I like the direction you’ve outlined here.
There’s also another import-related feature I’d like to see, which Jordan touched on in the post you linked:
Suppose I write a library which vends a protocol. My library has no dependency requirements, but there are types in, say, Foundation and Numerics and Collections which could all conform to my protocol.
Currently, I have to make separate shim modules like “MyLibraryFoundationShim”, “MyLibraryNumericsShim”, and so forth, to provide the conformances, so that clients which don’t use those other libraries can still use mine.
But then clients of my library which do use those other libraries must remember to include the corresponding shims as well. This makes it a hassle for clients to use my library, since they need to import multiple dependencies instead of just one.
• • •
It would be much more ergonomic if my library could make a “convenience import” of those other libraries.
Then the conformances of, say, Numerics types to my protocol would be available for clients who import both my library and Numerics, but other clients who don’t import Numerics would still be able to use my library without any problems.