The developers would know the importance of this feature. Basically, when an app is developed using a programming language, a lot of third-party code needs to be included. There are essentially two ways you can integrate with third-party libraries- static and dynamic. When Swift integrates with the static libraries, that version of the library is locked in, making the app size bigger. Also, you are stuck with the version used during compilation, you are also proofing it for future updates.
On the other hand, the dynamic libraries are uploaded and shared only when needed, however, slows down the app’s performance as they need to be called from outside. However, Swift’s 5.0 version has resolved this issue by integrating all the standard Swift libraries into iOS, Mac OS, tvOS, and watchOS, to help retain the smaller size of the apps alongside boosting the performance.
For a clean, concise, and expressive programming language like Swift, coding is a piece of cake. How far is this statement true? To check this out, the Lyft app's original codebase consisting of 75,000 lines was revamped using Swift, which brought down the code length to its third. Moreover, it took just one developer to handle the onboarding process of the latest version of the app where the previous version took over a month and multiple programmers working on it. Therefore, it is fair to conclude that development is faster with Swift.
Swift’s error handling is outstanding as it can easily prevent code crashes and failures. Swift, with its shorter feedback loop, can spot the errors instantly, reducing the debugging time and effort with fewer bugs passing down to production.
True to their name, Swift apps are popular for their faster performance. Swift is easily 2x faster than its predecessor, Objective-C.
Swift is not just completely compatible with Objective-C, but also can be used interchangeably. In other words, the Objective-C codebase can be used in Swift and vice-versa.
With languages like Java, C#, and Golang, the garbage collector deletes the class instances when not in use, however, taxes the CPU usage by an additional 20%. As opposed to these performance lagging issues, the iOS developers had to manually manage the memory cleaning until the introduction of Automatic Reference Counting (ARC) in Swift. The ARC determines which instances are not in use and clears them up to increase the app performance without impacting the CPU usage.
With Swift’s availability on Cloud, the server-side Swift is capable of integrating with all the popular backend technologies. Furthermore, just like JavaScript, Swift also can be used for both frontend and backend development of the iOS apps. This feature of Swift boosts productivity and resolves development issues.
Apple extends its support for the apps across all the devices including MacBooks, iPhones, iPad, Apple TV, and Apple Watch.
Switch is touted to exist for another 20 years in the iOS app development space as claimed by Apple’s senior VP of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi.
With Apple’s backing and support, Swift projects are easily scalable.