When you want to start developing apps for Mac, it is worthwhile investigating the right tools to use. There are many available for OS X developers, such as the Xcode, which is the dashboard of development facilitating the following tasks: code writing; data modeling; code compiling and debugging. Mac developers will probably spend most of their time with this application as it has so many great features, like the Fix and Continue which enables the user to make modifications to a running application while debugging it, without having to recompile. This can be a huge time saver for the more expansive projects.
Then there is the ZeroLink feature. With this, Xcode does not need to link during compile time and rather creates a small stub for this, while the application is running. In addition, its distributive building enables the user to push some of the compilation workload onto the network’s idle Macs. Using Bonjour, Xcode can search for other Macs on the network through Bonjour and operate their processing power to assist in application compilation. This can save time during application compilation as it will be utilizing the multiple – rather than singular – machines.
Ultimately, Xcode deals with the source code of one’s Mac OS X application. Interface Builder is responsible for designing and testing the application’s user interface.