

Xcode 4 - review - credo
http://fireballed.org/linked/2011/03/09/xcode-pilkington/

======
_frog
Can anyone comment on the differences between this and the Xcode 4 GM Seed 2
that I've been using for the past few weeks?

A bit of browsing led to noticing that the version reported on the welcome
screen shown in the screenshots section of Xcode's App Store page is the same
a the GM 2 version number.

Of course they could just be reusing screenshots but I'd love for somebody to
check this.

 _Update:_ I noticed that the download page for Xcode 4 reports that it's
version 4A304a, the same as the GM seed.

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diwup
Oh wow, this review seems to be THE review I've been seeking for weeks. Hope
this time I could download the stupid 3GB faster...

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whyaorta
The one thing that Xcode 3 does better for me: My main monitor is in portrait
orientation. A UI based on a single window with vertical panes doesn't really
jive with that.

~~~
sovande
View -> Assistant Layout

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GeneralMaximus
Why is nobody mentioning that Xcode 4 is not a free download? It's only free
if you already paid $99 for the developer account. It's $5 for the rest of us.

Though $5 is not a huge amount, it's difficult for me to send that money to
Apple. All I have is a debit card. Getting a credit card is impossible for
Indian students. I'll have to call an "adult" (I hate that word) and convince
them to let me use their credit card for an Xcode purchase.

On the other hand, The Pirate Bay has a free copy I can grab ...

~~~
silvajoao
It's even more disappointing for open source projects.

~~~
program
XCode 3 has been updated as well (3.2.6), it includes SDK 4.3 and it's free.
You can use it for shipping new apps.

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delackner
One annoyance he didn't really touch on, but that has driven me up the walls,
is that [edit:thanks thought_alarm!!!!] double clicking a build error does not
jump to the build results, which are now in a renamed "Logs" view.

Also, it is incredibly slow and crashes several times a day.

That said, the IB integration is amazing and the navigation between related
files is so good that I am using it.

~~~
thought_alarm
Hit Command+7 to view the "Log Navigator", and you'll get the familiar build
log and results. You can configure XCode to automatically jump the Log
Navigator when a build starts; see the "Behaviors" section in the Preferences.

The Log Navigator includes a history of all your builds, debug sessions, and
commits, which is kind of neat.

You can also use Command+' and Command+" to navigate back and forth between
build errors or "issues".

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statictype
Does this include the iOS 4.3 SDK? Or do I have to do another 3GB download in
a couple of days if I download this now?

~~~
jedsmith
The only button I'm offered in the iOS Dev Center says:

> Xcode 4 and iOS SDK 4.3

<https://developer.apple.com/devcenter/ios/index.action>

~~~
diwup
Actually there's this _Looking for Xcode 3? Download_ button, right under the
Xcode 4 button. :)

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Cococabasa
Good review. Not sure if I should update before finishing the current iOS app
I am working on...

~~~
thought_alarm
You should keep XCode 3 around, regardless. Both versions can co-exist, so
install XCode 4 into, say, /Developer4 instead of /Developer.

And when you open your project in XCode 4 it won't trash your XCode 3 project
settings or prevent you from going back to XCode 3. However, any project
settings you change in XCode 4 won't be visible in XCode 3.

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jrubyer
Why $5? Seems to be a bit random.

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d0m
Go to the conclusion, then go to the last paragraph of the conclusion.

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recoiledsnake
>I've always considered Xcode to be the nicest IDE to use in terms of user
interface, though it wasn't exactly pretty. It's just the competition was so
ugly and cluttered. I've often likened saying Xcode 3 was the prettiest IDE to
saying that it was the nicest smelling dog crap. Xcode 4 however, genuinely is
pretty. I love looking at it and admiring the amount of work that has gone
into it. Apple has had some of the prettiest developer tools in terms of
Interface Builder, Instruments, Quartz Composer etc for quite a while, but
Xcode was dated. It now feels like the sort of user interface you'd expect
from Apple.

Looking at the screenshots, I don't see how it's prettier than, say Visual
Studio 2010. Maybe it's subjective? Xcode from the article:

[http://fireballed.org/linked/2011/03/09/xcode-
pilkington/xco...](http://fireballed.org/linked/2011/03/09/xcode-
pilkington/xcode4review%20findreplacepreview.png)

Visual Studio:

[http://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/wordpress/wp-
content/u...](http://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/wordpress/wp-
content/uploads/2009/10/vs2010.jpg)

~~~
ugh
Not an entirely fair comparison, is it?

Here is the equivalent new project window in Xcode:
<http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4073000/new.png> (also:
<http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4073000/project.png>)

A shot of the main window: <http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4073000/main.png>

~~~
Nate75Sanders
Have you two seen the new project window in vim? It's far less cluttered.

~~~
ugh
I did not make any statements about the UI of Xcode, I merely pointed out that
the comparison was unfair.

