3 ms·

It has bugs, and most frustrating are the regressions (for example, in some past Xcode they broke option-drag-to-copy-text editing but eventually fixed it; now

It has bugs, and most frustrating are the regressions (for example, in some past Xcode they broke option-drag-to-copy-text editing but eventually fixed it; now in Xcode 9, it’s broken again — or at least so unreliable that I never bother to try copying that way anymore and it’s useless). While I’m partial to terminal-based editors anyway, I never felt like I required them until Xcode 8.x or so. I really don’t understand Apple’s development tools strategy. In the old days, the “separation of concerns” that was Project Builder and Interface Builder with other developer apps and command-line tools, etc. made a lot of sense. Ever since they created the UI abomination that is Xcode 4.x and tried to shove every single thing into the same program, it’s been unstable and aggravating to use. And don’t let the 9.x version fool you; these are iTunes-style marketing versions, Xcode “9” represents AT BEST an Xcode 5.1.0.2beta3 level of usefulness.

namelost 9y ago
One problem is that Xcode is written using AppKit, which was a state of the art technology 25 years ago and hasn't changed much since. Apple stopped caring about Mac development a long time ago and Xcode is the highest profile casualty. Contrast with VSCode which is built with modern technologies. It has a much faster release pace, and is more stable and more responsive (despite being an Electron app!)
- grzm 9y ago
  > "Apple stopped caring about Mac development a long time ago and Xcode is the highest profile casualty." Xcode is also required for iOS development. I haven't used Xcode in a while. Are there aspects of Xcode that are only used in iOS that are better or more modern than those that are used only for MacOS?
  - namelost 9y ago
    I don't mean that. Xcode is itself a Mac app, but Apple hasn't cared about the technologies for building Mac apps for a long time. The UI framework for building Mac apps (AppKit) was designed in the 90s. In ~2007 it was revamped for the original iPhone as UIKit, but crucially Apple never backported their modernization to the Mac. And even UIKit is starting to look outdated compared to modern innovations such as React Native. So I don't envy the Xcode team, they are working with an old codebase and targeting an abandoned UI framework. I'm sure if Apple could swallow its corporate pride and just fork VSCode, they could work miracles.

namelost 9y ago

One problem is that Xcode is written using AppKit, which was a state of the art technology 25 years ago and hasn't changed much since. Apple stopped caring about Mac development a long time ago and Xcode is the highest profile casualty. Contrast with VSCode which is built with modern technologies. It has a much faster release pace, and is more stable and more responsive (despite being an Electron app!)

grzm 9y ago
> "Apple stopped caring about Mac development a long time ago and Xcode is the highest profile casualty." Xcode is also required for iOS development. I haven't used Xcode in a while. Are there aspects of Xcode that are only used in iOS that are better or more modern than those that are used only for MacOS?
- namelost 9y ago
  I don't mean that. Xcode is itself a Mac app, but Apple hasn't cared about the technologies for building Mac apps for a long time. The UI framework for building Mac apps (AppKit) was designed in the 90s. In ~2007 it was revamped for the original iPhone as UIKit, but crucially Apple never backported their modernization to the Mac. And even UIKit is starting to look outdated compared to modern innovations such as React Native. So I don't envy the Xcode team, they are working with an old codebase and targeting an abandoned UI framework. I'm sure if Apple could swallow its corporate pride and just fork VSCode, they could work miracles.