Talk Details
Title
Canonical distributed Deb and Snap packaging of the Swift
toolchain for Linux
Description
Swift is the language for modern, powerful apps on Apple’s
platforms. However, the language feature set and CPU architecture support gives it
enormous potential as an approachable, memory safe systems programming capable
language for example to build server backends and programs in heterogeneous low
memory footprint environments, for example in IoT devices. The multi-year work of
the Swift Server Work Group, the recent addition of structured concurrency to the
language, the associated effort towards Distributed Actors, and the already some
years available dynamic callable support, are just some examples of the kind of
powerful capabilities that have applications for Linux based programming for servers
and IoT alike. The Linux packaging story of Swift has however remained partial and
fragmented compared to other popular languages in the same category where packages
are readily available, focusing in case of Linux more on deployment time
considerations (Docker images) than development time needs. At Canonical, as the
distributors of Ubuntu Linux and creators of the cross distribution Snap packaging
format, we recognise the potential Swift has. In this talk I would like to announce
availability of deb and Snap packaging of the Swift toolchain, and to demonstrate a
Linux based development workflow, demonstrating several Linux based uses for the
language, ranging from servers to IoT devices.
About the Speaker
Position
Engineering Director at Canonical
Bio
My name is Matias Piipari and I am an Engineering Director at
Canonical, distributors of Ubuntu Linux. At Canonical I oversee distributed system
testing of our Kubernetes and OpenStack based Cloud solutions and our varied
hardware certification programs for devices ranging from data centre grade servers
to tiny IoT devices. Before Canonical, I have over a decade of development
experience on macOS and iOS as CTO of the Apple Design Award winning Papersapp.com,
later as creator of the Mac based Manuscripts authoring tool acquired by Wiley &
Sons, and most recently as Engineering Manager at the ADA winning Sketch. Even as my
current role is Linux focused, I continue to build Mac and iOS based apps on my own
time, and track the development of Swift as a language, and Swift based
technologies.
