Xcode is Apple’s premier development environment for Mac OS X. Created by Apple Xcode is Apple’s premier development environment for Mac OS X. In addition to being packaged on the DVD with every copy of Mac OS X, the latest Xcode developer release is always available for free to ADC members and includes all the tools you need to create, debug, and optimize your applications. At the heart of the Xcode tools package is the Xcode IDE, a graphical workbench that tightly integrates a professional text editor, a robust build system, a debugger, and the powerful GCC compiler capable of targeting Intel and PowerPC regardless of the host platform. Xcode is both easy to use and yet powerful enough to build the largest Mac OS X applications. The complete Mac OS X developer tools chain is distributed as part of Xcode; these tools include Interface Builder, Instruments, Dashcode, the WebObjects framework, and the complete reference documentation, to name just a few…
The Top 10 Xcode Alternatives
If you are a developer, then Xcode is likely your best friend. It is the tool that allows you to write code and create apps for iOS devices like iPhones and iPads. But what happens when Xcode just isn’t cutting it? This article will discuss 7 Xcode alternatives, including both paid and free options. So read on if you want to find out more about how these tools can help make coding easier!
1. Atom
2. Sublime Text 3
3. Visual Studio Code
4. Brackets
5. Light Table
6. WebStorm 8 EAP (beta) for Eclipse 4 JEE Developers and Web Developers
7. IntelliJ IDEA
8. Android Studio
9. Eclipse IDE for Java Developers (CDT)
10. Apace Netbeans
Find Top 10
Xcode
Alternatives
| # | Image | App Name | Features | Platforms | Price | Website Link |
| 1 |  |
Apache NetBeans | Mac Windows BSD Linux |
Free | Website | |
| 2 |  |
Code::Blocks | Windows BSD Linux |
Free | Website | |
| 3 |  |
IntelliJ IDEA | Mac Windows Linux |
Freemium | Website | |
| 4 |  |
WebStorm | Mac Windows Linux |
Commercial | Website | |
| 5 |  |
Qt Creator | Mac Windows BSD Linux |
Commercial | Website | |
| 6 |  |
Eclipse | Mac Windows Linux |
Free | Website | |
| 7 | Atom Alternatives and Similar Software | Mac Windows Linux Chrome OS BSD Electron / Atom Shell |
Free | Website | ||
| 8 |  |
Aptana Studio | Mac Windows Linux |
Free | Website | |
| 9 |  |
Microsoft Visual Studio | Web | Mac .NET Framework Windows |
Free Personal | Website |
| 10 |  |
Lazarus | OpenSolaris | Mac Windows BSD Linux |
Free | Website |
Here are the The Top 9 Xcode Alternatives:
Atom
Atom is a text editor that can be used to write code in. It has been updated and rewritten from the ground up, making it an excellent Xcode alternative for developers who want to develop applications on platforms like desktops, iOS devices, or anything else with Atom’s cross-platform capability. There are extensions available for this tool that give you more functionality as well (such as setting colors) so if you’re looking for something customizable then this may be your best choice!
If you’re not sure about Xcode alternatives yet but know that at some point down the road you’ll need one – try out atom because of its extensive flexibility and customization options. The free version does have time limits though so keep that in mind!
Sublime Text 3
Sublime Text, one of the most popular Xcode alternatives on this list. It’s been updated and rewritten from the ground up, making it an excellent Xcode alternative for developers who want to develop applications on platforms like desktops or iOS devices with its cross-platform capability. There are extensions available for this tool that give you more functionality as well (such as setting colors) so if you’re looking for something customizable then Sublime may be your best choice!
Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code is another Xcode alternative that comes with the IDE functionality and features we’re used to, like a customizable interface for your code. It also has support for extensions – so if you need something more than what it provides out of the box, then Visual Studio may be worth looking at!
Visual Studio Code is another Xcode alternative that comes with the IDE functionality and features we’re used to, like a customizable interface for your code. It also has support for extensions – so if you need something more than what it provides out of the box, then Visual Studio may be worth looking at!
Brackets
Brackets is an open-source IDE that can be downloaded and installed on Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux. extension support as well to add even more functionality if you’re looking for something a little different!
In addition to supporting these platforms, Brackets also allows developers the ability to develop applications across all of them with its cross-platform capability. Extensibility is supported here too – so if you want something tailored specifically for your needs then this may be the Xcode alternative for you! The downside? If it’s not already built-in by default, there might not be any extensions available… but the upside is that everything else should work just fine without needing anything extra from other software as Sublime Text does.
Brackets is currently in beta, but it looks like the Xcode alternative for developers who are looking to write code across multiple different platforms. extension support as well to add even more functionality if you’re looking for something a little different!
