This week saw the release of Xojo 2015 Release 1. This release has only a couple of new features (and one really big change) but many smaller changes and bug fixes.
The biggest new feature for Xojo is that you can now build 64 bit iOS applications. This is a big deal because Apple is making 64 bit iOS apps mandatory for those apps submitted to the App Store. As of February 1st submissions to the App Store must be universal 32 bit / 64 bit app bundles.
In December 2014 Xojo gave us a tentative roadmap and met it as 2015 R1 was in a usable beta on February 1st. This is an accomplishment in and of itself since Xojo rarely, if ever, gives us their schedule. Not only gave a schedule but met it! I’d say lets give them some kudos for being a bit more open and accomplishing their task!
So far in testing it appears that 64 bit iOS applications are solid. This also means that the 64 bit compiler is working and works in a 32 bit application and debugger. According to their December 2014 blog post the next up for the 64 bit treatment is Linux web/console and this will be much anticipated by anyone that’s tried to install a Linux web app on a 64 bit Linux OS and struggled to find 32 bit compatibility libraries.
Besides 64 bit for iOS, there are a plethora of bug fixes to the IDE, the new framework, and the compiler. To say that the IDE received some love would be an understatement. These changes should make for a more stable development environment. The number of bug fixes is too many to list here and I highly recommend reading the release notes.
The IDE Icon Editor received another makeover (how many is this in the past 15 years?) that allows it to handle 1024 by 1024 icons. Some unused sizes were removed and the output format is now PNG rather than JPEG2000. In my own testing it seemed that images moved forward from older projects didn’t look quite right so you should definitely make sure your icon images are updated before doing a release.
The Web framework received a few important updates. WebLabels now work properly on dynamically created WebContainers. WebCheckboxes respond properly on touch devices. WebContainer mouse event handlers no longer interfere with scrolling. WebListbox no longer offsets the selection if placed inside a WebContainer and accessed from a touch device. Internet Explorer now supports gradient fills.
The new framework received new Parse functions for Integer, Double, Single and will act like the existing framework Val and CDbl functions. What this means, in reality, is that Parse is more lenient and doesn’t throw exceptions when it can’t figure out the value of the passed in Text. I think it’s obvious that Xojo is mindful of how we are using the new framework and reacting to our (valid) criticisms and wants and needs.
Windows and Linux users didn’t receive much love in this release, however. The release notes only have a few for each and those seem pretty minor. One bug fix that affects everyone, but appears to affect Windows more, was the Serial control. It appears that it was possible to receive incorrect data.
I think many will be happy with this release. 64 bit iOS applications were a necessity and everything else was bug fixes and expansions of functionality. I wish more releases were like this (i.e. a few new features and mostly bug fixes).
As with any new release you’ll need to test it against your own projects to find out if you have any issues.
What are your comments about Xojo 2015 Release 1?