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Leaker Claims Mobile Version of Xcode Coming to iPad

I wonder what the rules will be on compiled code on ipadOS/iOS? Will anyone be able to distribute source code and circumvent the App Store? And how much access to the system will apps built on Xcode iPadOS get? All Api's? Hidden api's.

I feel like this will be severely limited from a security point of view. Maybe any code built with this is sandboxed off in its own space somewhere...
 
robbieduncan said:
Pre-built libraries can be anything: they are binary files to be linked to. I mean I can imagine the compiler only building from swift. If you want to mix and match you may still need a Mac
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if you can only use prebuilt libraries, it’s not really enabling application development. No Swift packages would work.

there is literally no reason at all to support Swift but not Clang. I understand that it’s usually best to be conservative about your expectations for new Apple products and features, but in this case it would really make no sense.

if there is an iPad version of Xcode (and IMO it’s obvious that they’ve been working on it for years now), it will come with full support for C/C++/Obj-C.
 
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BvizioN said:
Have you tried?
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I agree. I have been writing Mac software since 1987. In those days MPW (Macintosh Programmer's Workshop) was the compiler, the docs came in a 3-ring binder and it cost $1500 on top of the $1500 fee for the Developer Program itself.

My current dev machine is a 15" MBP connected to a 27" Thunderbolt Display and a 30" Apple Cinema Display. I have terminal windows open to our server, a chat window open with my Windows developer in Europe, a Transmit window open to our server, plus multiple windows open for notes and other things. Xcode takes up the whole 27" screen.

I can't see being able to work on a 12" screen and have any efficiency at all working in a single window.
 
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I struggle to code on my 12” MacBook. Doing so on an iPad would be a definite “No” for me. Unless some serious UI re-engineering takes place, but still taken the amount of multitasking needed for a pro coder, iPad is not really a realistic solution, at the moment.
 
DesertNomad said:
I agree. I have been writing Mac software since 1987. In those days MPW (Macintosh Programmer's Workshop) was the compiler, the docs came in a 3-ring binder and it cost $1500 on top of the $1500 fee for the Developer Program itself.

My current dev machine is a 15" MBP connected to a 27" Thunderbolt Display and a 30" Apple Cinema Display. I have terminal windows open to our server, a chat window open with my Windows developer in Europe, a Transmit window open to our server, plus multiple windows open for notes and other things. Xcode takes up the whole 27" screen.

I can't see being able to work on a 12" screen and have any efficiency at all working in a single window.
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Perhaps the next version of iOS will support multiple screens via USB hub and USB->HDMI/DP adapters? That would be a "game-changer" as well as iPadOS has more "real desktop" computer features added with each version.
 
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JDGwf said:
Perhaps the next version of iOS will support multiple screens via USB hub and USB->HDMI/DP adapters? That would be a "game-changer" as well as iPadOS has more "real desktop" computer features added with each version.
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Why wait for iPadOS to have more "real desktop" features when I already have a real desktop system with my MBP? The iPad would also need a real file system. I've got 24TB of external storage that the iPad currently can't use. It just seems like a long way from being able to use an iPad for real development work.
 
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Unregistered 4U said:
It’s amazing that any code got written for the original Mac at all, what with only one screen and that screen being fairly small.
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I cranked tons of code on my trusty SE/30 (which is a few feet to my right). It had a 9" screen and a RasterOps card that gave me another screen that I believe was 1024x768.

The IPP can connect to a 5k monitor, so it should work fine. And I'm another MPW user (and Think C, Metrowerks C, Sun cc, AIX cc).

It's not what's on the screen, it's what's in your head.
 
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mazz0 said:
You don’t seriously think Apple is going to remove from Macs:
• More than 2 visible windows
• Multiple displays
• Unrestricted filesystem access
• Ability run code from any source
do you?
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  • more than two visible windows? Apple could implement something akin to a window manager for iOS
  • multiple displays? Apple could utilise airplay to provide "wireless external displays". Note they could introduce airplay3 (or 4 or whatever is next) that allows for greater resolution selection, better compression, etc.
  • Unrestricted filesystem access? I'm sure Apple would love to restrict access (as they are doing now for some parts of macOS filesystem)
  • Ability to run code from any source? Again I'm sure Apple would love for all the code run on all their devices to have to go through their store, where they can generate revenue from.

