XCode Treasures by Chris AdamsonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Context & Why I read this book
I am a software engineer with focus on Swift and Apple platforms. Using Xcode is my daily bread. I was hoping to learn some more tips and tricks to master my main IDE.
What is the book about as a whole?
The book takes you through all major parts of working with Xcode, the IDE for developing software on Apple platforms. It tackles basics like project setup, working with storyboard, and editing source code but also explores some more intermediate topics like improving performance, security, and extending Xcode.
The book's structure
The book is divided into 12 chapters and comes with many screenshots and code samples:
1. Projects
2. Storyboards: Appearance
3. Storyboards: Behavior
4. Editing Source Code
5. Building Projects
6. Debugging Code
7. Improving Performance
8. Automated Testing
9. Security
10. Source Control Management
11. Platform Specifics
12. Extending Xcode
One lesson
One thing I learned about was were the advanced breakpoint actions Xcode offers: logging messages, playing sounds, executing debugger commands, and the "expr" LLDB command which lets you change the values of variables at run-time, something that can come in handy once in a while.
Reading Recommendation / Who should read this?
(This recommendation is only targeted at developers on Apple platforms) I don't think that you necessarily need to read it (especially if you have 3+ years of experience with Xcode). I learned a couple of new things but in the end, the book was lacking depth. Also, quite naturally for a book like this, newer topics are missing (like working with SwiftUI previews or using the latest Xcode features from the last 2-3 years). Considering that there are so many valuable other books you can read to improve your craft overall this is a 5 out of 10 (⭑⭑⭑) for me.
----------
View all my reviews on Goodreads