Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Apple Goes Open Source With Swift

Apple's Swift programming language is now open source. The company has published the Swift language, supporting libraries, debugger and package manager under the Apache 2.0 license with a runtime library exception, and created a Swift.org site with information, technical documentation, community resources and links to download the source code.

"By making Swift open source the entire developer community can contribute to the programming language and help bring it to even more platforms," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, in a press release. "Swift's power and ease of use will inspire a new generation to get into coding, and with today's announcement they'll be able to take their ideas anywhere, from mobile devices to the cloud."

App developers now can access the code, add new features and optimizations, and contribute back to the project. Apple remains the project lead, working closely with technical leaders from the Swift development community. A core team of engineers (currently composed of Apple employees) is responsible for strategic direction, and a collection of code owners are responsible for day-to-day management of specific areas of the project.

The Swift open source code, including support for all Apple software platforms as well as Linux, is available via GitHub. Available components include the Swift compiler, debugger, standard library, foundation libraries, package manager and REPL.

For more information, visit the Swift.org site.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • digital data protection and cyber security

    White House Launches New AI Security Framework

    President Donald Trump has issued a new executive order aimed at maintaining United States AI leadership while addressing the security risks posed by increasingly powerful AI systems.

  • person typing on a touch screen schedule plan calendar

    DOJ Extends Deadline for ADA Title II Compliance

    Institutions working to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act Title II regulations for digital accessibility have received a temporary reprieve: The United States Department of Justice has published an interim final rule to push back the compliance deadline by one year.

  • abstract representation of artificial intelligence with data streams and circuits

    New Anthropic Institute to Study Risks and Economic Effects of Advanced AI

    Anthropic has announced the Anthropic Institute, a new research effort focused on the biggest societal challenges posed by more powerful AI systems.

  • Neon blue security locks with a single red highlight

    AI Shifts Cybersecurity Focus from Finding Flaws to Fixing Them

    For decades, one of cybersecurity's most difficult challenges has been finding vulnerabilities before attackers do. A growing number of security professionals now say artificial intelligence is changing that equation, shifting the focus from discovering flaws to fixing them quickly enough to prevent exploitation.