Clutch’s Interview on Cheesecake Labs’ Xcode User Experience

Xcode user experience

Located in Washington, DC, Clutch is a research firm that helps startups, mid-market and large enterprises finding new partners through the identification of leading software and professional services firms.

Recently, Clutch divulged a list of top app development companies in Latin America.
As such, we are happy to announce that Cheesecake Labs has been featured as a 5-star services deliverer and one of the top choices in LATAM.

Along with Cheesecake Labs, and 5-star rated as well, is InAllMedia, from our hermanos in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Also on the list, are the above 4.5-rating Tekton Labs, from Mexico; Vizir, from São Paulo, Brazil; Guarana Technologies, from Campolim, Brazil; and Bixlabs, from Uruguay.

In addition to the unveiling of this brand-new section, Clutch has interviewed one of our top iOS developers, Bruno Guerios, about his experience working with Xcode, an integrated development environment (IDE) created by Apple for building software for iOS and OS X.
Cheesecake Labs' and Xcode's logos
Check out below Bruno Guerios’ interview on his Xcode user experience:

Background

Can you please provide a brief description of your company and the role that you play there?
I am an iOS developer at Cheescake Labs, a mobile app development company.  We make solutions for startups which we like to consider our partners. We’re located in Brazil and we usually work remotely.

Challenge

What was the business challenge your company was facing that incited the need for this platform?
We received a project for an iOS application from a client that wanted us to build them an app. The client required features that were too complex to work on a cross platform solution like PhoneGap or Xamarin. Therefore, we started the project on the Native IDE [Integrated Development Environment], which is Xcode, supported by Apple.

Solution

How does your company implement this platform or software?
We use it through the whole process of developing and submitting an iOS app.

Was your company considering other platforms? Why this platform?
Mainly we work either with Xcode or AppCode. For example, when we start in an ongoing project that already uses IB (Interface Builder), we usually go with Xcode, since AppCode’s IB isn’t as good. We’re constantly discussing about the advantages of one over the other, but in the end it all comes to whatever the developer feels more comfortable with.

On an annual or monthly basis, how much does your company spend to utilize the platform?
Xcode is free. An Apple developer’s member account was required for developing, but it isn’t required anymore.

Features

Were there any software features/tools that you were really impressed by?   
I’ve seen a lot of people complaining about Xcode. They say it doesn’t have the resources others do. I think those developers didn’t give Xcode much of a try. With almost 2 years of developing with Xcode, I have found a lot of new features that help me program. I like it and it works for me.

Looking back, are there any areas of the software that you feel that could be added or improved upon?
The provisioning profile signature process is very confusing. Apple should work on that to find a better solution.  Another thing we always discuss while comparing AppCode and Xcode are the refactoring tools. In Xcode they are very limited and usually don’t work properly. That should be improved as well.

Have you had to interact with the platform’s support team or reference their support resources?
We searched for support on how to sign our code with a provisioning profile and how to publish apps. The whole process isn’t very clear, I think they could make it better/simpler.

Overview – Guerio’s Xcode user experience

To sum up: We have a few quick questions, and for each question we ask you to rate the software on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the best. 

What would you give the software for functionality of the features available?
Three and a half.

What would you give the software for ease of use or ease of implementation into your business?
Three and a half.

For support, as in responsiveness of the team or helpfulness of the resources available? 
Three and a half, based on the issues I’ve mentioned.

Overall, satisfaction with the platform?
Three and a half. Xcode allows adding plugins to it. Most of the resources I can’t find within Xcode can be found in these plugins. The drawback is the fact that most of them are not supported by Apple and, almost every time Xcode upgrades, they stop working.

How likely are you to recommend the software to a colleague or similar business?
Three and a half.

Clutch’s interview on Cheesecake Labs’ top iOS developer, Bruno Guerios, on his Xcode user experience

 

Here’s the link to the original interview.

About the author.

Alissander Balemberg
Alissander Balemberg

A nerd/geek translator driven by challenges. Also addicted to TV series, movies, books, and sushi. Enjoys learning new things, as well as having insteresting conversations on any topic.