Mar 17, 2015
New Playgrounds Part 2 - Sources
Xcode 6.3 beta 3 adds even more to the new playgrounds format introduced in the last beta. The Xcode Project Navigator now lets you easily access a new Sources folder that includes additional Swift code, as well as the Resources folder.
Playgrounds and the Project Navigator
Playgrounds are now represented within Xcode as a bundle with a disclosure triangle that reveals Resources and Sources folders when clicked. These folders contain additional content that is easily accessible from your playground’s main Swift code. To see these folders, choose View > Navigators > Show Project Navigator (or just hit Command-1).
It is easy to drag-and-drop images and other content into the Resources folder. You may want to go back and look at the DemoNewFormat.playground file from the previous blog post for another example of how these resources are stored and used (using the latest Xcode 6.3 beta 3).
Sources Folder
The Sources folder is new in Xcode 6.3 beta 3. This folder contains additional Swift source files that your main playground code can easily access. Putting extra supporting .swift files into the Sources folder makes it easy to keep your playground clean and readable. Code in the Sources folder also gains a big performance benefit because this code is compiled once, and is not run in the same interactive manner as the main playground code. This allows curriculum and sample code authors to create even more interactive and exciting playgrounds while the visible code remains approachable for the reader.
Mandelbrot Example
Here’s an example playground that calculates the complex and beautiful Mandelbrot set. This playground uses the Sources folder to demonstrate the power and added performance that it enables. To see the inner workings of this playground, examine the code within the Sources folder.
