RE: A modern programming language for FreeBSD: Swift

Tomek CEDRO <tomek_at_cedro.info> wote on
Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2025 01:29:37 UTC :

> On Sat, Jun 14, 2025 at 11:26 PM Tomek CEDRO <tomek@cedro.info> wrote:
> > On Sat, Jun 14, 2025 at 3:07 PM Jordan Gordeev <jgopensource@proton.me> wrote:
> > > The FreeBSD project can leap into the future by choosing a modern programming language to replace C, or continue living in the past, hoping that the rest of the world will do the same.
> > > (..)
> >
> > If you want to resurrect a Swift port from the past to the future you
> > are welcome:
> >
> > https://www.freshports.org/lang/swift/
> 
> Update, I just saw Greg Wallace posted about official Swift 6.2
> support on FreeBSD :-)
> 
> https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2025/245/?time=1403
> 
> Swift 6.2 now officially supports FreeBSD and WebAssembly (Wasm),
> enabling you to build client and server applications for browsers and
> other runtimes. The Wasm support, which started as a community
> project, allows you to compile Swift code and run it in the browser,
> as demonstrated by a 3D rendering app using WebGPU and JavaScriptKit.
> Swift's safety, ease of use, and performance make it an attractive
> choice throughout the software stack.
> 
> So Swift is back again on FreeBSD :-) And its matter of choice not
> replacement :-)

[Do not take this as suggesting involvement in replacing C.]

The status for "Swift on FreeBSD" looks to be tracked
at:

https://github.com/orgs/swiftlang/projects/16/views/1

It shows 6 "In Progress" items, 1 "Todo" item, 1 "No Status" item,
and 26 "Done" items in the Backlog. Swift 6.2 has not shipped yet.

FYI: https://forums.swift.org/t/swift-6-2-release-process/78371

https://github.com/swiftlang/swift/tree/release/6.2 does
not yet show FreeBSD in its table of OS Status for builds.

The only Architectures referenced in the table are:
x86_64 and AArch64 and ARM64. wasm32-unknown-wasi is
listed under Cross-Compilation Targets.

There is  not yet a: https://www.swift.org/install/freebsd/
There is under https://www.swift.org/install/ :

https://www.swift.org/install/linux/
https://www.swift.org/install/macos/
https://www.swift.org/install/windows/

Maybe the linux one would be the most suggestive of what
the future holds for https://www.swift.org/install/freebsd/ ?

There is:

Swiftly installer
Container Docker Hub
Static Linux SDK - Cross compile to Linux (just sys calls accessed)
Swift SDK for WebAssembly
Tarball


Also see: https://www.swift.org/platform-steering-group/

In part:

QUOTE
The Platform Steering Group has evolution authority over low-level tools in the Swift toolchain, including:

    • The SwiftPM build system
    • The debugger
    • The linker
    • Libraries, such as the sanitizers
    • The mechanics of the Swift runtime
    • ABI stability, and
    • Runtime API availability based on platform constraints

Proposals or vision documents that define subsets of the Swift language for specific platforms will be reviewed in collaboration with the Language Steering Group, because they have direct impact on program semantics and the overall programming model.

Evolution authority of the Platform Steering Group does not extend to

    • Tools that help programmers read and write code on various platforms
    • IDE extensions
    • SourceKit LSP
    • DocC, or
    • The SwiftPM dependency management and distribution features

All of these are under the purview of the (to be formed) Ecosystem Steering Group.
END QUOTE


https://github.com/apple/swift-system/releases shows a 2025-Feb-18
System 1.4.2 described with: "This release adds preliminary support
for FreeBSD and OpenBSD targets." The more recent release is 1.5.0
from "2 weeks ago" but does not mention FreeBSD or OpenBSD in its
description.

===
Mark Millard
marklmi at yahoo.com