Omit "only" b/c Swift pales by comparison to Java, making site lose credibility and gain opposition

[wti]

Describe the bug

The site loses significant credibility by repeating that Swift is the "only" language spanning embedded to cloud.

This triggers opposition based on the obvious counter-factual of Java, and paints the site as insular. That associates it with Apple's primary flaw from outsiders' perspective.

To Reproduce

From swift.org, just after new release on 6/4/2025:

First text after intro section:

Swift is the only language that scales from embedded devices and kernels to apps and cloud infrastructure

Lead text for multi-platform:

The only language that can span from embedded and kernel, to server and apps.

Java (far more popular and utilized than Swift) has been doing this for decades, and has both device and cloud installs in a scale and diversity of environments that Swift will never reach. Swift has installs only on Apple devices and no significant presence in the cloud or other devices, compared to Java.

The comparison is even worse when one considers Android as a Java platform.

Expected behavior

No comparison to the dominant language and runtime of the last 25 years

Just say it spans embedded to cloud while maintaining performance, economy, and safety. That's value enough.

The leading tag line went plenty far:

Swift is the powerful, flexible,
multiplatform programming language.
Fast. Expressive. Safe

Actual behavior

Making such an obvious counter-factual claim induces a loss of credibility, sells Swift short, and invites needless contention. It paints the site not as objective but insular (long a critique of Apple), reducing reliance.

The goal is to get new people to adopt Swift, not just serve those who have to use it.

[timsneath]

Acknowledge that it's a bold statement.

Java is a fine language, but I think the counter-argument might be that Java is no longer actively developed for embedded scenarios and is not designed for systems-level programs or kernel-level code.

Swift is more versatile than most people assume: as it's used in production in all these places: from kernel and embedded code to cloud infrastructure.

Perhaps the statement above ("Swift has installs only on Apple devices") might be a reflection of that common perception that the website is intending to correct?

[Frizlab]

What about rust then?

[soapdog]

It is not a bold statement, as outlined in #1053 it is a false statement. C, C++, Rust, Zig, D, even Common Lisp can do all that. Yeah, I'd rather use Swift for most of these use cases, but that doesn't mean Swift is the only language that can scale like that. C and C++ alone been doing all that for decades. C/C++ have been doing all that scaling for decades even inside Apple, so it is not as if you folks are not aware that that statement is not true.

[wti]

might be that Java is no longer actively developed for embedded scenarios

Please be accurate. Oracle has evolved multiple embedded offering over the decades, and yes some have been discontinued. Europe credit cards, IOT devices are current, other embedded java editions are current, and Oracle doesn't necessarily broadcast product lines consumed by few large customers. Again, this kind of blindered comparison really reflects the worst of Apple, instead of reflecting the best. Inviting comparison is a distraction.

In this domain, Swift's C/C++ inter-op, incremental migration, and SDK story is what should be shouted from the rooftops. People stay on their prior code because they think that they have to change everything, but that's not true with Swift. Keeping core code but migrating derived or user code to Swift is a compelling proposition, as is modular migration. (And it's a proposition Java can't easily match)

TBH, no one on the swift.org web site knows or cares about kernels except as a gee-whiz, and no one writing a kernel will consider Swift because of these claims. However the future promises a proliferation of small devices, all of which could profitably use Swift for services and user code.

[jessezamora]

I am not sure if saying "only" for Swift being able to scale from embedded to cloud is fully accurate- maybe "best" would be better. However, what @wti is saying about Swift being installed on Apple devices only is objectively false and still based on the common conception that seems to still float around, that Swift is an "Apple-only" language. @0xTim would have something to say about that. Also, although Swift on Server is not as ubiquitous as Java and other languages are, that doesn't mean that it's not being used or that it's not a great option. In fact, it's a really great option.

Also, Swift on Embedded is progressing quite a lot and I personally have already shipped 2 embedded devices that use it, even in its experimental state. Also, the community is making lots of progress on documentation and integrating it with various different SDKs such as Raspberry Pi Pico, Zephyr RTOS, Nuttx, and the Matter SDK as well.

[gavineadie]

I'm afraid there are people who will reach the words, "Swift is the only language that scales from embedded devices and kernels to apps and cloud infrastructure" and, knowing that to be false, will either read no further or read on a skeptics -- neither is a desired outcome.

[soapdog]

The fact that this is yet to be fixed seems to me that the maintainers are aware that they are speaking falsehoods but don't care about it. Makes me want to stay away from this community if that is how they deal with their website.

[alexandersandberg]

The fact that this is yet to be fixed seems to me that the maintainers are aware that they are speaking falsehoods but don't care about it. Makes me want to stay away from this community if that is how they deal with their website.

We care deeply about the community's feedback and concerns, including this one, but with multiple people and parties involved at a time when there's a lot of other things going on it's not that easy for us to move quickly on this.

The SWWG will meet next week for a project focused meeting to discuss the website redesign project. I'll make sure we make time to discuss this particular issue and will try to update you all here when we have more information to share.

[soapdog]

@alexandersandberg happy to hear this is in the agenda for the next meeting of the SWWG. To be not only a screaming voice of complaints here but also a helping hand, I sent a PR that preserves the essence of the marketing message with minimal changes to the strings.