Apple needed a safer modern language.
Media
- ImageSwift (programming language)
Apple Inc, Apache License 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons