Split up Xcode into smaller applications

Originator:me
Number:rdar://21359244 Date Originated:06/12/2015
Status:Closed Resolved:
Product:Developer Tools Product Version:
Classification: Reproducible:
 
Xcode has been extended with a huge amount of features. It was not fast and had numerous problems back in version 6. If it grows even more, the experience is likely to get worse. App developers use text editor and debugger for 90+% of the time. They don’t need the rest to be running and wasting resources all the time. 

It is hard to develop huge apps. If it was split into several applications it could logically make development easier. UX would probably get better.

Separation of concerns is always a good thing.

It would also create new possibilities for future development. One of the obvious examples is Interface Builder — it might be a great tool for designers.

Comments

The response from Apple

There are no plans to address this based on the following:

At this time, we have no plans to separate Xcode into individual applications. Interface Builder was formerly a separate application: it has been integrated in order to provide a tighter experience between UI and source development, and our goal is to continue this style of integration moving forward.

We are now closing this report.

If you have questions about the resolution, or if this is still a critical issue for you, then please update your bug report with that information.

Please be sure to regularly check new Apple releases for any updates that might affect this issue.

By me at Oct. 7, 2015, 4:16 p.m. (reply...)

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