The swiftc command compiles Swift code into
programs that can be run by the operating system.
// QUESTION: What is our cross-platform story?
A program built on a particular machine can only be run on other machines with the same hardware architecture and operating system. For example, an executable built on a computer running macOS 10.11 on x86_64 could not be run directly by a machine running Ubuntu on ARMv7. However, the same code can be compiled and run on any machine that supports Swift.
By tradition, the first program in a new language
should display "Hello, world!" on the screen.
In Swift, this can be done in a single line.
Create a new file, hello.swift,
and enter the following:
print("Hello, world!")Now, in the terminal, enter the following command:
$ swiftc hello.swiftRunning this command will create a new executable hello,
which can be run from the command line:
$ ./hello
$ Hello, world!