Xcode Tutorial for Beginners – How Do I Get Started with Xcode 13

Xcode Tutorial for Beginners is based on the Updated version of Xcode 8.2. For any individual using an earlier version, it is recommended to update it to the latest version as there are significant changes made to the Swift programming language, which you would get in the latest version of Xcode. (XCode Download for Windows)

Xcode Tutorial for Beginners – How Do I Get Started with Xcode 13

The guide covers the whole process of using Xcode. You can get an overall knowledge about making iOS applications by understanding the process. By the end of the tutorial, you will gain basic knowledge about using and navigating the development environment.

Xcode Tutorial for Beginners

You will also know how to create your first Xcode project. The first question arises where can you download the Xcode application. The easiest way to download the application is through the Mac Application Store. If you don’t have a Mac Application store, you can just visit Apple’s developer’s page for downloading Xcode.

Deciphering the Xcode Interface

You can check the full Apple documentation for Xcode in different links. The first thing you need to make sure of is that you are using the latest version of the Xcode 8. The Xcode application must be opened then. In the application, you can spot 4 major areas as the Editor, Navigator, Debugging area, and Utility Area.

You can adjust the size of each of the panes by just drifting your cursor over the boundaries of each dragging and area. You can manipulate the various area’s visibility with the help of the upper right-hand corner button. This feature can be helpful as for example, when you are writing code and you do not require the Debugger and the utility area at that moment, you can use the view buttons to hide those 2 panes to receive more visible areas for your work.

Navigator Area

In the Navigator pane, there are a bunch of various navigators that can help you to switch between using the Navigator selector bar. There are three navigators that you will use a lot, which are Project, issue, and Search navigator.

Project Navigator: The project Navigator is the place where you will see all the files which are related to your project. Within that navigator, you can create groups for organizing your files. The navigator actually does not create a folder in the file system; it will only exist in your Xcode project. This will not exactly organize your actual files on your hard drive. The root node of the project navigator is your Xcode project file which will be indicated in the blue icon.

Search Navigator: With the help of the search navigator tab, you can easily search and look for different pieces of text in your project. You will find yourself using the search navigator a lot when you are looking for a specific property, variable, or method and you cannot remember where exactly it is.

Issue Navigator: The issue navigator is an important feature of the Xcode. This navigator helps you to show all the problems associated with your application. After building and compiling your application you test it, if there are any problems where Xcode is not capable of resolving, it will stop and show the problem in red-colored errors.

Editor Area

The most spent time by a developer is in this Editor Area. This is where all the coding is performed. In the project navigator section, when you select a file there, it will open the contents in the editor area. You can perform the edits required for your content.

Navigation within Editor Area

Little back and forward arrows are present in the upper left corner of the Editor Area. These arrows aren’t labeled in the Xcode interface diagram at the beginning. These arrows are pretty useful, as they act like the back and forward buttons on your browser. These arrows help you to navigate to previously visited files. Another way to quickly navigate to the previously viewed files is to use the Jump Bar. The Jump bar allows you to drill down through your created groups and find the files you require. XCODE Tutorial for Beginners

Utility Area

The Xcode utility area consists of two panes – The library pane and the inspector pane. The Inspector pane will provide you the details about the file you have highlighted during coding. This pane would show you the different attributes that you can select and modify. The Library pane will not be that useful if you are looking at a XIB/ StoryBoard file. While using the Interface Builder part of the Xcode, you can select and drag the UI elements from the library pane to the editor area. The dragging will add that element to your interface.

Debugging Area

The debugging area will help you to view the console output and the state of various variables when you run your developed application. You will be using this Debug area a lot while debugging your created code. If you are trying to figure out why things aren’t working out the way you had created, then an explained way of Xcode debugging tutorial you can get on some websites.

Toolbar

We have already discussed some of the panes and buttons on the toolbar. The left-most button is the run button. This will help you to build and run your app. This run button will also help you to launch your created application in the iOS Simulator. The button next to the run button would stop the execution of your app and redirect you to the Xcode. If you click and hold down the Run button, you can explore more options to run your application such as Test, Analyze and Profile.

iOS Simulator

The latest version of the Xcode 8 is bundled with an awesome iOS simulator for helping you to test your application. iOS simulator can be used for most of your application development and then find a device for testing when you have almost finished. The iOS Simulation can actually do a lot which includes:

Xcode Tutorial for Beginners

Device Rotation:
Simulating Low memory situations.

Device Shake:
Simulating different GPS coordinates.

There are many other tools for testing various networks or low bandwidth conditions. Stay tuned for more XCODE Tutorials for Beginners.

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