NOT WORKING (as of Nov 2016): #171
Swift is terribly slow at compiling.
To save yourself the wait, there are great tools that toy around using a power technique: code injection
Prior to Xcode 8, things were easy with plugins.
But with Xcode 8, Apple now has officialy, yet limiting, way to develop for Xcode plugin, and code injection will not work unless Xcode is unsigned.
Code Injection
Code Injection is a plugin to inject code while the app is running.
To use code injection, you have to unsign your Xcode.
Unsign Xcode
MakeXcodePluginsWork, provides a way to unsign (and also to revert to signed) Xcode.
git clone https://github.com/nrbrook/MakeXcodePluginsWork
cd MakeXcodePluginsWork
# Edit makeXcodePluginsWork if you Xcode path is different
# Eg. My Xcode is /Applications/Xcode 8.app
./makeXcodePluginsWork
There are other tools. All similarly uses steakknife’s unsign.
Build Code Injection Plugin
git clone https://github.com/johnno1962/injectionforxcode
open injectionforxcode/InjectionPluginLite/InjectionPlugin.xcodeproj
In Xcode, go to the target and make sure you select your signing team.
Pitfall: In Build Phases > Run Script, it will run codesign with “iPhone Developer”. This might be ambiguous in some cases (at least for me with multiple account). If so, change the script to eg. “iPhone Developer: samwize”.
Build the target.
Restart Xcode.
You should see “Unexpected Code Bundle …”. Load the Bundle.
In Xcode menu, you should see Injection Plugin and Inject Source.
Congrats! You are ready to inject code.
Inject Your Code
Let’s test by adding this special func to a view controller:
func injected() {
print("I've been injected: \(self)")
}
This injected func is special as it is the entry point for any code injection. You can write your injected code within.
Run the target.
Then press CTRL = (or Product > Inject Source).
For more usage and limitations (especially for Swift), read the project’s README.
KZPlayground
KZPlayground makes use of code injection to create it’s own Playground, for Swift and Objective-C, since it is just code injection.
It also provides control for tweaking stuff so you get a GUI like sliders.