Xtoolkit is a toolkit for writing Xcode plugins in Swift. It’s developed by Stefan Kaigert, the creator of Xcode, and the number of awesome things he has done with it are really impressive. Xtoolkit is similar to other Xcode toolkits that exist today such as xcodeproj , in that they provide developers with tools they can use to make their apps more extensible without having to learn a bunch of new programming languages or frameworks. It’s also similar to extensions in that it provides developers with a place to put different extensions together so they don’t have to copy-and-paste code from one extension into another. However, the similarities don’t end there! In this article, we will take a look at 5 things you need to know about Xtoolkit.
What is Xtoolkit?
Xtoolkit is a toolkit for writing Xcode plugins in Swift. It’s developed by Stefan Kaigert, the creator of Xcode, and the number of awesome things he has done with it are really impressive. A plugin is a piece of software that sits between one application and another. A good example of this is plug-ins like Adobe Photoshop or Microsoft Word that let you add new features, like graphics or text, to your computer. Xtoolkit is similar to other Xcode toolkits that exist today such as xcodeproj , in that they provide developers with tools they can use to make their apps more extensible without having to learn a bunch of new programming languages or frameworks. It’s also similar to extensions in that it provides developers with a place to put different extensions together so they don’t have to copy-and-paste code from one extension into another. However, the similarities don’t end there! In this article, we will take a look at 5 things you need to know about Xtoolkit.
When Should You Use Xtoolkit?
Here are a few examples where you can use Xtoolkit: When you want to build a plugin for a third-party app that doesn’t have a native API, or you want to build a plugin for an app that doesn’t support plugins. Xtoolkit is not a replacement for using extensions. You would want to use Xtoolkit when you need to build a plugin that doesn’t support extensions (like an app that doesn’t support plugins).
Why Use Xtoolkit Over Extensions?
Extensions are great because they let you add features, and you can use them with multiple apps. However, they don’t let you build plugins. Xtoolkit on the other hand is a toolkit for writing plugins to add features to other apps. It’s also like an extension, but it’s a toolkit, which means it can be used in multiple tools.
Disclosure: Stefan is the creator of Xcode, but he doesn’t work for Apple anymore!
As awesome as Xtoolkit is, it’s not without its issues. First and foremost, as awesome as it is that it’s open source, it’s not hosted on GitHub, so it’s not searchable or findable on the internet. That means that unless you know about it, you can’t find it. Another issue with Xtoolkit is that it’s written in Objective-C, and Objective-C is slowly dying out. As cool as Swift is, we are already starting to see some C code break in Swift. So while Xtoolkit is a great toolkit, it’s critical that you keep an eye on the future and make sure your code will run on newer versions of macOS and iOS.
Future of Xtoolkit: Where to from here?
Xtoolkit is still in its early stages, but it has a lot of potential. With the full release of macOS 10.13 (version 15) and iOS 12, Xtoolkit is now also supported on those operating systems. This gives developers a lot of potential ways to use Xtoolkit. Another great thing is that Xtoolkit is written in Swift, and it’s completely open source. This means you have a lot of freedom to change it and make it your own. With the rise in popularity of toolkits, Xtoolkit is a great toolkit to learn and start using right away. It’s not too complicated, and it provides a lot of functionality out of the box.
Final Words
We hope you enjoyed this article, and we also hope to see you at the Xtoolkit Slack! We would love to have you as a part of our community and help build an awesome toolkit that everyone can use. We are also looking for people to help us with the community and documentation. Please visit xtoolkit.org or open an issue on our GitHub repo if you are interested in helping.