14 DAY TRIAL // Developers putting bread on the table by selling apps are being notified that a new version of Xcode is available for download with fixes and enhancements in areas like the Swift programming language, app extensions, Simulator, and more.
According to people who are familiar with Xcode 6.1.1 GM seed, Apple documents a lot of fixed bugs in the seed notes. The Golden Master status is indicative of a final release being planned for the coming days.
What’s new in Xcode 6.1.1 GM Seed
The nomenclature associated with the new Xcode release confirms that Apple has finally ironed out all the major bugs, and is ready to deploy the final bits to the masses. Xcode 6.1.1 requires a Mac running OS X 10.9.4 (Mavericks) or OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) and includes software development kits (SDKs) for iOS 8 and OS X versions 10.9 and 10.10.
To develop apps targeting earlier versions of OS X or iOS, developers are instructed to see the section “About SDKs and the iOS Simulator” in What's New in Xcode over at developer.apple.com. Alternately, they can get the same information from the Help > What's New in Xcode command when running Xcode, according to the seed notes.
The documentation starts with the known issues still lingering in the GM build. Apparently, there is still a lot of work to be done before Xcode 6.1.1 can be released bug-free. Areas where Apple still needs to patch bugs include Playgrounds, App Extensions, App Store Submission, Asset Catalogs, Debugger, Interface Builder, iOS Simulator, and more.
A lot of the same areas are listed under “resolved” issues, with Apple noting some of these key fixes.
For Interface Builder” “Fixed an issue where Interface Builder could not open or compile IB documents that have an image name containing a slash (‘/') character on Yosemite. This manifested as a range exception on NSTaggedPointerString when calling +[NSImage imageNamed:].”
For the relatively-new Swift programming language: “Many common causes of SourceKit crashes have been fixed, namely corrupted module caches and out of date derived data.”
For Xcode Server: “Fixed a crash in Xcode Server when the private portal keychain is replaced with a symlink to the system keychain.”
These, of course, are just a handful of the bugs squashed in this GM seed.
How to download
Xcode 6.1.1 GM Seed is available solely to registrants to the Mac or iOS Developer Program via the company’s developer portal.
When all the bugs are ironed out, the new Xcode 6.1.1 (Final) will be released as a free download in the Mac App Store, where anyone (including non-registrants) can download the bits with a simple Apple ID.
Xcode will soon include a new SDK to allow programmers to code third-party apps for the upcoming Apple Watch.
