(Last Updated On: February 15, 2023)

Most programmers must pick where to begin or which language is superior when learning a programming language. Many programming languages have similar names, such as C, C++, Objective-C, and even C#, which might be misleading. And what role does Swift play in all of this?

C is the earliest of the programming languages, and the others were either built on it or were directly impacted by it. Apple software experts developed swift to be a safer language for iOS development than the other languages. Android mobile app development cost quit cheaper than iOS mobile app development but still iOS is worthy of invested every penny. It is not based on C like the others. Swift programming language has garnered a lot of traction among programmers, especially iOS developers, since its launch in 2014.

This new computer language has several advantages over Objective-C, making it even more popular.

Swift Language: A Brief History 

2013-2014 – Development and Launch

First unveiled at Apple’s 2014 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), the Swift programming language has sparked many discussions. Apple’s Senior Director of Developer Tools Department, Chris Lattner, began defining the new language’s basic features in 2010.

The team didn’t solve a strategic concern of how the language learner would fit into the existing Objective-C environment until 2013. Forcing all iOS developers to switch to a new language may have wreaked havoc on the community. As a result, Apple opted to invest in Objective-C while also committing to the creation of a new “safe programming language.”

This new computer language has a number of advantages over Objective-C, making it even more popular. The Swift programming language was built to develop iOS application and other Apple device operating systems and Linux. This language has a strong chance of becoming the standard for all Apple devices in the future. Because there is so much space for enhancement and research, the Swift community of dedicated programmers and fans is continually growing. So, what’s the deal with Swift’s popularity?

2015

Open-source programming language — this is a technology that is available to all programmers throughout the world. Throughout the language’s brief history, they have contributed enormously to its evolution.

2019

ABI stability and backward compatibility

Swift 5.0 was released in March of this year. It brought a more stable version of Apple’s app binary interface (ABI) to all of the company’s platforms. That was a huge step toward allowing Swift to be used on specific operating systems like iOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, and the impending iPadOS. Apple is establishing a strong ecosystem, as standard Swift libraries are now included in OS updates.

SwiftUI, a library of controls, graphic components, and designs for Swift apps that can be used to construct user interfaces, was introduced with the release. The upgrade also included revised documentation, Xcode 10.2 CLI, and Ubuntu binaries. Swift’s earlier versions are now backward compatible with it.

Ruby, Python, and JavaScript are now among the languages with which it can communicate.

2020 and 2021

Support for Linux operating System, concurrency, and actors

In September 2020, another version of swift 5.3 was released. It included the long-awaited addition of formal platform compatibility for Windows and various Linux versions. Since then, the entire Swift ecosystem has been available on Windows. The compiler, standard library, and core libraries are all included (dispatch, Foundation, and XCTest).

Swift 5.5, the most recent version, is still in beta (as of September 2021) and is only available with the Xcode 13 beta. It includes enhancements such as improved concurrency support via async/await techniques and actors. Actors are reference types comparable to classes, but unlike classes, they only allow one task at a time to access its mutable state. Sendable data, or data that may be safely transmitted to another thread, is also supported.

Reasons why programmers should use Swift language in 2022

The Swift programming language was created for iOS and other Apple device operating systems and Linux. This language has a strong chance of becoming the standard for all Apple devices in the future. Because there is so much space for enhancement and research, the Swift community of dedicated programmers and fans is continually growing. So, what’s the deal with Swift’s popularity?

Open-source programming language 

It is a technology that is available to all programmers throughout the world. Throughout the language’s brief history, they have contributed enormously to its evolution.

Security 

Swift coding ensures consistency and increased security. Error prevention becomes more accessible due to the additional protection mechanisms, and readability improves dramatically.

Speed

The goal of this language was to design something that could perform better. Swift is a fitting name for the language, given it is more than two times faster than Objective-C. The difference is considerably more significant compared to Python — it is 8.5 times faster.

Popularity 

While Swift isn’t yet in the top ten most popular programming languages, it’s swiftly gaining devoted followers and improving. The outcome is obvious, as it already outranks Objective-C.

Features of Swift programming language

• Generics are potent because they allow you to create reusable, adaptable methods and kinds that can work through any type.
• Swift’s native error handling will enable you to throw, catch, propagate, and manipulate errors at runtime.
• Structures and classes: Swift allows creating systems or courses in a single file and makes the external interface available to other code.
• Protocol extensions: Swift will enable you to declare behavior on protocols themselves rather than defining behavior in global functions or particular conformances.
• Memory safety: Swift automatically maintains memory and prevents your code’s risky behavior.
• Swift uses Automatic Reference Counting (ARC) to track and control the memory utilization of our project. As a result, we don’t have to bother about memory management.
• Enumerations with a lot of flexibility: Swift enums allow pattern matching and can include payloads.
• The Swift package manager is a cross-platform tool for building, running, testing, and packaging Swift libraries and executables.
• Swift debugs with the LLDB debugger, including a REPL and a debugger for integrated debugging, uniform formatting, error restoration, and expression evaluation.
• Binary and source compatibility: The most recent edition of Swift has binary suitability for apps. Every os-release includes Swift libraries, ensuring that your apps use the most current library version and that your code runs without the need to recompile.
• Tuples are a type of value grouping that allows us to create and distribute value groups. To return many values as a single value, we can utilize tuples.
• Swift includes a compact closure syntax that has been optimized to provide a clutter-free syntax and an unmistakable style.

Pros and Cons of Swift in 2022

Advantages of Swift Programming Language

Swift’s creators claim that the language is an ideal blend of efficiency and dependability inherited from many compiled programming languages and the accessibility of scripting languages. The following are the main benefits of writing iOS code in Swift rather than Objective-C

Speedy

Swift is a speedy language to code in, as it typically takes less time to write a programme in Swift than in Objective-C. Swift makes writing and reading code considerably easier. Furthermore, this language is substantially more concise, which implies that tasks are shorter and less code is required.

Improved scalability 

This code makes it simple to develop new features and invites more programmers.

Furthermore, Apple is steadily paying more attention to it, with Objective-C coming in second. Despite being a relatively new language, Swift has already expanded beyond the confines of Apple devices and begun to run on Linux. This language has a bright future of IOS development ahead of it, and many developers have already opted to get involved.

Security

Swift has exceptional security in addition to being a highly efficient and speedy solution. With this new technique to coding, programmers can find and eliminate issues quickly and easily. This results in code that is both clean and readable. Its typing interface decreases the chances of faults going unnoticed.

Cons of Swift Programming Language

The language is still in its growing stage

Swift is the fastest and most powerful programming language, yet it is still in its infancy. Numerous difficulties need to be addressed, and even if maturity comes quickly, it takes time.

There is a Limited Talent Pool

Swift’s community is rapidly expanding, although it remains small compared to other open-source languages. Swift is used by only 8.1 percent of the 78,000 developers who responded to a recent StackOverflow developer survey.

Support for older iOS versions isn’t available

Swift may only be used to create apps for iPhones and iPads running iOS 7 or later. As a result, swift can’t be utilized on older projects that run on older versions of the iOS operating system.

Is Swift programming Language the Future of IOS Development?

Swift becomes more mature with each iteration, although there are still issues to address. Apple is creating its ecosystem with its consistent architecture across platforms, expanding platform support, and regular releases of new features. As you can see from our study, Swift has various benefits that surpass its small drawbacks. Therefore it remains one of the most promising languages and continues to build a following.

As a result, we predict Swift usage will continue to rise, potentially displacing Objective-C as the primary first-class language for Custom iOS App Development Company in the near future.