Swift

Swift is Apple's modern programming language, introduced in 2014 as the successor to Objective-C for building iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS applications. Swift is statically typed, memory-safe, expressive, and increasingly used outside Apple platforms for server-side and systems programming.

Key language features

• Type system. Static typing with generics, protocols (with associated types), type inference, optionals for null safety.
• Memory model. Automatic Reference Counting (ARC), no garbage collector; predictable performance.
• Value types. Structs and enums are first-class with full method support; reference types (classes) are explicit.
• Concurrency. async/await, actors, structured concurrency, and Sendable protocols since Swift 5.5.
• Swift Package Manager. Native dependency manager for libraries and applications.

Where Swift is used

• iOS / iPadOS / macOS / watchOS / tvOS / visionOS apps via SwiftUI or UIKit/AppKit
• Server-side (Vapor, Hummingbird) and CLI tools
• Embedded systems (Swift on embedded MCUs, Embedded Swift)
• Cross-platform via Swift on Linux and Windows

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Related Terms SwiftUI, iOS, Kotlin, Android

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Further Reading Embedding Flutter Modules into Native Android and iOS Apps