Re: The Swift Programming Language: what is our position towards this?

[Gregory Casamento]

Ivan,

On Wed, Jun 4, 2014 at 3:25 PM, Ivan Vučica <ivucica@gmail.com> wrote:

From the WWDC presentation it sounded like it'll might be generating code compatible with the Apple Objective-C runtime using LLVM.

- If the code generator becomes available (which it might not, given LLVM is BSD-licensed and Apple might be happy to keep it closed), someone needs to step in and make GNU-runtime-specific changes to it.

​That's correct.​

AS AN ASIDE: I think it's interesting that, in the wake of recent discussion about licensing, that we should now happen upon why the GPL is a GOOD THING.  There is a reason why many companies hate it... it's because it seeks to protect the freedom of users and, thus, takes some freedoms away from you in the process.  Personal freedom ends where it infringes the rights or freedoms of another and, in free software, those rights ARE infringed by licenses which don't guarantee that the code is released.

That being said I am not an extremist... I believe the LGPL is enough.  The patent clauses in L/GPLv3 are what scare many companies: Google, Apple, etc.  I believe that you should rightly fear a company which fears those freedoms.

 

- If the code generator does not become available, I'd say it's unlikely that GNUstep developers would write one. (Though, who knows?)

​I wouldn't say it's unlikely.  I would say that this project is and should always be more focused on the API than on the language itself.  GNUstep has never maintained a compiler of any kind (unless you count the Smalltalk implementation that is in the repo, but I don't count that).​

I don't think we need to decide anything about GNUstep's support for it until a free compiler can compile Swift. And after that happens, I see no reason why not.

​Agreed.  One should come along soon, however.  If we wait until Apple releases theirs or, worse, decides not to... it may be too late.​

 

On Wed Jun 04 2014 at 8:13:41 PM, Lars Sonchocky-Helldorf <lars.sonchocky-helldorf@hamburg.de> wrote:

Hi 'steppers,

I am sure the one or another of us has heard about that new language for Cocoa/Cocoa Touch that Apple has recently introduced:

https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/ios/documentation/Swift/Conceptual/Swift_Programming_Language/AboutTheLanguageReference.html

What is our position towards this? Is there already an official GNUstep position? If not, what are your opinions? Does anybody know about the legal status of this language, e.g. whether we're allowed to support it or not?


Happy stepping,

        Lars
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​GC​

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Gregory Casamento
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