Why isn't there Xcode for Windows?

Question

Why can't Xcode be hacked to be able to run on Windows? Does Xcode have another programming methods?

Also, I heard that iPhone apps are made with Objective-C, so why is this not available in Windows?

Thanks

Solution 1

Xcode is written in Objective-C and takes advantage of a number of OS X frameworks, so porting it to Windows would require porting all the frameworks on which Xcode relies. Furthermore, Xcode also uses a number of programming tools that would have to be ported to Windows as well (some of them already are, of course).

There are several reasons that Objective-C isn't readily available on Windows:

1. Most development of Objective-C frameworks takes place on OS X, and a lot of the frameworks aren't open-source and thus can't be ported to Windows (they'd have to be rewritten).
2. There are some open-source frameworks that could be used on Windows -- for example, OS X's AppKit and Foundation frameworks are (mostly) available as part of the GNUstep project -- but these frameworks aren't widely used or supported on Windows, and sometimes lack capabilities found in their OS X counterparts.

That said, GCC is available on Windows, and since GCC is an Objective-C compiler, you could compile Objective-C code on Windows if you had the right libraries available (or didn't use any third-party libraries). But Objective-C isn't terribly useful without supporting frameworks, and those are rare or nonexistent on Windows.

Solution 2

Same can be said why isn't there Visual Studio 2008 for OSX.

Solution 3

Xcode is a big application written to set of APIs not present on Windows. Porting it would be an enormous job, maintaining it would be a big job, and there are already popular IDEs on the Windows platform.

Comments

[Admin]

it is just called Visual Studio on Windows :-)

[dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten]

@Nick: It might be.SO is (and should be) open to the greenest beginners. There remains the possibility that the poster simply doesn't know why random program X for the mac won't also run on a windows box. They are both subclasses of Computer, after all.

[LolaRun]

No windows developer/user would want such a mess.

[ingh.am]

Debatable. Xcode is a very nice dev environment to use. I have to use VS, Xcode and Eclipse and they are all great tools. Xcode however is far from a "mess".

[Randolpho]

@LolaRun Xcode is a pretty sweet IDE, once you get used to it's interface (which differs wildly from both Eclipse and Visual Studio).

[ThiefMaster]

The main reason is that apple wants you to buy one of their computers.

[CodeOverload]

MAC OSX is hacked, and can be installed on pc, so why XCODE ?

[dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten]

Much more complete than my answer. Props to you.

[Steve Syfuhs]

Installing an OS on a PC is different than porting apps/frameworks to work on different architectures. You're not just comparing apples to oranges, you're comparing cherries to watermelons (in terms of the amount of work necessary... and maybe I'm understating the watermelons).

[CodeOverload]

atlast cherries & watermelons can be compared for sweetness :)

[Quinn Taylor]

+1 Great answer. Add to that the fact that Xcode is made by Apple, which has zero interest in making development on a Microsoft platform easier or more pleasant. One could similarly ask why Microsoft doesn't port Visual Studio to OS X or Linux. The smart thing is for each company to invest in their own platform and development ecosystem — the draw of Xcode and building iPhone apps are part of what makes switching to the Mac all the more appealing. :-)

[Taryn East]

You're comparing cherries to a good pair of pants. Both can be classified as "good" but for very different uses.

[Admin]

I don't agree it's smart. The primary reason most developers stick to developing for one OS is because companies like Apple refuse to offer cross-platform support for their development tools, which, ultimately, results in less productivity. Furthermore, requiring new-time developers to pay 99$ a year just to develop an app that may not even be successful anyway makes iOS development even more unattractive and is a ridiculous idea.