About the Transition to Xcode 4

Xcode 4 is the latest iteration of Apple’s integrated development environment (IDE). This document is intended for developers who are familiar with Xcode 3 and want to get started quickly using Xcode 4. If you want a short tutorial that introduces you to the major features of Xcode 4, see Xcode Quick Start Guide. If you want a more complete introduction to the features and workflows of Xcode 4, see Xcode Overview.

Figure I-1 shows the main user interface elements described in this document.

Xcode 4 uses one type of main window, called the workspace window, to hold most of the data you need. You can have as many workspace windows open as you need. A second window, called the Organizer window, is used for organizing your projects and reading documentation. For iOS projects, the Organizer window is also used for managing devices.

At a Glance

There are many improvements and new features in Xcode 4. A very partial list includes:

• Xcode 4 has a new, single-window interface for all major workflows (you can have multiple workspace windows and multiple tabs per window).

• Interface Builder is fully integrated with the main Xcode application.

• Assistant provides a second editor pane that complements the file you’re working on—for example, if you’re working on an implementation file, it can automatically find and open the corresponding header file.

• Fix-it checks your symbol names and code syntax as you type, highlights any errors it detects, and in some cases can even fix them for you.

• The version editor works with Git or Subversion to show a file’s entire SCM history and compare any two versions of a file.

• The LLVM 2.0 compiler includes full support for C, Objective-C, and C++.

• The LLDB debugger is faster and uses less memory than the GDB debugging engine.

• Xcode 4 lets you work on several interdependent projects in the same window, automatically determining dependencies so that it builds the projects in the right order.