Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
for historical reasons. Developer tools typically assume a workflow and mindset that date back to the very earli-
est days of computing, more than half a century ago.
The designers of Xcode 4 have begun to rethink some of these assumptions, adding features that can streamline
and simplify the workflow. Some of these features are specific to Cocoa and Objective-C development, while
others are more general improvements in code management and debugging. Compiler technology has also im-
proved, and Xcode 4 is moving toward the latest and fastest compiler tools.
CROSS-REFERENCE
For details of the compiler technologies available in Xcode 4, see Appendix C.
Compared to Xcode 3, Xcode 4 has a completely redesigned interface and a selection of extra features:
A unified interface in a single window
Integrated editors for all main code and data file types
Integration of
Interface Builder,
the Xcode visual UI design tool
Simpler and faster navigation between files
Integrated code management with version control, repository access, and a code library to simplify reuse
of code snippets
Improved debugging and code testing with more informative error messages, static code testing, support
for multiple log files, and better Code Completion (formerly Code Sense) hinting
New code analysis features, which offer hints about basic coding errors
Improved and simplified code and symbol searches
Simplified management of build targets and products
Support for
Schemes,
which offer fine control over how projects build, and support different build op-
tions for different applications (for example, testing, debugging, packaging for distribution, and so on)
Support for
Workspaces,
which make it easy to manage and work on multiple related projects
Backward compatibility with Xcode 3.
x
project files
Improved compiler technology
Various other time-saving features, such as automatic unprompted file saves before a build
Moving from the Xcode 3 to the Xcode 4 editor
The new features of the editor are described in more detail in Chapter 3, but this chapter includes a simple ori-
entation for impatient developers who are already familiar with Xcode 3. In outline, almost all the familiar fea-
tures have been retained, and there are some new arrivals. But the UI has been reorganized, and features may be
in unfamiliar locations.
NOTE