I'm sure there will be some backlash from users of Macs, either they'll move to windows or linux based machines, but a lot of Mac users will continue to update to the latest Macs without considering the restrictions that are being added.
 
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Cycling Asia said:
  • more than two visible windows? Apple could implement something akin to a window manager for iOS
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They could indeed, and I hope they do sooner rather than later, but I think it's probably a fair way off, given how slowly iOS and iPadOS change.

Cycling Asia said:
  • Unrestricted filesystem access? I'm sure Apple would love to restrict access (as they are doing now for some parts of macOS filesystem)
  • Ability to run code from any source? Again I'm sure Apple would love for all the code run on all their devices to have to go through their store, where they can generate revenue from.
I'm sure there will be some backlash from users of Macs, either they'll move to windows or linux based machines, but a lot of Mac users will continue to update to the latest Macs without considering the restrictions that are being added.
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I don't see this happening. Remember Apple's own engineers use these computers, they're not going to cripple them to the the point that they themselves have to switch to Linux. Some development work is necessarily going to involve running software from outside the App Store, and much troubleshooting requires root access.
 
recoil80 said:
I don't expect the same experience macOS can offer. They may port Xcode to the iPad, but what if your build scripts require python or ruby or shell scripts? We won't have full access to the file system, it would be a huge change in iPadOS and I don't expect that.
So it will be a "baby" version of Xcode. I'd say better than nothing, now we have Swift Playgrounds but is very limited. I wouldn't say no to the ability to edit my source in Xcode on an iPad, but I don't expect to be able to work only on iPadOS for the entire lifecycle of an iOS app. And I love big displays when it comes to coding, my laptop is the 16" and I use it with an external display whenever possible, so using only iPadOS would be out of question. But that's a personal preference more than a technical limitation. For a quick edit iPad would be sweet, so in the end it is a good news, but not a breakthrough.
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Apple might be working on the capability to install a dedicated development partition in iPadOS. If so that would give us the ability to install our favourite Unix tools and apps for scripting and command line access.

Honestly I don't see how Xcode could work on an iPad without this, unless like you say it's just a stripped down educational version that can build only toy apps in a strictly controlled sandbox.
 
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AxiomaticRubric said:
Apple might be working on the capability to install a dedicated development partition in iPadOS. If so that would give us the ability to install our favourite Unix tools and apps for scripting and command line access.

Honestly I don't see how Xcode could work on an iPad without this, unless like you say it's just a stripped down educational version that can build only toy apps in a strictly controlled sandbox.
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That would be really pro, but I doubt it
 
It would be really cool if Apple revealed this at this year's WWDC. I think an iPad version of XCode would be great for beginners who want to actually start developing iOS apps and don't want to be limited to just learning things on Swift Playgrounds.
 
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erinb131 said:
It would be really cool if Apple revealed this at this year's WWDC. I think an iPad version of XCode would be great for beginners who want to actually start developing iOS apps and don't want to be limited to just learning things on Swift Playgrounds.
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totally agree. this would finally make me switch to a iMac / iPadPro combo, which I have been thinking about for quite some time now. A lite version of Xcode on the iPad which I could use on my commute to make certain edits or test some smaller changes, would be ideal.
 
But according to a tweet posted on Monday by Prosser, Xcode "is present on iOS/iPadOS 14..."
[/QUOTE]

Uh... Xcode is 8GB compressed and 16GB+ uncompressed. I don't think it's a full version. The largest iOS upgrade file is still only a couple of GB, so unless they're topping 10GB+ for iOS 14, full Xcode is not included.

And why would you put it on every device anyway? Seems like an app that (relatively) few iOS users would want/use and could be installed on demand via the crap store.
 
This would be absolutely awesome. I would like to see iOS add an option for a usb-c to hdmi and usb-c to display port adapter so that the iPad can output to a monitor. I would also like to see iOS utilize a higher resolution screen.

That would make it very useful at app development if this turns out to be true with keyboard and Mouse support.
 
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