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Swift VS Objective-C

Compare Swift VS Objective-C and see what are their differences

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LibHunt tracks mentions of software libraries on relevant social networks. Based on that data, you can find the most popular projects and their alternatives. featured
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  2. » Videos
  3. » Reviews
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Swift logo Swift

Swift is a general-purpose, multi-paradigm, compiled programming language developed by Apple Inc. for iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, Linux and z/OS.

Objective-C logo Objective-C

The primary programming language you use when writing software for OS X and iOS
  • Swift Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-24

We recommend LibHunt Swift for discovery and comparisons of trending Swift projects.

  • Objective-C Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-28

We recommend LibHunt Objective-C for discovery and comparisons of trending Objective-C projects.

Swift features and specs

  • Performance
    Swift is designed to be high-performance, often running faster than Objective-C due to its modern language constructs and optimized LLVM compiler.
  • Safety
    Swift includes features like optionals, type inference, and safe memory management to reduce common programming errors and crashes.
  • Readability
    Swift's syntax is clean and less cluttered, making it easier to read and maintain.
  • Interoperability
    Swift is fully interoperable with Objective-C, allowing for easy integration with existing iOS and macOS projects.
  • Modern language features
    Swift includes modern programming concepts such as closures, generics, and tuples which can help developers write expressive and efficient code.
  • Memory management
    Swift uses Automatic Reference Counting (ARC), which helps in efficient memory management without requiring manual intervention from the developer.
  • Active community and support
    Swift has a large, active community and strong support from Apple, ensuring continuous evolution and community-driven improvements.

Possible disadvantages of Swift

  • Newness
    Being relatively new compared to languages like Objective-C, Swift is still evolving, which might lead to occasional stability issues or breaking changes with new updates.
  • Limited legacy support
    Swift does not work with versions of iOS and macOS older than iOS 7 and OS X 10.9, limiting its use in maintaining really old applications.
  • Learning curve
    For developers accustomed to Objective-C or other languages, there is a learning curve associated with familiarizing themselves with Swift’s new syntax and features.
  • Smaller pool of third-party libraries
    Although growing, the ecosystem of third-party libraries for Swift is still smaller compared to more mature languages, potentially limiting immediate availability of tools.
  • Binary compatibility
    Binary compatibility issues can arise, especially when working with a mixed codebase of Swift and Objective-C, requiring extra caution during implementation.
  • Tooling maturity
    Some of the development tools and environments, while robust, can still be less mature compared to the well-established Objective-C tooling.

Objective-C features and specs

  • Mature Language
    Objective-C has been around since the 1980s, which means it has a long history of use in Apple's ecosystem, leading to a wealth of documentation, resources, and a stable, well-understood language.
  • Dynamic Runtime
    Objective-C's dynamic runtime allows for a high level of flexibility, such as dynamically loading classes and methods, which can be beneficial in certain programming scenarios requiring runtime adjustments.
  • C Compatibility
    Objective-C is a superset of C, which means it retains all functionalities of C, allowing low-level manipulation and the ability to integrate existing C libraries easily.
  • Rich Library Support
    With strong ties to Apple's ecosystem, Objective-C has extensive support for native libraries like Cocoa and Cocoa Touch, enabling efficient iOS and macOS application development.
  • Proven Track Record
    Many successful applications have been built using Objective-C, illustrating its capabilities in handling complex and large-scale applications.

Possible disadvantages of Objective-C

  • Complex Syntax
    The syntax of Objective-C can be verbose and complex compared to modern languages, leading to a steeper learning curve for new developers.
  • Limited Adoption Outside Apple Ecosystem
    Objective-C is primarily used within Apple's ecosystem, limiting its applicability and adoption in other platforms or general software development.
  • Lack of Modern Features
    Compared to newer programming languages like Swift, Objective-C lacks some modern programming features such as type safety, which can lead to more runtime errors.
  • Memory Management
    Although ARC (Automatic Reference Counting) has simplified memory management, developers still have to be conscientious about memory usage compared to simpler garbage-collected environments.
  • Performance Considerations
    The dynamic nature of Objective-C can introduce performance overhead, as dynamic message sending is slower compared to static method calls in languages like Swift.

Swift videos

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Honest Review of Swift and First Year Pay

More videos:

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  • Review - 2018 Maruti Swift Review - Still Fun To Drive | Faisal Khan

Objective-C videos

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Welcome to Objective-C for Swift Devs!

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Swift and Objective-C)

Swift

Objective-C

Programming Language
68 68%
Programming Language
32% 32
OOP
45 45%
OOP
55% 55
Programming
100 100%
Programming
0% 0
Generic Programming Language
0 0%
Generic Programming Language
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Swift and Objective-C

Swift Reviews

Top 10 Rust Alternatives
Swift also stands to be among the general-purpose computer languages used to generate codes. The basics of this language are based on a safer approach for the users.
Source: blog.back4app.com
The 10 Best Programming Languages to Learn Today
With the growing popularity of Apple operating systems and applications, having Swift programming skills under your belt is a wise investment. Swift shares some similar characteristics with programming languages Ruby and Python.
Source: ict.gov.ge

Objective-C Reviews

We have no reviews of Objective-C yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Swift seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 30 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Swift mentions (30)

  • Migrating Away from Rust
    It surely is, according to Apple's own documentation. > Swift is a successor to the C, C++, and Objective-C languages. It includes low-level primitives such as types, flow control, and operators. It also provides object-oriented features such as classes, protocols, and generics. -- https://developer.apple.com/swift/ If developers have such a big problem glueing C libraries into Java JNI, or Panama, then maybe game... - Source: Hacker News / 5 days ago
  • Apple's Darwin OS and XNU Kernel Deep Dive
    Yes, Apple themselves, apparently folks wanting Apple to use Rust don't read Apple's documentation or watch talks done by Apple compiler developers. > Swift was designed from the outset to be safer than C-based languages, and eliminates entire classes of unsafe code. -- https://www.swift.org/about/ > Swift is a successor to the C, C++, and Objective-C languages. It includes low-level primitives such as types, flow... - Source: Hacker News / 28 days ago
  • The Top Programming Languages to Learn in 2024
    Swift is Apple's programming language for iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS app development. It's known for its performance and safety, making it a great choice for developing apps in the Apple ecosystem. Explore Swift here. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Swift was always going to be part of the OS
    The raisons d'être between the CLR (and C#) and Swift are entirely different. Apple has explicitly set out to adopt swift as a successor language to C, Objective-C, C++, and Objective-C++[0][1]. This stands in stark contrast to Microsoft's vision for the CLR, which was… to be a better Java, more or less? (Does anyone actually know what the .NET initiative was all about? Microsoft went absolutely ham on it... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Local Dev Meetup
    What part of the coding universe are you interested in? Swift? React? Fission Ecosystem? Source: over 1 year ago
View more

Objective-C mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Objective-C yet. Tracking of Objective-C recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Swift and Objective-C, you can also consider the following products

Kotlin - Statically typed Programming Language targeting JVM and JavaScript

Perl - Highly capable, feature-rich programming language with over 26 years of development

C++ - Has imperative, object-oriented and generic programming features, while also providing the facilities for low level memory manipulation

Elixir - Dynamic, functional language designed for building scalable and maintainable applications

D (Programming Language) - D is a language with C-like syntax and static typing.

Go Programming Language - Go, also called golang, is a programming language initially developed at Google in 2007 by Robert...

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