{"id":51100,"date":"2026-02-26T16:57:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T21:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=51100"},"modified":"2026-03-04T11:33:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T16:33:57","slug":"why-not-objective-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/26\/why-not-objective-c\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Not Objective-C"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brent Simmons<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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I led the effort to port our remaining Objective-C to Swift. When I started that project, Objective-C was about 25% of the code; when I retired it was in the low single digits (and has gone even lower since, I’ve heard).<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Objective-C code was where a lot of our crashing bugs and future<\/em> crashing bugs (and bugs of all kinds) lived.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

A second thing we knew was that having to interoperate between Swift and Objective-C is a huge pain.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

And a third thing we knew was that very few of our engineers had a background writing Objective-C. Maintaining that code — fixing bugs, adding features — was more expensive than it was for Swift code.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I prefer Swift for new code, but I don’t really want to rewrite working code. I haven’t found my old Objective-C to be a source of bugs. However, I always seem to end up rewriting more than I initially planned because the interop is such a pain. I like using Swift for the main data types in my app, but of course those get used everywhere, including from Objective-C code. I’m also convinced that Objective-C interop is a source of some of the weird compiler behavior I see with crashes and dependency tracking. The part I don’t<\/em> like rewriting in Swift is stuff that calls plain C APIs. The Swift version often feels less readable, and I’m less sure that it’s correct—both the opposite of my normal experience with the language.<\/p>\n\n

Update (2026-03-03<\/a>): Brent Simmons<\/a> (Mastodon<\/a>):<\/p>\n

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Then of course I wrote some Objective-C code recently and really, really loved it.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Once you get past that, which takes a day or two given a good-faith effort, you’ll realize how small a language it is, how easy to hold in your palm and turn around and understand all sides of it. And you’ll appreciate how easy it is to make good decisions when you don’t have a surplus of language features to choose from.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

It’s a cliché to call Objective-C a more elegant weapon for a more civilized age. It’s better thought of, these days, as a loaded footgun.<\/p>\n

But I did absolutely love writing this code! So much fun.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Brent Simmons<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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Two things I didn’t note in my post on Objective-C but could have: the compiler is crazy fast, and the debugger is wonderfully smooth, without all the latency we’ve become used to the last bunch of years. The whole experience feels so different — so light and easy.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

smitty825<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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I have an old Objective-C Mac app that I have to go back and rebuild on occasion. There are two things that blow my mind each time I rebuild:<\/p>\n

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  1. No matter what version of Xcode I use…it always compiles successfully the first time. <\/li>\n
  2. Holy hell…does it compile fast! It feels like I press the build and deploy button, and it’s deploying almost immediately.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

    I was recently working on some Objective-C code, while my Mac was on battery in Low Power Mode. I made some changes to the app code and pressed the keyboard shortcut for Test Again. At first I thought nothing had happened, but actually it had recompiled and run the test in the blink of an eye. It feels totally different from writing Swift, where even a tiny change in test code (so that app doesn’t need to be recompiled) takes 5–10 seconds.<\/p>\n\n

    Update (2026-03-04<\/a>): Manton Reece<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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    I still prefer Objective-C and plan to continue to use it. One change I’m thinking about making, though… Going all code for UI instead of XIBs or Storyboards, to make it easier to diff when working with AI.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

    Previously:<\/p>\n