New Features of Xcode 8 and new features of xcode

New Features of Xcode 8 and new features of xcode

During the 2016 Apple global Developer Conference (WWDC), apple, as always, disclosed to developers the new version of integrated development tool Xcode. In each major version release in the past, apple will actively improve development tools and add some attractive new features. This year is no exception.

1. Swift 2 and 3

In the past, every version of Xcode was bound with a fixed version of the Swift programming language. This will not happen again in Xcode 8. Swift 3 has brought a lot of syntax changes to the Swift programming language, these changes will cause compilation failures of programs based on previous Swift versions.

The new project created in Xcode 8 uses Swift 3 by default. Fortunately, Xcode 8 supports developers to explicitly select Swift 2 or Swift 2.3 for compilation in the compilation settings.

Supports previous versions of the Swift Language

This means that you can migrate the project to Swift 3 when appropriate. If a Target needs to support Swift 2.3) set Use Legacy Swift Language Version to Yes.

Xcode 8 also provides a migration tool to help you upgrade your project to Swift 3. However, the migration tool provided by Xcode is mixed. This Swift 3 upgrade has many changes compared with the previous upgrade, I hope the migration tool of Xcode 8 will be improved.

2. Source Code Editor Extension

The most surprising thing about Xcode 8 is that it supports third-party extensions of the source code editor. developers have been looking forward to the local plug-in system for many years. The source code editor extension is a solid first step along the plug-in system direction.

The source code editor extension is similar to Xcode extension, but Apple has repeatedly stressed that the current extension focuses on source code operations and navigation, that is why it is called the source code editor extension, xcode 8 even provides an editor extension template for you to get started quickly.

Xcode source code editor extension Template

One of my favorite aspects of the current extension architecture is that each extension runs in different processes, which means that the abnormal collapse of the extension will not cause Xcode to terminate unexpectedly, with more and more local plug-ins, especially Apple's new version of Xcode, the advantages of sub-process running will become increasingly prominent.

Another advantage of the extension comparison plug-in is security. You can log on to and release the extension program through the Development Account. Apple also mentioned that developers can sell the extension through the Mac app store, it is a great opportunity for developers who want to make money through sales expansion.

I am very excited about source code editor extensions. Although I am a fan of Alcatraz, Apple's local extensions are closer to the correct direction in the future. Developers are expected to provide extensions in the future. In fact, some plug-ins have been released on GitHub.

3. debugging

Even if the best developers spend a lot of time debugging programs every day, Apple, which understands you, provides better tools to make debugging easier. Xcode 8 has made a lot of significant optimizations for debugging.

Interface debugging

The interface debugging in Xcode 8 is very powerful. The interface debugging can display runtime problems. The improved interface debugging becomes easier for the layout with unclear or unsatisfactory debugging.

Runtime problems? Yes, in addition to the compile-time issue, Xcode 8 also provides runtime problems. If you encounter an automatic layout problem during the runtime, xcode will display these issues as runtime issues on the left navigation panel, which will be a very popular feature.

Runtime Problems

Memory debugging

The memory debugging function of Xcode 8 has also been significantly optimized for finding out memory leaks and circular references. I'm not sure if it works in real projects, but it looks great.

Memory debugging

4. Code Signature

Code signature is unfortunate for developers who are interested in the Apple platform, but fortunately Apple has not made an ostrich with its head buried in the sand, apple saw problems encountered by developers and tried to solve them. Some experienced developers also encountered signature problems from time to time. In this year's Platforms State of the Union video, apple even laughed at its own Fix Issue button, which not only rarely fixes the real problem, but sometimes makes the problem worse.

The Fix Issue button usually does not Fix the problem.

The code signature issue will become a pass-through in Xcode 8. For each Target, you can select the check box to allow Xcode to help you manage the code signature. This option is selected by default for new projects. When checked, Xcode helps you manage certificates, configuration files, and application tags.

Code Signing Done for You

I hope Apple can solve the signature issue this time. Let's pray with the developers of Alibaba.

5. other improvements and enhancements

San Francisco Mono font

If you are enjoying the well-crafted software, you should like the San Francisco Mono font in Xcode 8. For more information, see:

San Francisco Mono

Highlight current row

Have you noticed that the current row above is highlighted? This is another popular feature in Xcode8. Currently, I use Backlight for Xcode in Xcode 7 to implement similar features. This plug-in is no longer needed in Xcode 8.

Automatic completion of Image Code

Speaking of some plug-ins that will be deprecated, I am currently using the KSImageNamed plug-in developed by Kent Sutherland to help automatically complete the Image Code in Xcode. I will not need this plug-in Xcode 8, this feature is already built in Xcode 8.

Automatic Image completion

6. Documentation

I believe that every developer will spend a lot of time browsing and reading documents. Good documents are of great help to developers. In fact, Apple's documents are excellent, however, the browser mode is not so friendly.

This problem will be solved in Xcode 8. The new document format looks very beautiful and the Document Browsing will become simple and fast. Apple also made Optimization on memory problems, and the memory usage of the new version will be much less.

The following are two documents. Is there a sense of design?

New document browser Figure 1

New document browser Figure 2

Summary

Finally, I want to say that this article only covers part of the new functions of Xcode. I am always looking forward to upgrading the major version of Xcode. Which of the following is your favorite new feature in Xcode 8? Share it in the comment area.

What's New in Xcode 8