macOS developing for the latest OS version

[MrFusion]

Beta versions of Yosemite and iOS 8 are available for developers. But beta versions aren't exactly stable, by definition. So how do you develop for these latest versions? Do you install them on your main computer anyway, or on a spare computer or on a virtual machine (like VMWare)?

Which OS version do you target for your apps? The previous, the current or the upcoming version?

 

[hiddenmarkov]

Not a developer by trade (hobbyist and learner what I will call myself), just an IT slave. But same rule applies to keep life going simple.


Develop/test in test environments, never on your production/work box.

If married (and male) I call it the keep the wife happy effect lol. She wants to hop on the puter. You tell her umm, yeah....puter is hosed from some experimenting I did. Wife not happy. Now you have an IT project on a time schedule at home to change that.

Me...I get these deadlines at work when servers have issues. I don't need this at home personally. YMMV ofc.



At work for IT solutions I mix it up with hardware test boxes or make esx clients on our esx setup.

At home with jsut the mbp now....I use vm's.

 

[chown33]

Always start by reading: the docs for the new APIs, the release notes, forums where the foolhardy bitch about bugs, etc. If you don't need any of it immediately, then let other people dive in first ("Fools rush in where angels fear to tread).

Reading is the first step to effective practice. The more prepared you are when it comes to putting it into practice, the better off you'll be.

If there is a compelling API, then work out how to use it on a non-production machine. Expect to lose work, so plan accordingly. File bug-reports.

Sometimes it's good enough to keep a separate bootable partition that contains the beta-ware. If I have the choice, I prefer to keep beta-ware on a separate and disconnectable disk, because I've occasionally seen damage to partitions or partition-maps due to beta-ware. Disconnection is a great risk-avoider.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Installing Xcode betas on your computer is probably fine. It might mess with other projects on your computer, though, but those are backed up by version control, right? So you're fine - recovery is easy in the unlikely event that things go wrong.

Installing the iOS beta SDK on your computer is also probably fine, for the same reason. I'd be more shocked if this broke things than if Xcode beta did.

Installing an iOS beta on your personal iOS device is a terrible idea. I'd suggest you get another, dedicated test device, if you must have the latest beta running on a physical device to test your applications. If you really must put it on your personal device, make sure to at least back everything up before you do so. Be prepared for all of your apps, everything in every app, your pictures, music, videos, chat logs, emails... everything... be prepared for all of it to vanish.

Installing an OS X beta on your personal Mac is an arguably worse idea than installing an iOS beta on your personal iOS device, because odds are, if the beta bricks your Mac you'll be losing a lot more than if a beta bricks your iOS device - you'll probably lose a lot of files forever because few people actually have remote backups of their entire computer. Getting a replacement Mac will probably take longer than getting a replacement iOS device, which means you'll set back your development process by quite a bit. Plus a replacement Mac will cost a lot more than a replacement iOS device in most cases, unless we're talking about the cheapest Mac Mini vs the most expensive iPad.

 

[960design]

My main programming computer is my MBP. I also have a MBA, MacMini Server and an iMac. The iMac 2012 21.5" sits on my desk and normally runs email, calendar, notes, chrome, cron jobs. Basically it is my work computer. I use this to test dev OS X releases first. I have an iPad2, iPad3, iPad4 and an iPad Air. I put beta iOS on pretty much all of these at once.

Since the MBP is my money maker and with me 24/7 I wait until the GM release before upgrading. I usually make it a rule to wait at least a week and read up on any issues via MacRumors before updating the MoneyMaker.

MacServer gets updated somewhere in between as it is used only for local dev and code testing.