How long can I use XCode for?

[macintosh00]

Hello Mac people! New here, new to Macs (but I have an iPhone 7) and this is my first post. I tried searching around for an answer online but I didn't seem to get a clear one. I have an older MacBook Pro that has XCode. Got it from a friend and he left it on there since he knows I'm studying computer science--he had messed with it a little bit. I have a bit of history in HTML/CSS but XCode, apps and stuff is still new. I see that I can't go beyond High Sierra on this Mac but it's cool. Just wondering how XCode works, if it'll still work in High Sierra and for how long. I did a security update and it seems that it's still working when I open it. Just wanted to say hi and make my first post on here. Peace

 

[treekram]

It would help to know the following:

What model/year of MacBook Pro do you have? It looks like a 2010 or 2011.

What type of languages do you want to use - Swift/C (different flavors), web apps, etc.?

What type of target are you interested in - iPhone/iPad, Mac, web, etc.?

Usually you need to be in the Apple Developer program to get the latest version of Xcode (I don't know how you can get it for free - you can search for that on the web). The latest version and the upcoming version works in High Sierra. Are you looking to get the latest version or do you just want to use what you have. If it's the later - what version of Xcode do you have? Apple is more aggressive with Xcode than with its other apps in tending to make the latest version only work on the latest OS.

There is no expiration date on Xcode but as time goes by, a specific Xcode version becomes more limited in the targets that it can build for. For example, the latest version (9.4) is required to build to the latest iOS version. The latest version won't build to certain older iOS devices.

 

[GoodHealthIT]

Usually you need to be in the Apple Developer program to get the latest version of Xcode (I don't know how you can get it for free - you can search for that on the web).

Not true - you can always download the latest published version from the App Store regardless of whether you are in the ADP. Enrolment in ADP simply allows you access to beta versions.

 

[macintosh00]

It's a late 2011. Sorry forgot to mention the year.

 

[treekram]

The 15" 2011 MBP's have problems with the dGPU.

As mentioned in post #3, Xcode is free for download so you can download the latest version if you wish. At various points in it's history it's been free, other times not so by what you had written I had presumed you tried to download the latest version but weren't able to. Wrong assumption on my part (I've always gone to the Apple developer site to download Xcode when I've need it.)

 

[macintosh00]

The 15" 2011 MBP's have problems with the dGPU.

As mentioned in post #3, Xcode is free for download so you can download the latest version if you wish. At various points in it's history it's been free, other times not so by what you had written I had presumed you tried to download the latest version but weren't able to. Wrong assumption on my part (I've always gone to the Apple developer site to download Xcode when I've need it.)

Oh. The reason I ask is when I got the Mac it was on 10.12 I think? I tried to open xcode but it told me to upgrade lol so I did.

 

[treekram]

As I mentioned in a previous post, Apple usually makes Xcode compatible with only the latest OS's. Mojave is due to be out (officially, publicly) in the fall. Mojave will not officially run on 2011 MBP's. The current version of Xcode runs on 2011 MBPs. But in 6 months or a year, the to-be current version may only run on Mojave.

If your main interest is HTML/CSS, you might want to look at other developer tools specifically targeted for that use.

 

[macintosh00]

If I want to use programs for Java like IntelliJ Idea how long do you think I can use my 2011? I'm sort of looking into Java as a programming language. As of right now currently IntelliJ Idea runs on macOS 10.8 or later. I tried looking into Apple's official security updates and when they will stop for my Mac but I wasn't able to find anything. Like I said above, it's not a huge deal. Just wondering how long I might be able to use it for programming.

 

[treekram]

If you have the 2011 15" MBP, the iGPU problems are pretty prevalent and I would be more worried about that than Apple support of the OS.

So Yosemite was introduced in Oct. 2014, El Capitan was introduced in Sept. 2015, support for Yosemite stopped in Sept. 2017 and if you look at the security updates, there were none after that. So, security updates for High Sierra will probably end in the fall of 2020 if it follows Yosemite, which is the last OS to have support dropped.

I used IntelliJ years ago (probably 2005 or 2006) at work and it seemed like a nice tool. I've used Eclipse for Java stuff since that time - mainly because it's free (consideration for both me and the places I worked).

 

[macintosh00]

Right on and good to know. I have the 13 inch MacBook. My friend never mentioned issues with GPU or really any other issues for that matter. But yeah I might take a dive into IntelliJ and go Java since at school I'm given that course anyway for graduation. So just to confirm by your estimation that i should be good using IntelliJ until at least 2020 if I keep this Mac that long?

 

[treekram]

Right on and good to know. I have the 13 inch MacBook. My friend never mentioned issues with GPU or really any other issues for that matter. But yeah I might take a dive into IntelliJ and go Java since at school I'm given that course anyway for graduation. So just to confirm by your estimation that i should be good using IntelliJ until at least 2020 if I keep this Mac that long?

It's the 15" 2011 MBP's that have the GPU issues. The 13" doesn't have an dGPU so it doesn't have the same problem. By 2020, your 2011 MBP will be 8-9 years old. That would be the biggest concern. If IntelliJ is responsive enough for your needs now on the 2011 MBP, you should be OK there in 2020 unless future IntelliJ versions require significantly more computer resources. You might want to upgrade RAM and the disk, depending on what you have now.

 

[macintosh00]

It's the 15" 2011 MBP's that have the GPU issues. The 13" doesn't have an dGPU so it doesn't have the same problem. By 2020, your 2011 MBP will be 8-9 years old. That would be the biggest concern. If IntelliJ is responsive enough for your needs now on the 2011 MBP, you should be OK there in 2020 unless future IntelliJ versions require significantly more computer resources. You might want to upgrade RAM and the disk, depending on what you have now.

Luckily he installed 16gb RAM