Having perused the Swift documentation, viewed the pertinent Apple sessions, and listened to the arguments (mostly pro) surrounding Swift since its initial release, I’ve decided that the language provides (me) no additional benefits over Objective-C and C++, and indeed, Swift adds additional complexity. The ability to freely mix C++ with Objective-C provides an exceptional programming experience that I cannot justify relinquishing to the likes of Swift.
Idealistically, there are unassailable arguments against Objective-C and C++ that beg solutions, but in practice there is little to justify the existence of Swift beyond an unwarranted response to the memetic mantras of idealists and zealots that have infected the developer community. When C++ and Java appeared on the scene, I initially struggled to understand the value they offered, but I soldiered on knowing that there may be value beyond my understanding. That perseverance was well deserved, and over the decades I’ve come to appreciate the tremendous practical value both languages provide in a broad spectrum of applications. Not ideal, but eminently practical. Other, more “ideal" languages have existed for decades prior, and new ones appear regularly, but few have gained a pragmatic foothold. There are various reasons behind their slow adoption, but ultimately their popularity wanes because they offer little added practical benefit when compared with the vast archives of existing code and the language skills they represent. Swift insinuates itself into the developer community with typical grandiose marketing hype. But what practical value does it really offer? What failing, besides a distaste of Objective-C by some — excluding myself — required a whole new— really, a mishmash of other languages — programming language? Further, what does Swift offer to those outside the Apple developer community that would motivate them to adopt an open source Swift? At best, the answer appears to be, “Not much.” For now, I will continue to happily use Objective-C with C++. My earnest hope is that Apple won’t do anything to undermine the ability to freely mixing Objective-C and C++. Paul
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