Xcode® 4

Chapter 5: Working with Files, Frameworks, and Classes

In This Chapter

Adding new files to a project Working with groups Working with frameworks

Xcode projects include a list of constituent files. When you build a project, Xcode processes each file in turn. Source code files are compiled into binaries and linked together. Resource files are copied to the project's output folder, also known as its bundle.

Each step in the process is known as a build phase. If your project has special requirements, you can customize the build phases or create custom build phases—for example, to compile source code in a specific sequence, allowing for dependencies. More typically, you can use the default build phases as they are.

You can define the files included in a project in two ways. The simple way is to use the file management features built into the Project navigator. For more advanced management, you can use the features introduced in Chapter 13 to customize Xcode's default build phases. For simple apps, you can usually ignore this option, because the build phases “just work.”

CROSS-REFERENCE

For more information about custom builds and build phases, see Chapter 12.

Working with Files and Classes

The Project Navigator includes all the features you need for basic file and class management. The Navigator is easy to work with, but it's worth emphasizing again that there is an indirect relationship ...