Swift Standard Library

Solve complex problems and write high-performance, readable code.

Overview

The Swift standard library defines a base layer of functionality for writing Swift programs, including:

Fundamental data types such as Int, Double, and String
Common data structures such as Array, Dictionary, and Set
Global functions such as print(_:separator:terminator:) and abs(_:)
Protocols, such as Collection and Equatable, that describe common abstractions.
Protocols, such as CustomDebugStringConvertible and CustomReflectable, that you use to customize operations that are available to all types.
Protocols, such as OptionSet, that you use to provide implementations that would otherwise require boilerplate code.

Model data with numbers, Boolean values, and other fundamental types.

Work with text using Unicode-safe strings.

Store and organize data using arrays, dictionaries, sets, and other data structures.

Use your custom types in operations that depend on testing for equality or order and as members of sets and dictionaries.

Serialize and deserialize instances of your types with implicit or customized encoding.

Allow values of your type to be expressed using different kinds of literals.

Print values to the console, read from and write to text streams, and use command line arguments.

Fortify your code with runtime checks, and examine your values' runtime representation.

Use key-path expressions to access properties dynamically.

Allocate and manage memory manually.

Perform casts between types or represent values of any type.

Use imported C types or call C variadic functions.

Work with prefix, postfix, and infix operators.