[abalone]

Apple low key does some cool server projects with a Java bent. They've contributed to Netty (well, they hired core developers).[1]

They've been basically put them to work reimplementing it in Swift.[2] It's open and out there but not a lot of people paying attention. While it's still early days I think there may a year where, suddenly, Swift on the server is a super serious thing and all this work they've been doing on little old CloudKit kind of takes over the world.

Just a fun prediction.. but it wouldn't be the first time Apple pulled something like that.

I do like that Swift's non-tracing garbage collection model is well suited for server apps. Rust is cool too but maybe Swift would be a little friendlier and thus better suited to inherit Java's mantle. I mean can you just imagine if Apple is slowly building up Swift to overtake Java on the server? That that's one of their long game master plans? I know that sounds completely crazy.. It just might work. They do run one of the biggest data center networks in the world so they have a pretty good testbed and can justify a hefty R&D budget.

[1] https://www.infoq.com/presentations/apple-netty

[2] https://github.com/apple/swift-nio

[ascagnel_]

Apple is probably hoping to run Swift on their servers. I don't foresee them putting in the effort into enterprise sales and service to make Swift overtake Java, though -- it hasn't really been their MO in the past.

[abalone]

They wouldn’t need to. They already partner with IBM for that stuff.