If you're not developing an iOS/macOS app, you can skip Xcode completely and just use the `swift` CLI, which is perfectly cromulent. (It works great on Linux and Windows.)

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alwillis 9 hours ago | parent | next [-]

There'a great indie app called Notepad.exe [1] for developing iOS and macOS apps using macOS. You can also write and test Swift apps for Linux easily [2]. It also supports Python and JavaScript.

If you hate Xcode, this is definitely worth a look.

[1]: https://notepadexe.com

[2]: https://notepadexe.com/news/#notepad-14-linux-support

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afavour 8 hours ago | parent | next [-]

So wait this thing is real? Calling it notepad.exe gave me the impression that it's just an elaborate joke about how you can code any program in Notepad...

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andai 8 hours ago | parent [-]

It might have a joke name but it costs $80!

	▲	fangorn 8 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		That's the real joke...
	▲	alwillis 3 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Or pay $19.99 for a year and be able to run it on 3 devices. That's a pretty good deal.

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tempodox 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

It claims “native performance”, which makes me suspect it’s another Electron bloat.

	▲	indemnity 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Instead of speculating you could download and see for yourself that it’s not. It’s by Marcin Krzyzanowski who is all about native iOS and macOS apps.

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mort96 9 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I would avoid it for Linux and Windows. Even if they are "technically supported", Apple's focus is clearly macOS and iOS. Being a second- (or even third-) class citizen often introduces lots of issues in practice ("oh, nobody teenaged that functionality on Windows"...)

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behnamoh 10 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Even if you're developing for macOS you can skip xcode. I've had a great time developing a menubar app for macOS and not once did I need to open xcode.

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alex-russo 10 hours ago | parent [-]

curious what you used - I've been looking into making a menubar app and really hate xcode

	▲	hombre_fatal 9 hours ago \| parent [-]
		claude -p "Make a menubar app with AppKit (Cocoa) that does X"