Chapter 3. Understanding Xcode
Even if you use Eclipse or NetBeans as your primary IDE on OS X, Xcode contains many useful templates for native OS X integration. Integrating your Java application with Objective-C, com.apple.eawt packages, Cocoa Frameworks, or screensavers starts with Xcode.
I use Xcode for many programming examples in this book. Understanding Xcode simplifies learning native OS X application integration. Xcode provides programmer resources including a quick-start welcome screen, means for modifying the view of the IDE, macro editing, and many other features that increase your productivity.
In this chapter, I provide an overview of creating Java projects in Xcode. I explain Xcode features that improve your development experience. Also, I explore the Organizer, a tool for managing and running projects.
Exploring Project Templates
As of version 3.2, Xcode supplies one Java template. It is called the JNI Library. The name "JNI Library" is deceiving. This library is actually a fully integrated Java/Cocoa application template. If you want to see how a fully integrated Java OS X application looks in Xcode, you want to start with the JNI Library.
The JNI Library is overwhelming, if all you want is a basic Java project for pure or mostly pure Java development. For instance, you may plan on doing some Objective-C work and you want to stick to one IDE ...
Get Java® and Mac OS® X now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
