Last weekend I updated XCode to the latest version and I got to say: I was quite a hassle.
First I had to update the OS to the latest version. Then came the actual XCode-update, which took several hours.
I would be interested reading opinions by more experienced Apple-developers then me: How often do you update XCode?
Do you only update, when the major version (the number before the dot) changes? Or do you get every minor version in between (13.1, 13.2, 13.3 etc.) too?
For those developers who have Apps in the App Store, there is a requirement that any App submitted, or updates to an existing App submitted, has to be using the latest version.
While I don’t have any App’s in the App Store I generally update my version of Xcode within a few weeks of an update.
One of the problems that a content creator has to deal with is that newer versions of Xcode can result in issues with existing tutorials as the existing code can end up being broken. It’s frustrating for Chris Ching as that has impacted his lessons on a number of occasions requiring additional lessons to be recorded to address the bugs, deprecations etc. A case in point is the Learning App in the iOS Foundations (SwiftUI) course.
Once you become experienced (and that takes some years) you get used to things like that breaking your own code.
Xcode is constantly evolving and you can guarantee that we will see another change when WWDC22 comes around with the latest advances in SwiftUI.
Thanks a lot for the answer.
I got some experience with Android and there it is similar. It either breaks your code or the IDE itself has issues, which came with the update.
So, it seems similar here. Just that Android Studio is less restrictive concerning the OS-version used.
I try to update as soon as possible, but I have to prepare to have a day away from the Mac whenever I do - it takes that long to update Xcode.
And if there’s a MacOS update at the same time, I’m needing to take several days off.
I’m used to annoyingly frequent updates from Windows, but this “hurry up and wait” from MacOS / Xcode is a real trial.
I guess it’s my own fault because my Mac is so old, so I’m really just grateful that it’s still supported at all.
(PS - Im not an “experienced Apple-developer”, I’m a newbie!)
This is actually a great app to use to update Xcode. I update every version, but that’s because my apps are relatively new and typically won’t break on tiny updates
If you have a large app (or one with many dependencies), it requires more thought about when you’ll update
This app makes it easier to update directly from Apple’s website rather than the Mac App Store, which is actually the preferred way to update for many people
Yes. You got at least a half day no computer, when you got no second device available.
And that’s still the best case. Imagine the case, when something goes wrong and the OS gets in an undefined state …
It is quite unworldly, what Apple requires there from the people.
Thanks a lot. That really seems to be a relief.