Re: Apple's top secret Swift language

[Roelf Toxopeus]

On 22/07/2014 06:49, Ron Aaron wrote:
>
>
> On 07/22/2014 03:16 AM, Elizabeth D. Rather wrote:
>> On 6/6/14 3:30 PM, VisualForth.com wrote:
>>> Is Apple's top secret Swift language Swift Forth?
>>>
>>
>> We (FORTH, Inc.) are wondering how much confusion there actually is or
>> may be regarding these names. It sounds as though several of you were,
>> in fact, wondering about this. What do you hear from your colleages or
>> friends about this?
>
> Really?
>
> Is there more than a handful of people who are confused by this?
>
> It's not like Apple's Swift resembles any Forth at all, let alone Swift
> Forth.
>

The presentation blurbs during Apple's announcement of Swift were
certainly such, that you wondered if they were talking about Forth or
Forth like features in their product. Obviously they were unlike what
they had used before in XCode and Objective C: they had to announce
something new and thrilling.

The combination of the advertisement *and* the name Swift was a case of
concern and possible confusion. As a loyal customer to my vendors :-) I
immediately contacted FORTH, Inc. remembering certain aggressive
lawsuits by Apple wrt using/creating similar names and products.

However, discovering on Apple's own Swift web pages a courtesy link to
another unrelated Swift programming language, I assume there's no
danger. Note that Apple's A6 processor in iPad/iPhone is called Swift as
well. Totally unrelated and independently.

As a (Swift)Forth user on the Mac, my only concern regarding Swift, is
how to interface to future Swift written frameworks/libraries. There's
no confusion regarding the name(s). Rather, I think it's funny to
connect SwiftForth and Swift, how fitting.

Friends and colleagues, all ex-Forth users, all Mac, are not confused by
the name. They didn't even know there was a SwiftForth. They know I
(still) use Forth, but which version or vendor, no clue.

We all agree on Swift being a god send!
It will speed up the Sluggintosh bogged down in sending messages,
sending messages, sending messages ad infinitum.
Objective C was initially only for the top layer GUI, now it has
penetrated everywhere against Apple's own advice not to do that.
Swift is certainly a way out. Hopefully a generation of programmers
taught in getting drowned in (late bound) object orientation will
appreciate it and learn how to use it to *our* advance!

(It will save battery life for sure, bye bye AppNap ;-)

-r