Apple(s) and Orange(s): A swift Overview of Swift

A look at Apple’s programming language

Thomas Mallick
The Startup

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Left: Apple’s new Swift logo | Right: Taylor Swift’s new album cover

TTaylor Alison Swift released her first album in 2006.

In the thirteen years since the release of her unimaginatively-named album Taylor Swift, she has rocketed to international acclaim. Her music’s unique transition over that time period has kept fans excited, devoted, and, most of all, screaming her melodies in any place where off-pitch renditions won’t provoke the ire of others.

Apple’s Swift shares a similar rise to fame.

AApple first released Swift in 2014.

In the five years since its release, the programming language has become a superstar, ranking as the 7th most popular programming language worldwide according to the Stack Overflow 2018 Developer Survey.

Swift’s popularity surge over its relatively short lifetime boggled me and led to an investigation of how Swift came to be, what kind of language it is, and what features it offers.

To describe my curiosity using Taylor Swift’s hit Everything Has Changed:

“I just want to know [Swift] better, know [Swift] better, know [Swift] better now
I just want to know [Swift] better, know [Swift] better, know [Swift] better now
I just want to know [Swift] better, know [Swift]…

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Thomas Mallick
The Startup

🚀 SRE dev @CapitalOneTech. @VanderbiltU alum. 🦖