Apple: We'll tailor Swift to be a fast new programming language • The Register

If modern + cross-platform is your goal, you can always Go elsewhere

"What you shouldn't expect from Swift, however, is a general-purpose programming language for use outside Apple's ecosystem. The fruity firm made no mention on Monday of how it plans to license Swift, whether it will release the source code to its compiler, or whether it will be possible to write code in Swift for platforms other than iOS and OS X – but we think maybe you shouldn't hold your breath for any of that.

In addition to its online documentation, Apple has released an e-book, The Swift Programming Language, that's a free download from the iBooks Store."

Apple: We'll tailor Swift to be a fast new programming language • The Register