macOS Opinions on XCode

[DaveP]

I'm curious to see what Mac developers think of XCode. I'm from a Windows programming background and I think Visual Studio is a pretty functional and useful IDE. I've used code a little bit and it seems ok. Certainly for the price it can't be beat! But it just doesn't seem that efficient or polished. I'm quite curious to see what people who have used XCode more think of it.

Thanks.

 

[SilentPanda]

I haven't used XCode a ton but from a GUI creation standpoint (interface builder) I love it. It's much easier to get things lined up and looking nice since the GUI standards are sorta built into the program. VB 6/.NET are fairly easy to set up the GUI but I never feel like I know if I have the spacing right. With Interface Builder I never really worry about it...

XCode does feel "different" than some of the other coding interfaces I've used but all of them feel that way I guess... just gotta get used to where all your project files are located and such...

 

[DaveP]

I will definitely agree that interface builder is pretty nice. I only used it once for a small little toy application, but thought it was good.

 

[HiRez]

I really like Xcode and Interface Builder a lot. Can't wait to start using Core Data. I'm only a part-time programmer, but since I assume Apple is using it to code hardcore apps like Final Cut Pro and Motion (and possibly Shake and OS X itself?), it certainly seems capable enough. I have heard some grumbles that gcc is not the most optimized compiler around, though.

 

[jamdr]

XCode is pretty sweet. I'm a Java programmer so I've always used Eclipse (and still do for the most part), but I find XCode has many of the features Eclipse does. There are some key things missing, but it's always hard to switch IDE's if you're familiar with doing things a certain way. I've never been a big fan of Visual Studio so I think XCode is better, but that's just me.

By the way is that Code Sense thing new in XCode 2? Because I'm really liking it

 

[robbieduncan]

By the way is that Code Sense thing new in XCode 2? Because I'm really liking it

I think CodeSense for Java is new. It's been there for Obj-C for a few versions. They have changed how it works a little but I quite like the Ctrl-. to show the completion and cycle through them. It seems to be much better at guesing what you want based on the text around it now too.

 

[whooleytoo]

Xcode (& Interface Builder, since the two are tightly integrated) is an enormously flexible tool, and is rapidly evolving. However, the learning curve for any developer - particularly if you're new to Cocoa/Objective C - is pretty harsh.

Even after using it for several months now, I still find it frustrating the way the project/target/executable settings are set in several places, and the way build settings override target settings etc. so you have to be *very* careful your settings aren't being over-ridden elsewhere, and the way there are four separate settings you need to check to decide the built application's location, etc.

On the positive side, having a tool which integrated design, code editor, help viewer, complete reference tool, UI builder and debugger, supporting several languages and with a huge array of templates is a vast improvement on other IDEs I've used.

 

[gamestriker]

Xcode, in general, is pretty nice, but I think the whole project/target/executable system is more complicated than it needs to be. I wish you could just compile, run and boom, your application. Otherwise, it is a very nice app.

I use Xcode for my C/C++ work (console stuff right now) for college, and I use Eclipse for my Java work.