Beginning Mac OS® X Programming

3.1. Starting a New Project

Every application starts out as a blank page or lump of clay. You are responsible for shaping that figurative page or lump into the application you see in your mind's eye. This really is a creative process very much like writing, painting, or sculpting, except that your medium is source code.

Xcode gives you a head start with a new project by supplying you with templates that include some of the basic files, code, and other resources you need to get started. All these resources are bundled together into an Xcode project, which provides a way for you to organize all the files for your program in a single place.

3.1.1.

3.1.1.1. Try It Out: Create a Default Project

1. Launch /Developer/Applications/Xcode.app. If this is your first time launching Xcode, you need to answer a few questions before you can proceed. Don't worry about those settings for now, just go with the defaults. You can change them later if you like.

2. Choose FileNew Project. A New Project Assistant window appears, like the one shown in Figure 3-1.

   Figure 3.1. Figure 3-1

   

3. Scroll down to the Command Line Utility group, select Standard Tool, and click Next. The assistant gives you a chance to name your project and choose the directory it will live in, as shown in Figure 3-2.

   Figure 3.2. Figure 3-2 ...