How to Install Xcode: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

 

Apple’s official iOS and Mac operating systems development systems, Xcode, are the most popular choices to develop apps and software for iOS and macOS. Game developers, designers, app developers and other content creators often use Xcode to create apps for Apple's App Store. We had no idea what was going on. After installing the Mac, we were faced with a mountain of steps that we would need to take before Xcode could run. This guide will show you how easy it is actually to install Xcode.

 

Installing Xcode

1. Run the installer program and log in with your Apple ID and password. 2. If you already have an iOS developer account, log in here. 3. If you don’t have an iOS developer account, you will need to create one. 4. Sign into the Apple developer portal using your Apple ID and password. 5. Once you’re logged in, go to the setup tab and click the “Choose File” button. 6. Choose the preferred OS X installer program. 7. The installer downloads and installs the Xcode application. 8. Once the installation is completed, you can launch the new app from the Dashboard or by clicking the “Xcode” button in the upper right corner of any app window.

 

App Store and Xcode

Xcode and Apple's App Store are the two best places to obtain paid apps, paid apps for free and game tutorials on iOS devices. Xcode is available for Macs as well as Windows PCs, and it is usually installed on each machine with a specific desktop name that is unique to that machine. Even though it is available for Windows, Windows users will need an Apple developer license to install Xcode. To use Xcode, you must have a Mac with OS X 10.9 or higher, or an Apple Developer account. Apple’s official website recommends that users “Download Mac OS X v10.8 and upgrade to Mac OS X v10.9 or later.

Using Text Editors, Scanners, and Compilers

Xcode is not the kind of software you just download and run from the store. It’s a full development environment that includes everything you need to create apps for Apple's devices. For example, it doesn’t just take in code from the command line and execute it. It also generates code. The tool runs a number of apps to analyze code to make sure it’s working correctly. It can even generate code for you. You can customize what it does, add your own programs, etc. Keep in mind that if you don’t use the specific features of the software, Xcode won’t work. For example, if you do not use the scanning tool, it won’t know how to find bugs in your source code. A scanning tool is similar to a text editor. In the past, editors were mostly text editors.

 

Conclusion

You should have a toolbox when writing code for a mobile game. It is recommended that you work with a wide range of features of your game in the toolbox. It's also better to work with the programming tools and APIs that are already available. Nevertheless, it is still recommended to keep the possibility to add new features and use the programming tools that you’re able to make. It can be helpful to have all these tools in the same codebase. About The Author Wang Zhu is a freelance iOS developer, having worked for big companies like Tencent and Gamevil.