Swift 6.4 Released

Swift 6.4 has been released, offering a wide range of enhancements to make programming more efficient and straightforward across various platforms. The new version consolidates support for applications, servers, systems code, embedded devices, and the browser, facilitating the creation of clearer and simpler code. Key features of this release include asynchronous calls in defer blocks, cancellation shields, and improved support for modern APIs within Foundation and the standard library.

Additionally, the Subprocess library, which enables running and interacting with subprocesses in a cross-platform manner, has reached version 1.0. Swift Testing has also been refined, allowing the use of XCTAssert in Swift Testing tests, customization of failed expectations, and support for recording attachments on Apple platforms.

The documentation site for Swift has launched, and the standard library documentation is now open source. Notably, JavaScriptKit has seen performance improvements when bridging to WebAssembly (Wasm), with safe bridging happening up to 40 times faster than previous versions. The Wasm SDK is now available for compiling Swift for the browser with minimal setup.

Furthermore, updates to Foundation have enhanced FileManager support on WASI, and Swift on Android has seen significant improvements with the new LTS NDK 30 providing Android availability attributes. Lastly, Embedded Swift has received several enhancements, including generalized support for existential types and a new EmbeddedRestrictions warning.

Swift 6.4 reflects the collective efforts of the Swift community, inviting everyone to explore and contribute to its future development. To get started, follow the instructions on the Install Swift page.