SwiftPM was introduced by Apple for integrating libraries and frameworks into Swift apps in 2015 and gained integration with Xcode 11 in 2019.
A Swift package contains a manifest file, Package.swift, which details the package's name, its contents, and dependencies, to ensure that all necessary components are automatically downloaded and compiled.
SwiftPM is the most popular package manager for managing dependencies in iOS apps. It is decentralized like Carthage, but it is built into the Swift compiler, making integration seamless. A centralized alternative to SwiftPM is CocoaPods. It can also be used for cross-platform development on Linux, unlike CocoaPods and Carthage. However, not all third-party libraries are available as Swift packages yet, so developers may need to use CocoaPods or Carthage in some cases.
For more detailed information, visit the Swift Package Manager Documentation.
