Xcode - the obvious choice for Apple ecosphere application development
Rating: 9 out of 10
IncentivizedUse Cases and Deployment Scope
Xcode is the primary (and only) IDE that we use for macOS and iOS application development as well as scripts and stand-alone Unix binaries. Xcode is produced and supported by Apple and therefore is the premiere IDE for application development in the Apple ecosphere. We also deploy Xcode in the library and in certain labs for programming courses. Usage audience is developers and students.
Pros
- Immediate implementation and integration with new features
- Code completion
- AI code suggestion
- Comprehensive options for builds
- Workflow customization
- Since it is Apple's tool, problems get fixed quickly
Cons
- Documentation
- Number of settings can be overwhelming
- Embedded help for settings and configuration
- Templates
- Collaboration
- Managing of credentials (although this has recently gotten better)
Likelihood to Recommend
This is almost not a case of Xcode being the 300-pound gorilla in the space, but of it being essentially the ONLY viable gorilla in the space. There are other text editors, of course, that can be used for coding; and in some cases other IDE's might make sense for a cross-platform development scenario, but since this is Apple's in-house tool, fighting against that flow is just going to be an exercise in frustration. And, if you need help from Developer Support, they are going to be most familiar with Xcode.
BC
Bruce Carter
Senior Systems Engineer in Information Technology at University of Notre Dame (5001-10,000 employees)
Vetted Review
20 years of experience