Beginning Xcode®

Chapter 2. The Grand Tour

Starting up Xcode is sort of like walking through the front gates of Disneyland for the very first time. It's vast. You have no idea where to go first. If you just start walking, you'll quickly be lost and disoriented. So you do what every first-time visitor does: You open the map.

Neither Xcode nor Disneyland has been intentionally designed to be cryptic or confusing. In fact, both go out of their way to be as friendly and accommodating as possible. However, the sheer size and complexity of what they offer cause them to be perplexing and frustrating at times. If you take a moment to get a feel for the scope and organization of Xcode, your initial forays will be much more enjoyable. So start down Main Street—I mean, with the project window—and get your bearings.

The Project

The central construct in Xcode, both physically and metaphorically, is the project. Everything you will accomplish in Xcode begins with a project. A project is stored as a document on your file system. The project window, shown in Figure 2-1, is the manifestation of that document in the user interface.

Figure 2-1. Figure 2-1

Try It Out: Open a Project

Locate the Hello project that accompanies this book. See the "Introduction" to learn how to obtain the projects and other resources for this book. Then follow these steps:

1. Open the folder that contains the Hello project. It should look similar to ...