Overview

Swift is a general-purpose, multi-paradigm, compiled programming language developed by Apple Inc. for iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and Linux. Apple intended Swift to support many core concepts associated with Objective-C, but in a “safer” way, making it easier to catch software bugs. Swift was introduced in 2014.^[1]

Swift is a popular programming language for the Apple platforms it supports, but it lacks support for Microsoft Windows environments.^[2]

Example

Hello World

// This program displays "Hello world!"
//
// References:
//     https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/Swift/Conceptual/Swift_Programming_Language/GuidedTour.html

print("Hello world!")

Output

Hello world!

Discussion

Each code element represents:^[3]

• // begins a comment
• print() calls the print function
• "Hello world!" is the literal string to be displayed

Swift IDEs

There are several free cloud-based and local IDEs available to begin coding in Swift. Check with your instructor or do your own research for recommendations.

Cloud-Based IDEs

• GDB Online
• IBM Swift Sandbox
• Ideone
• iSwift
• paiza.IO
• repl.it

Local IDEs

• AppCode
• Atom
• Xcode

References

• Wikiversity: Computer Programming