Apple recently unveiled Swift, a new language to replace Objective-C for OS X and iOS application development. Apple won't accept submissions built using Swift to the iOS or Mac App Store until the fall, when iOS 8 and the next version of OS X (Yosemite) ship, so there's still some time to learn the ins and outs of this new programming language.
Without further ado, here are 10 things you need to know about Swift.
1. Swift should appeal to younger programmers. Swift is more similar to languages such as Ruby and Python than is Objective-C. For example, it's not necessary to end statements with a semicolon in Swift, just like in Python. In Objective-C, on the other hand, it's necessary to do so; forgetting a semicolon at the end of just a single statement can cause errors. If you cut your programming teeth on Ruby and Python, Swift should appeal to you.