4 ms·

I never miss an opportunity to publicly restate just how god-awful XCode is. I think it is literally the worst developer tool I have ever come across. I don’t t

I never miss an opportunity to publicly restate just how god-awful XCode is. I think it is literally the worst developer tool I have ever come across. I don’t think I have ever heard one good thing said about it. Coming mostly from a Windows desktop background, I only started developing for Apple devices late on. Holy shit, I can’t believe people have been putting themselves through that horrible experience for the better part of two decades.

etaioinshrdlu 6y ago
I think if you only use XCode and really get used to it through and through, it could be a good tool. But it is so unintuitive it's staggering, and does not have terribly advanced features for an IDE.
- saagarjha 6y ago
  I think if you use Xcode enough you can come to like it. What it does well it does really well–I have yet to see something that bundles as many good, advanced tools for building, debugging, and profiling in one pretty package as Xcode does. Most of the hate for Xcode seems to (rightfully) be aimed at its instability when working with things like codesigning, devices, or source control–IMO this this because they have a different process internally for their use than external developers. If you really understand who Xcode is aimed at (Apple) and how it is supposed to work (Apple's workflows) you can generally understand it.
tonyedgecombe 6y ago
I'm the same and have been very disapointed with the whole Apple developer experience. Coming from C#/Visual Studio/Resharper to Xcode has been a huge step backwards. It's not just the tooling either, the documentation is nowhere near as comprehensive. Having said that I despair at what Windows has become.
saagarjha 6y ago
People who use Xcode long enough usually get through the phase where they hate it with every fiber of their being. It's like Stockholm syndrome, except you realize your captor wants you to be happy but is also kind of insane.
- ChrisMarshallNY 6y ago
  > It's like Stockholm syndrome, except you realize your captor wants you to be happy but is also kind of insane. I love that metaphor! The main issue I have with Xcode, is that it is buggy as hell. I was hoping Xcode 12 would address this, but it’s just as bad as its predecessors.

etaioinshrdlu 6y ago

I think if you only use XCode and really get used to it through and through, it could be a good tool. But it is so unintuitive it's staggering, and does not have terribly advanced features for an IDE.

saagarjha 6y ago
I think if you use Xcode enough you can come to like it. What it does well it does really well–I have yet to see something that bundles as many good, advanced tools for building, debugging, and profiling in one pretty package as Xcode does. Most of the hate for Xcode seems to (rightfully) be aimed at its instability when working with things like codesigning, devices, or source control–IMO this this because they have a different process internally for their use than external developers. If you really understand who Xcode is aimed at (Apple) and how it is supposed to work (Apple's workflows) you can generally understand it.

tonyedgecombe 6y ago

I'm the same and have been very disapointed with the whole Apple developer experience. Coming from C#/Visual Studio/Resharper to Xcode has been a huge step backwards. It's not just the tooling either, the documentation is nowhere near as comprehensive. Having said that I despair at what Windows has become.

saagarjha 6y ago

People who use Xcode long enough usually get through the phase where they hate it with every fiber of their being. It's like Stockholm syndrome, except you realize your captor wants you to be happy but is also kind of insane.

ChrisMarshallNY 6y ago
> It's like Stockholm syndrome, except you realize your captor wants you to be happy but is also kind of insane. I love that metaphor! The main issue I have with Xcode, is that it is buggy as hell. I was hoping Xcode 12 would address this, but it’s just as bad as its predecessors.