swiftlang/swift-build

Allow using swiftc as the Swift Build linker driver

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#3 opened on Jan 28, 2025

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good first issue

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Description

Swift Build currently always uses clang as the linker driver, while SwiftPM has historically used swiftc. We should add a build setting clients can use to opt into using swiftc as the linker driver to ensure consistency where the two drivers have divergent behavior / command line flags. This will likely require some changes throughout the build system where we currently make assumptions about flags the linker driver accepts, and especially how we escape flags to pass them to the underlying linker.

Contributor guide

Research direction
Understand the current linker driver selection in Swift Build, find code paths that assume clang flags, and add a build setting to use swiftc instead, with proper flag escaping.
Tech stack
swift
Domain
build system
Issue type
Feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-2 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
SwiftGit
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
65