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What is Swift programming language? - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Swift was updated to Swift 2 in 2015
        
        Swift was updated to Swift 3.0. The syntax of Swift went through significant evolution, with the core team making source stability a focus in later versions
        
        Swift was upgraded to version 2.2 on December 3 2015. It was now open source instead of being a proprietary language
        
        Swift was updated to 4.0 in 2017
        
        Swift was updated to 5.0 in March 2019
        
        Swift 5.1 was released on September 2019 and is now on 5.2.5
        
        Swift 5.1 builds on the previous version of Swift 5 by extending the stable features of the language to compile-time with the introduction of module stability. The introduction of module stability makes it possible to create and share binary frameworks that will work with future releases of Swift.
        
        Introduced a stable binary interface on Apple platforms, allowing the Swift runtime to be incorporated into Apple operating systems. It is source compatible with Swift 4
        
        Swift increase in measured popularity above Objective-C in the first quarter of 2018
        
        Introduced several changes to some built-in classes and structures. Code written with previous versions of Swift can be updated using the migration functionality built into Xcode.
      - The first ever publicly released app written with Swift was released in June 2, 2014. It was called Apple Worldwide Developers Conference
      - Swift was upgraded to version 1.2 during 2014
- - - - tvOS for the Apple TV
      - watchOS for the Apple Watch
      - iPadOS for the iPad
    - - macOS
      - Linux
    - - iPod
      - iPhone
- - - - Rapid development process
        A clean and expressive language with a simplified syntax and grammar, Swift is easier to read and write. It is very concise, which means less code is required to perform the same task.
        
        Automatic Reference Counting (ARC) does all the work tracking and managing the app’s memory usage, so developers don’t need to spend time and effort doing that manually. Accordingly, it usually takes less time to build iOS apps with Swift.
      - Easier to scale the product and the team
        In addition to faster development time, you get a product that is future-proof and can be extended with new features as needed. Thus, Swift projects are typically easier to scale.
      - Fast. Swift was built with performance in mind. Not only does its simple syntax and hand-holding help you develop faster, it also lives up to its name: as stated on apple.com, Swift is 2.6x faster than Objective-C and 8.4x faster than Python.
      - Moreover, Swift allows you to add more developers to your team if needed: The onboarding is relatively fast due to the simplicity and conciseness of the codebase. The syntax of Swift is considered near to natural English, thus it offers easy readability for new team members.
      - Open source. Swift creators acknowledged the fact that in order to build a defining programming language, the technology needs to be open for all. So, within its three years of existence, Swift acquired a large supportive community and an abundance of third-party tools.
      - SAFETY. Its strong typing system and error handling prevents code crashes and errors in production. Thus, Swift has a shorter feedback loop, allowing you to see the errors in the code instantly and fix them on the fly, greatly reducing the time and effort needed for bug fixing and eliminating the risks of deploying low quality code.
      - Safe. Its syntax encourages you to write clean and consistent code which may even feel strict at times. Swift provides safeguards to prevent errors and improve readability.
      - Decreased memory footprint
        When you build an app, you use a lot of third-party code – reusable and often open source frameworks or libraries compiled into your app’s code. These libraries can be static and dynamic (or shared). Swift first introduced dynamic libraries to iOS when it launched.
        
        Static libraries are locked into code at the time you compiled them, become the part of your executable file, thus increasing its size and load time. They also can’t be automatically updated since they’re stuck in the version you compiled at.
        
        Dynamic libraries, on the other hand, exist outside of your code and are uploaded only when needed. Static libraries need to have copies in all files of your program while dynamic ones only need one.
    - - Lack of support for earlier iOS versions
        You can only use Swift in the apps that target iOS7 and later. That said, Swift can’t be used for legacy projects running on older versions of the operating system.
      - Poor interoperability with third-party tools and IDEs
        Largely due to frequent updates, as mentioned above, it is often hard to find the right tools to help with certain tasks. Moreover, the official Apple IDE, XCode, lags in terms of tooling and support for Swift. Developers often report issues with syntax highlighting, autocomplete, refactoring tools, and compilers.