Paul Krill
Editor at Large

Swift 6.3 boosts C interoperability, Android SDK

news
Mar 26, 20262 mins

The latest update to the Apple-founded language also previews a unified build engine for multiple platforms.

Swift 6.3, the latest release of the Apple-driven language for multiple platforms, offers more flexible C interoperability and improvements for cross-platform build tools. The official SDK for Android mobile application development also is featured.

Announced March 24, Swift 6.3 can be accessed at swift.org. For C interoperability, Version 6.3 debuts the @c attribute for exposing Swift functions and enums to C code in a project. Annotating a function or enum with @c prompts Swift to include a corresponding declaration in the generated C header that can be included in C/C++ files.

Also, Swift 6.3 has a preview of the Swift Build system integrated into Swift Package Manager. This preview brings a unified build engine across all supported platforms for a more consistent cross-platform development experience. Improvements to Swift Package Manager in Version 6.3 include a prebuilt Swift syntax for shared macro libraries, flexible inherited documentation, and discoverable package traits.

In the Android development vein, the Swift SDK for Android enables development of native Android programs in Swift and updating of Swift packages to support building for Android. Also, developers can use Swift Java and Swift Java JNI Core to integrate Swift code into existing Android applications written in Kotlin or Java.

Also in Swift 6.3:

  • Module selectors are being introduced to specify which imported module Swift should look in for an API used in code.
  • Embedded Swift has improvements ranging from enhanced C interoperability and better debugging support to meaningful steps toward a complete linkage model.
  • For the core library, Swift Testing has improvements for areas including warning issues, test cancellation, and image attachments.
  • Experimental capabilities are added to the DocC documentation compiler for markdown output, per-page static HTML content, and code block annotations.
  • For performance control for library APIs, attributes were introduced that give library authors finer-grained control over compiler optimizations for clients of APIs.
Paul Krill

Paul Krill is editor at large at InfoWorld. Paul has been covering computer technology as a news and feature reporter for more than 35 years, including 30 years at InfoWorld. He has specialized in coverage of software development tools and technologies since the 1990s, and he continues to lead InfoWorld’s news coverage of software development platforms including Java and .NET and programming languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, and Go. Long trusted as a reporter who prioritizes accuracy, integrity, and the best interests of readers, Paul is sought out by technology companies and industry organizations who want to reach InfoWorld’s audience of software developers and other information technology professionals. Paul has won a “Best Technology News Coverage” award from IDG.

More from this author