Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Xcode typically requires the most recent version of OS X. If you are a member of the Mac Developer Program,
this is included in the program cost. Minor upgrades are free, but iPhone developers may need to buy a major
update when it becomes available.
Other tools can be added as needed. Unless you outsource graphic design, you need an editing suite to create
start-up graphics, icons, buttons, and other images, as shown in Figure 2.2. This is an essential requirement for
the iOS projects, where graphic design is extremely important, and a very useful extra for OS X development.
Adobe's Creative Suite is the de facto standard, but it's expensive. Free or cheap alternatives include Gimp for
OS X (
www.gimp.org/macintosh
)
and Pixelmator (
www.pixelmator.com
)
.
A small number of helper apps are available for developers. Xcode 3 supported various plug-ins, but these are
no longer compatible with Xcode 4. The Mac App Store includes a selection of other apps that have been up-
dated. For example, Accessorizer (
www.kevincallahan.org
) adds boilerplate setter and getter code. More apps
are likely to appear in the App Store as Xcode 4 matures.
FIGURE 2.2
Although it isn't integrated directly into Xcode, Adobe Photoshop works well as an external editor for graphics.
CROSS-REFERENCE
For more information about selecting editors and helper applications for various file types, see Chapter 8.
