ObjectiveCs

ObjectiveCs is a hypothetical, general-purpose programming language designed for building applications on modern Apple platforms. It takes its name from Objective-C but is envisioned as a language that combines the dynamic messaging model of Objective-C with a statically typed, modern syntax. The goal is to offer safer compile-time guarantees without sacrificing the flexibility that many Cocoa and Cocoa Touch APIs expose through dynamic features.

Design and features: It is statically typed by default, with optional dynamic typing for reflective code. It provides class-based object orientation, extensions, protocol-like interfaces, and interoperable bridging with existing Objective-C and Swift code. Memory management relies on automatic reference counting, with optional manual control for advanced users. It compiles to native binaries through an LLVM-based backend and integrates with Xcode-like tooling. It can call Objective-C APIs directly and be called from Objective-C/Swift.

Syntax and semantics: Methods can be invoked using a conventional dot-notation for properties and annotated functions, while the runtime still supports dynamic method resolution for selectors, enabling runtime flexibility. The language aims to keep the familiar Cocoa API style while clarifying type information at compile time to reduce certain classes of bugs.

Status and use: ObjectiveCs is an experimental project under active research and educational use. It has a small ecosystem of sample projects and tutorials and is not yet used in production at scale. Documentation emphasizes migration guidance for developers familiar with Objective-C and Swift.

See also: Objective-C, Swift, Cocoa, LLVM.