Kicking the Tires of Xcode 5
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Now you have Xcode. It’s time to start it up and see what it looks like.
Starting Xcode
You’ll find Xcode in the /Applications directory, just like any application. You’ll be using it constantly, so you’ll want to keep it in the Dock at the bottom of your main screen. Drag Xcode to the Dock—take care to drop it between icons, and not on one.
Now click on the Xcode icon. It bounces to show Xcode is being launched. The first time you run any of Apple’s developer tools—even through the command line—you’ll be asked to read and accept a license agreement for the tools and SDKs. It’s no different from any other click-through license process.
Next, Xcode will ask you for permission to install “additional components” it needs. Permit it, and present an administrator’s credentials. Those components overlap the iTunes frameworks, so you may be asked to close iTunes.
Once the progress window clears, you are greeted with the “Welcome to Xcode” window (see Figure 2.1).
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Figure 2.1 When you launch Xcode, it displays a “Welcome” window with options for creating a new project, reopening a recent one, or fetching a project from a source-control repository.
If this is the first time you’ve ever run Xcode, the table on the right will be empty (“No Recent Projects”); as you accumulate projects, the table will contain references to them, so you have a quick way to get back to your work. When you accumulate projects in this list, you’ll be able to select one, but Xcode doesn’t reveal any way to open it. The trick is to double-click the item, or press the Return key.
You have three other options:
- Create a new Xcode project. This is obvious enough; it’s how you’d start work on a new product. You’re about to do this, but hold off for the moment. You could also select File→New→New Project. . . (
N). - Check out an existing project. Xcode recognizes that source control management is essential to even the most trivial of projects. Your development effort might start not with your own work, but with collaborative work pulled in from a source repository. Use this link to get started.
- Open Other. . . (at the bottom of the “recents” list). This will get you the standard get-file dialog so you can select any Xcode project file you want. You can do the same thing with the File→Open. . . (
O) command.
If you need to get back to the Welcome window, select Window→Welcome to Xcode (1). If you’re tired of seeing this window, uncheck Show this window when Xcode launches.