Light Table
Light Table is a multi-language IDE that’s built for the modern web developer. It has an intelligent auto-complete, features tight integration with Git, and includes a powerful debugger capable of deep inspection. This Xcode alternative also supports Ajax requests by default – so making any modifications to your code should be quick! extensions can even add support for other languages like Python or Ruby if you want something more specialized and tailored to your needs as well instead of what comes out of the box in Light Table… but one downside here is that it might not work on Windows machines yet.
WebStorm 8 EAP (beta) for Eclipse 4 JEE Developers and Web Developers
WebStorm is an IDE for professional web developers. It has outstanding code quality, and a powerful editor with features like auto-completion (intelligent), refactoring, support of XPath expression evaluation in CSS selector fields, etc… Webstorm enables you to create cross-browser HTML prototypes and then make them interactive by adding jQuery plugins or AngularJS directives directly from the IDE! The language recognition engine also provides quick fixes for common mistakes so that you can save time on manual code editing. This Xcode alternative supports all major frameworks – including JavaScript, Ruby on Rails, PHP/Symfony framework, Python Django Framework as well as many more popular technologies.
There are some drawbacks though: being still beta software means bugs might creep up here and there, and the price tag is hefty.
IntelliJ IDEA
IntelliJ IDEA is a Xcode alternative that has been around since 2000. IntelliJ IDEA was created as an IDE for Java and JVM-based languages, but also offers support for C/C++, JavaScript with NodeJS, and HTML/CSS among other technologies. It can be used to develop Android applications in both Eclipse-based ADT plugin or Google Plugin for Intellij Idea. The key features of the product are its intelligent coding assistance while writing code, along with built-in programming language analysis tools which simplify the development process at all levels from novice to expert level programmers.
The drawbacks: it’s fairly expensive coming in at $600-$1000 depending on whether you want just the core toolset or the entire JetBrains suite.
Additional features: code completion, on-the-fly error detection, and correction, that provides coding assistance while writing code; built-in programming language analysis tools simplify development process at all levels from novice to expert level programmers.
The drawbacks: it’s fairly expensive coming in at $600-$1000 depending on whether you want just the core toolset or the entire JetBrains suite.
Android Studio
Android Studio is a code editor with built-in Android SDK and also includes its own user interface designer, so you can build an app without having to switch back and forth between your design tool (e.g., Photoshop) and your programming environment.
The drawbacks: it’s fairly expensive coming in at $600-$1000 depending on whether you want just the core toolset or the entire JetBrains suite.
Additional features: code completion, on-the-fly error detection, and correction, that provides coding assistance while writing code; built-in programming language analysis tools simplify development process at all levels from novice to expert level programmers.
Eclipse IDE for Java Developers (CDT)
Eclipse is a free open-source IDE that has been around for over a decade. It contains many features including an extensible plug-in mechanism, multiple programming languages support and it is highly customizable. Eclipse provides tools to help you with the design of your product from code completion and syntax highlighting to error checking. Besides just being an IDE, it also helps developers produce their application by providing them with templates that eliminates coding time spent on boilerplate or repetitive tasks.
The drawbacks: Eclipse does not have built-in Android development capabilities like IntelliJ IDEA so if you’re developing for Android platforms then this might not be the best choice as there will be lots of switching back and forth between different environments (e.g., Java, XML, HTML).
FAQS:
Is Xcode the only way to make iOS apps?
No, there are many different Xcode alternatives. Plenty of development companies use other IDEs or text editors to develop their iOS apps such as Microsoft’s Visual Studio and Eclipse which is a free open source IDE created by the non-profit organization called The Eclipse Foundation.
The advantages: IntelliJ IDEA has built-in Android Development capabilities so it will help you with cross-platform app development since it supports Java for Android platforms along with XML and HTML. It also provides extra features like code completion tools, advanced error checking and an integrated debugger that won’t slow down your coding process due to its speed optimization.
Is Xcode a good IDE?
Yes, Xcode is a good IDE. XCode or Apple’s development environment comes with many great features such as Auto Layout for iOS apps and Objective-C language support for the latest versions of macOS.
The disadvantages: IntelliJ IDEA doesn’t have an EXCELLENT user interface that some developers may find difficult to use if they’re not used to it but you should be able to quickly get used to this after using it for a while. It also requires Java on your system which can cause compatibility issues when trying to run code that isn’t built in Java so make sure you are aware of this possible issue before using IntelliJ IDEA. I would recommend checking out Microsoft Visual Studio.
Can I run Xcode on Windows?
Yes, you can run Xcode on Windows. However, the native xcode pro format is not supported by Visual Studio or Microsoft Build Tools (MSBuild).
To compile iOS apps in Windows with Visual Studio:
– Install a Mac OS VM using VirtualBox and install XCode inside it as described here.
– Import your project from the macOS instance of XCode to VisualStudio for editing purposes only. After every edit you make in VS2017, just keep pressing Reload Project in order to force rebuilds with MSBuild tools instead of rebuilding locally via xcode build.