Xcode Build Options, etc. Tutorial

Question

I've worked on a few projects now, and I've had to change the framework search paths, set the bundle loader, etc.

But I've never felt totally comfortable with that Project (or Target) "Get Info" window. I still don't know what half the stuff in there is, and whenever I change anything, there's always a bit of finger-crossing when I click Build. Building and linking all feels a little "magical" to me right now.

I assume this feeling isn't normal. Does anyone know of any good tutorials for these non-code-related parts of building an app?

Answer 1

When you select a build setting, Xcode 4 will show a short description in its Quick Help, which is in one of the Inspectors you can show on the right side of the window.

In Xcode 3, the description will appear at the bottom of the Info window that tells you what the setting does. In even older versions, click on the stack of books with the pair of spectacles on top.

If you're still stumped and the setting in question corresponds to a GCC option, you can look it up in the GCC manual. If it doesn't correspond to a GCC option, Google it.

All (as far as I can tell) of the build settings are documented in the Xcode Build Setting Reference, although some of these are more useful as output (e.g., environment to a shell script phase) than as input (actual settings). Indeed, a few of them, such as ACTION, only appear as output; you can't set them in the Info window, and wouldn't want to.