ConfigsApr 12, 2026·1 min read

Swift — Apple Modern Programming Language

Swift is a powerful and intuitive programming language for building apps for iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, Linux, and the server. Created at Apple to replace Objective-C. Fast, safe, and expressive with protocol-oriented design.

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Quick Use

Use it first, then decide how deep to go

This block should tell both the user and the agent what to copy, install, and apply first.

# macOS: comes with Xcode
xcode-select --install

# Linux
# Download from https://www.swift.org/download

# Or via swiftly version manager
curl -L https://swift-server.github.io/swiftly/swiftly-install.sh | bash
swiftly install latest

swift --version

Hello world:

// main.swift
import Foundation

let users = [
    (name: "Alice", score: 95),
    (name: "Bob",   score: 87),
    (name: "Carol", score: 91),
]

let sorted = users.sorted { $0.score > $1.score }
for user in sorted {
    print("\(user.name): \(user.score)")
}

Swift Package Manager:

mkdir MyCLI && cd MyCLI
swift package init --type executable
swift build
swift run
swift test
swift package update
Intro

Swift is a powerful and intuitive programming language developed by Apple, first announced at WWDC 2014. Designed to replace Objective-C while remaining interoperable with it. Swift is fast (compiled to native code via LLVM), safe (eliminates entire classes of bugs with optionals, value types, and memory-safety features), and expressive (modern syntax, closures, generics, protocol-oriented programming).

What Swift Does

  • Native compilation — LLVM-based, native ARM/x86/WASM
  • Optionals — no nil pointer crashes
  • Value types — structs, enums with associated values
  • Protocols — structural polymorphism, protocol extensions
  • Generics — parameterized types and functions
  • Closures — first-class, trailing syntax
  • Concurrency — async/await + actors (Swift 5.5+)
  • SwiftUI — declarative UI framework
  • Swift Package Manager — built-in dep/build tool
  • Interop — Objective-C, C, and C++ interop
  • Cross-platform — macOS, iOS, watchOS, tvOS, Linux, Windows

Architecture

Swift compiler built on LLVM. Uses Automatic Reference Counting (ARC) for memory management — no GC pauses. Modules and package format replace Objective-C frameworks. SwiftUI uses result builders and property wrappers for declarative UI.

Self-Hosting

Language toolchain.

Key Features

  • Protocol-oriented programming
  • Value types and copy-on-write
  • Async/await and actors
  • Swift Concurrency (structured concurrency)
  • Result builders for DSLs
  • Property wrappers
  • Swift Package Manager
  • Server-side frameworks (Vapor, Hummingbird)
  • Interop with Objective-C and C++
  • Linux and Windows support

Comparison

Language Memory Concurrency Interop
Swift ARC async + actors ObjC, C, C++
Rust Ownership async C, C++
Kotlin GC (JVM) Coroutines Java
C# GC async/await .NET
Go GC Goroutines C (cgo)

常见问题 FAQ

Q: 只能 Apple 平台？ A: 不。Swift 是跨平台开源语言，官方支持 macOS、iOS、Linux、Windows。Vapor、Hummingbird 等 server framework 用于后端。

Q: 和 Objective-C 关系？ A: Swift 完全兼容 ObjC（互调、共享项目）。Apple 新 API 优先 Swift。老项目可以渐进迁移。

Q: Swift Concurrency 能取代 GCD 吗？ A: 大部分场景可以。async/await + actor 解决数据竞争。GCD 仍然是底层工具，但高层代码推荐 Swift Concurrency。

来源与致谢 Sources

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