zlacker

[parent] [thread] 5 comments
1. briand+(OP)[view] [source] 2026-02-03 18:43:41
True that Xcode needs yet another rebuild from scratch. If they forked it and abandoned the old project file and went with a swift first approach, could work. However adding support for Claude is still a huge win. Could lead the way to making the transition to a sane IDE possible / reasonable. This would require leadership that’s completely absent at the company.
replies(2): >>embedd+w9 >>vor_+As1
2. embedd+w9[view] [source] 2026-02-03 19:21:47
>>briand+(OP)
> If they forked it and abandoned the old project file and went with a swift first approach, could work.

Ever attempted this before at a large company and had success with it? I think I can count four times so far in ~15 years where people attempted to rewrite something medium/large-scale from scratch around me, was a success once, although scope was drastically cut at the end so almost a stretch to call it a success.

replies(3): >>neutro+Lb >>briand+Jm >>jamesf+MD1
◧◩
3. neutro+Lb[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-02-03 19:29:55
>>embedd+w9
In this particular case they just need to release a tool that properly generates compile_commands.json and .clangd from a .xcodeproj.

Boom! emacs is the IDE now. Bonuses all around.

◧◩
4. briand+Jm[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-02-03 20:19:42
>>embedd+w9
You are of course correct. It's not likely to succeed. "Could work" doesn't mean high chance of success. I was trying to imply the opposite. It's just that Xcode has so much baggage that the previous attempts have been very compromised.
5. vor_+As1[view] [source] 2026-02-04 02:59:31
>>briand+(OP)
Why would being "swift first" affect anything? Why do you assume Xcode isn't already full of Swift code?
◧◩
6. jamesf+MD1[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-02-04 04:50:55
>>embedd+w9
Seen it once - it got done because there was enough will to make it happen but it probably took a decade.

Whether it was successful or not is up for debate. It certainly was nowhere near as performant as the old system but probably 99% of features came across.

[go to top]