Development tool provider Metrowerks will be at next week’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) demonstrating the newest version of their development tool for Mac OS X: CodeWarrior for Mac OS, Version 8. WWDC 2002 runs May 6-10 in San Jose, CA, and will focus on Mac OS X.
Version 8 is Metrowerks’ most comprehensive toolset for Mac OS to date, according to Andy Mastronardi, director of desktop products. The product supports four languages (C, C++, Objective C and Java) and provides Mac developers with the ability to build both Mac OS X and Classic Mac OS applications utilizing Carbon, Cocoa, Java and Classic Mac OS technologies.
“We feel that version 8 offers a tremendous value to the Mac community,” Mastronardi told MacCentral. “Cocoa support is something that developers have been asking for as part of the IDE.”
CodeWarrior for Mac OS, Version 8 adds support for the Cocoa application environment, an Objective C class library created by Apple that lets developers build native Mac OS X applications. In addition, the new version includes Apple’s Interface Builder, which enables developers to quickly design and build user interfaces for their Cocoa and/or Carbon applications. Developers who use Metrowerks’ PowerPlant framework (the popular C++ class library for the Mac platform) for Classic Mac OS can now use PowerPlant to create both Mac OS X and Classic Mac OS applications quickly and efficiently, Mastronardi said.
“We think that Interface Builder is one of the biggest additions to the toolsets,” he added. “We feel we’ve given the Mac community everything they need to complement their development cycles, as well as in the area of tools.”
Matt Henderson, Metrowerks’ technical lead on Mac OS tools, told MacCentral that they had worked closely with Apple to incorporate Interface Builder with Codewarrior. Also new in version 8 is the Code Completion feature for C, C++, and Java languages, which provides fast access to the prototypes and parameters of any function in a project. This is designed to enable developers to write code more quickly, without stopping to look up hard-to-remember functions and symbols, Henderson said.
“Code Completion is a very cool feature that we’re proud of,” he said. “It’s a time saver as it lets you instantly look up any function while typing. You can fill in info without a lot of searching through source code for something that you can’t remember.”
CodeWarrior Development Tools for Mac OS provides the ability to develop on multiple hosts and for multiple targets, meaning developers can build software for both the Mac and Windows operating systems, using the same development environment, Henderson said. Using CodeWarrior tools for cross-platform projects minimizes code changes between platforms and eliminates the need to support different development environments on different platforms, he added.
Rapid Application Development (RAD) tools for Java technology let developers graphically design their software in an interactive environment. Using Metrowerks’ Java RAD tools, developers can write less code, build easier-to-use software and complete their projects faster, Henderson said. Because Metrowerks’ Java RAD tools can be used selectively, they don’t get in the way of development, he added.
The CodeWarrior IDE includes a class browser designed to allow developers to navigate and conveniently edit their code. The class browser builds a database of the symbols in developers’ code, so that they can instantly look up the definition or implementation of any symbol in their projects.
Carbon remains the primary development environment for Mac OS X and Apple is “fully moving Carbon into the future,” Henderson said. Cocoa certainly has its fans, especially among former NextStep/OpenStep developers, as does Java. Even though the Java support of Mac OS X is impressive and has Apple solidly behind it, Java hasn’t yet caught on as a mainstream application development platform on the Mac, Henderson said.
Later this summer, Metrowerks will release a multimedia tutorial for the Version 8 tools. The tutorial will provide developers with instructions on how to use the CodeWarrior IDE. Mastronardi said that this was a nice feature for newcomers to the Mac space and those new to programming. Look for the tutorial about a month after CodeWarrior 8 ships.
CodeWarrior Development Tools for Mac OS, Version 8, will be released May 31 at a suggested retail price of US$599 per license and $299 for renewal. Or you can get a combined package for Mac OS and Windows development for $799 (or $449 renewal). The combined package is also available in a specially priced academic version for $119.
However, from now through May 30, Metrowerks is offering special pre-release pricing for Version 8 of CodeWarrior Development Tools for Mac OS. The special price is $499 per license (a $100 savings) and $249 for renewal (a $50 savings.) For the combined Mac OS-Windows package, the pre-release price is $599 (a $200 savings) and $349 renewal (a $100 savings).