Apple open-sources Swift Build, Xcode's build engine, expanding cross-platform development

Apple has made a significant move by open-sourcing Swift Build, the build engine used by Xcode, which is responsible for constructing millions of apps and internal systems at Apple. This release includes support for Linux and Windows, broadening Swift Build's usability beyond Apple platforms.

Swift Build is designed to transform user-authored inputs, like project descriptions and source code, into output artifacts such as command-line tools, libraries, and applications. Built on llbuild, it enhances compiler integration, optimizes build graphs, and improves parallelism, increasing the efficiency of Swift and C code compilation.

By integrating Xcode's build engine into the Swift project, Apple aims to unify build execution across all platforms, reducing user confusion from different implementations. This unification will benefit the Swift Package Manager (SwiftPM), enhancing compatibility and the cross-platform development experience.