[72deluxe]

I think without the supporting runtime libraries also being open-source, there isn't any point in open-sourcing the language is there?

I mean, look at GNUStep. Not widespread adoption.

[threeseed]

Actually there is. One of the big selling points of Go is its ability to produce self contained binaries. Swift would share this but also be a language that is more full featured.

GNUStep failure is more to do with Objective-C being such an odd language for most people.

[pjmlp]

All compilers that produce native code are capable of producing static executables and libraries.

This is only a selling point to developers that mix language with implementation, or never used a native code compiler.

[pjmlp]

Agreed. I gave up following GNUStep back in 2003, the last time I used WindowMaker as my window manager.

[72deluxe]

Fond memories. I used to use WindowMaker on my old RH 6.2 system (or was it 7?), maybe even Fedora 1. But I never understood the dock - I was expecting a Windows-style task bar and the dock really isn't that.

The fact that it sat beneath other windows meant you had to constantly shift windows to get to it, which I found frustrating. Likely a configuration option?

It probably runs excellently on modern hardware, albeit with no GPU acceleration or anything to reduce main CPU cycles.