iOS 7 Programming Fundamentals

Chapter 9. Life Cycle of a Project

This chapter surveys some of the main stages in the life cycle of an Xcode project, from inception to submission at the App Store. This survey will provide an opportunity to discuss some additional features of the Xcode development environment. You already know how to create a project, define a class, and link to a framework (Chapter 6), as well as how to create and edit a nib (Chapter 7) and how to use the documentation (Chapter 8).

Device Architecture and Conditional Code

As you create a project (File → New → Project), after you pick a project template, in the screen where you name your project, the Devices pop-up menu offers a choice of iPad, iPhone, or Universal. You can change this setting later (using the Devices pop-up menu in the General tab when you edit the app target), but your life will be simpler if you decide correctly here, at the outset, because it affects the details of the template on which your new project will be based.

The iPhone and iPad differ in their physical characteristics as well as their programming interfaces. The iPad has a larger screen size, along with some built-in interface features that don’t exist on the iPhone, such as split views and popovers. A universal app runs on both iPhone and iPad natively, typically with a different interface on each type of device.

Your choice in the Devices pop-up menu also affects your project’s Targeted Device Family build setting:

iPad

The app will run only on an iPad.

iPhone