When it comes to programming languages, it’s often the newest that garner the most attention.
But according to Ted Kremenek, Apple director of languages and runtimes, programmers should be shaking off programming stalwart C++ in favour of Swift.
“Swift’s safety, speed, and approachability, combined with built-in C and C++ interoperability, mean Swift is the best choice to succeed C++,” Kremenek said.
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Even the White House has recommended that programmers move to memory-safe programming languages such as Rust, Go, C#, Java, Swift, Python, and JavaScript to reduce “vulnerabilities at scale” and “better secure the building blocks of cyberspace.”
Main features
While Swift isn’t new (it was introduced by Apple Inc in 2014), a newer version, Swift 6, is scheduled for release later this year.
And while many developers may not immediately notice the improvements — as new features will be enabled by default — it aims to make concurrent programming safer and easier through full data race safety by default, preventing code from reading and writing to the same memory at the same time.
Built with performance in mind (according to Apple, Swift is 8.4 times faster than Python), its strong type system and more secure code reduces the likelihood of vulnerabilities and crashes, and its error handling model (using try-catch blocks) will boost code reliability by bolstering error handling practices.
“Swift 6 eliminates these kinds of bugs by diagnosing them at compile time,” Kremenek added.
Expanded Linux support is also on the cards, covering the Debian and Fedora Linux distributions, and improved support for Windows to the extent that Apple is investing in Swift support in Microsoft’s Visual Studio Code editor.
Mass adoption
Apple has also migrated Swift to a dedicated GitHub organisation, meaning it can be used on more platforms, broadening its footprint beyond Apple’s tech ecosystems.
As a result, more people will be able to enhance their technology stacks, contributing to the development, direction, and innovation capabilities of Swift.
Projects such as the Swift compiler and key libraries will be hosted on the GitHub site.
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Looking to the future
An upshot of this new development is employment opportunities.
Based on recent data from job listing site Indeed, there is a notable demand for developers proficient in Swift, including iOS developers, senior mobile developers, and lead developers. Apple and other large organisations, including Netflix and Visa, are looking for talent to fill both entry-level and senior positions across different locations.
And with the release of Swift 6, it’s likely that this demand will continue to grow, potentially creating even more job opportunities as companies seek to leverage the new features and improvements in the language.
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