WWDC 2021, what to expect?
This week, I
proposed three questions that I could answer and, with a close finish, I'm going to answer today:
What are my predictions for WWDC 2021
Let's start by pointing out these are mostly wishes combined with hope and certain 'almost sure' expectations. I don't have insights you don't have; it's all based on my experience as a Swift developer after monitoring the community.
1. Async/Await - Super likely
I would be surprised if we wouldn't get many Swift WWDC sessions around async/await. It's a new way of writing asynchronous code, which we've been waiting for a few years. As it's already
marked as implemented in Swift 5.5, it's very likely to arrive.
2. Swift 5.5 - Likely
I want to point out that I don't expect Swift 6.0, but Swift 5.5. The above link proves this kind of by stating, "Implemented in Swift 5.5.". Check out the
Swift 5.5 Release Process to read more. It's only 6 weeks, though, so I'm not 100% sure whether it will arrive. However, Xcode often becomes GM in September, which would mean Swift has a few more months to become stable while already becoming available.
3. Improved Swift Package Manager support - Very likely
I'm pretty sure we'll see further improvements in integrated SPM support. Opening packages directly is the way to go as of today, but often comes with unexpected behavior like file headers that aren't pre-filled and code coverage not being reported on Apple Silicon Macs.
4. Swift based Project Settings - Not so likely
Something I'm hoping for! Swift Packages already generate projects 'under the hood', so there's already kind of a mechanism in place. Especially once we can define
Extensible Build Tools, it becomes even more interesting. I don't see this as very likely to happen, but it would be super nice to say goodbye to those project file merge conflicts.
5. Swift Data replacing Core Data - Not so likely
My last hope is for a Core Data replacement. I've been writing many
Core Data articles, and I like the framework a lot, but it's time to have a Swift replacement that is more optimized for today's projects.
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That's it for my predictions. Hopefully, they will all come true, but I expect only a few of them to really arrive. Only a few weeks left before we know!
Enjoy this week's SwiftLee Weekly!
