Building High-Performance Linux Services with Swift: A Hands-On Introduction
Swift isn't just for iOS anymore. In this hands-on workshop, we'll demonstrate why Swift has become a compelling choice for Linux server development, offering memory safety without garbage collection, modern concurrency primitives, and performance that rivals C++.
Designed for developers experienced with Linux services in languages such as Python, Go, or Node.js, this session bridges the gap between Swift's origins in Apple and its growing Linux ecosystem. We'll build a production-ready REST API from scratch, leveraging Swift's type system and compiler-enforced safety to eliminate entire classes of bugs before runtime. You'll see firsthand how Swift's structured concurrency model makes parallel processing intuitive while avoiding data races, and how its ARC memory management delivers predictable performance without GC pauses.
Participants will work directly with Swift Package Manager, explore Linux-specific deployment patterns, and learn how Swift integrates with familiar Linux tools and workflows. We'll cover practical considerations, such as containerization, systemd integration, and deployment to popular distributions, including Ubuntu, Amazon Linux, and Red Hat.
Prerequisites: Bring a laptop with Swift installed via https://www.swift.org/install/linux/ (supporting Ubuntu, Amazon Linux, Red Hat, and other major distributions). Basic familiarity with REST APIs and command-line development is assumed. No prior Swift experience required.
