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Swift and Xcode Head Chris Lattner Leaving Apple for Tesla This Month [Updated]

Tuesday January 10, 2017 8:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Chris Lattner, director of Apple's Developer Tools group, has announced he will be leaving the company later this month to "pursue an opportunity in another space." Lattner was responsible for leading the teams behind Xcode, Swift, and some other development-related tools and compilers at Apple.

chris-lattner-swift
In a message posted to the Swift mailing list, shared by MacStories, Lattner said Ted Kremenek, currently Senior Manager of Languages and Runtimes at Apple, will be taking over as "Project Lead" for the Swift programming language, managing the "administrative and leadership responsibility" for Swift.org.
This recognizes the incredible effort he has already been putting into the project, and reflects a decision I’ve made to leave Apple later this month to pursue an opportunity in another space. This decision wasn't made lightly, and I want you all to know that I’m still completely committed to Swift. I plan to remain an active member of the Swift Core Team, as well as a contributor to the swift-evolution mailing list.
Lattner said he does not expect his resignation to impact day-to-day operations of the Swift team in any significant way. He also noted Apple's development of Swift 4 will continue under Kremenek. Apple previously said it will shift its focus to Swift 4 after Swift 3.1 is released over the coming months.

Latter is best known as the main author of the LLVM Compiler Infrastructure Project, a collection of modular and reusable compiler and toolchain technologies. He started development of Swift in 2010, and the open source programming language was introduced for Apple software platforms at WWDC 2014.

Update: Chris Lattner is leaving Apple for Tesla, where he will fill the position of Vice President of Autopilot Software and lead Tesla's autopilot engineering team.

Tag: Swift
[ 151 comments ]


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billybobthornton
30 months ago
He was upset about the MacBook Pro too.
Rating: 45 Votes
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CmdrLaForge
30 months ago
One has to assume he left because the company he worked for couldn't provide him an acceptable desktop computer for his work.
Rating: 37 Votes
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eoblaed
30 months ago
Well, that was swift.
Rating: 28 Votes
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keysofanxiety
30 months ago
And here come the flood of not-so-witty remarks: why Apple is doomed, why Tim should be fired, and why the new MacBook Pro is a failure.

However, reading the article indicates that somebody else is taking over the admin & leadership responsibility — you know, the boring paperwork stuff. And Latter has said himself that he'll remain a part of the Swift Core team. So if anything, he'll be doing more programming, not less. Management isn't for everybody.

Mind you, that's just the impression I got; not sure if it's right. Though it would be great if somebody who has something beyond a tired witticism could read the article and give their thoughts on the matter. God forbid we might end up having a polite discussion.
Rating: 24 Votes
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Even Longer
30 months ago
It seems, all the opportunities are in another place, but Apple nowadays.
Rating: 20 Votes
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Deemr
30 months ago
Things the new Apple fashion style products don't need:
- Innovation
- Pro / Pros
- Terminal
- Automation
- Swift
- XCode

It is soo good that we have a cook that has a clear vision for the company and the products.
Rating: 17 Votes
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69Mustang
30 months ago
I freaking hate Chris Lattner. Hate, hate, hate, monstrously hate Chris Lattner and everything Duke.

/realizes this guy isn't Christian Laettner

Never mind.:oops:


On topic: Wish him well, in his future endeavors. Seems there's been a few leaving Apple lately.

edit after update: going to Tesla, hmmmm... alrighty then.
... and Duke sucks. That is all.
Rating: 15 Votes
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Crosscreek
30 months ago
Another Mac defection.
Rating: 14 Votes
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macduke
30 months ago

And here come the flood of not-so-witty remarks: why Apple is doomed, why Tim should be fired, and why the new MacBook Pro is a failure.

However, reading the article indicates that somebody else is taking over the admin & leadership responsibility — you know, the boring paperwork stuff. And Latter has said himself that he'll remain a part of the Swift Core team. So if anything, he'll be doing more programming, not less. Management isn't for everybody.

Mind you, that's just the impression I got; not sure if it's right. Though it would be great if somebody who has something beyond a tired witticism could read the article and give their thoughts on the matter. God forbid we might end up having a polite discussion.

Agreed, but combined with recent events, still not the best sign. I fear some people within Apple are starting to see the writing on the wall. Some of them have been there a long time, made some decent money, and figure it's a safe time to bow out and start fresh with their own company or with a newer company that is more nimble. For now just add it to the list of departures and hope that there isn't an upwards trend.
Rating: 12 Votes
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now i see it
30 months ago
Ummm, let me see....
Tweaking a programming language until kingdom come—

Or

Developing new software that will control autonomous cars which some day will fill out roads.

Which one sounds more fun?

But this is the most solid news yet that Apple's so-called car project (or myth) is doomed. Something is rotten in Cupertino.
Rating: 8 Votes

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