Developer Tools and Technologies
The Xcode developer tools package is included with every Mac, providing everything you need to create great Mac and iPhone applications.
Xcode is tightly integrated with the Cocoa frameworks, creating a productive and easy-to-use development environment, and is the same toolset used by Apple to produce Mac OS X. The tools include the Xcode IDE for coding, building, and debugging your application, Interface Builder to design the UI, and Instruments and Shark to analyze behavior and performance, plus dozens of additional tools.
Xcode IDE
Designed from the ground up to take advantage of Cocoa and the newest Apple technologies, the Xcode IDE provides you with everything you need, from a professional editor with code completion and Cocoa refactoring, to Apple-tuned open-source compilers that take full advantage of your multi-core Mac.
Developing with Xcode is all about keeping you focused. Simply click the green Build and Go button to start the build, debug, and test cycle. Build errors are displayed within your source code as Message Bubbles. Once your project is built, the debugger bar appears in the editor window, and hovering your mouse reveals variable values as Data Tips. If you are developing for iPhone, Xcode automatically installs your application on the device and attaches the debugger over USB. Throughout, Xcode keeps your code front and center.
Interface Builder
Interface Builder makes it simple to prototype a full user interface without writing any code. Laying out windows, buttons, sliders, and other controls will create a fully-functioning Mac or iPhone user interface. You can then turn that prototype into a real application, keeping all the interface objects and adding features to them. Xcode works with Interface Builder in real time so you simply wire up the code you write in Xcode to the graphical controls within Interface Builder.
You can easily build user interfaces because Cocoa is built using the Model-View-Controller pattern. In fact, the user interfaces are actually archived Cocoa objects that require no code generation—Cocoa interface objects are dynamically connected to your implementation code at runtime. Changes to the user interface do not require you to recompile your code, and changes to your code do not require you to recompile the user interface.
Instruments and Shark
A world-class Mac or iPhone application provides a great user experience. This includes an elegant user interface and optimal performance. The developer tools include powerful optimization and analysis tools—Instruments and Shark—that help you track down performance bottlenecks in your Mac and iPhone applications.
Instruments collects data such as disk, memory, or CPU usage in real time, either on your Mac or remotely from a connected iPhone. The collected data is graphically displayed as tracks over time, making it easy to pinpoint problem areas, then drill down to the offending lines of code. When maximum speed is required, Shark lets you sample at the micro-second level with incredible detail.
These tools help guarantee your gorgeous user interface will be accompanied by equally impressive responsiveness.
