Destinations vs Targets in Xcode and when to use which

In Xcode, destinations and targets serve different purposes. Here’s a breakdown of when to use each:

Adding Destinations

• Definition: A destination in Xcode refers to a platform or device (e.g., iPhone, iPad, macOS, watchOS) where your app is expected to run. When you select a destination, you’re choosing where to run the app during testing or building.
• When to Use: Destinations are used when you are testing your app on different platforms, simulators, or physical devices. For example, if you’re building an iOS app, your destination could be an iPhone simulator or a connected physical device.
• Example Use Cases:
  • Running your app on different iOS devices.
  • Testing on different screen sizes or iOS versions.

Adding Targets

• Definition: A target defines a specific product that you are building within your Xcode project. Each target can have its own build settings, resources, and configurations.
• When to Use: Use targets when you want to build different versions of your app or build entirely separate products from the same codebase. Targets are typically used when:
  • You want to build both a main app and a companion app (e.g., iPhone and watchOS apps).
  • You want to create different configurations of your app, such as a free version and a pro version.
  • You are building unit tests or UI tests.
• Example Use Cases:
  • Creating a macOS version of an iOS app.
  • Building an app and a widget from the same codebase.
  • Configuring a target for an app extension (e.g., a Today Widget or iMessage extension).

Summary

• Use destinations for running and testing your app on different devices or simulators.
• Use targets for building different products or configurations within the same project.

If you’re working on a macOS app in SwiftUI, for example, you might use different targets for the app and any accompanying app extensions, while destinations would be for running the app on your Mac or other macOS simulators.

Best Practices for Naming Targets

1. Be Descriptive and Specific: The target name should clearly indicate the platform or product it’s associated with.
   • Example: If your app is called MyApp, you can name the macOS target MyApp macOS and the iOS target MyApp iOS.
2. Use Platform-Specific Suffixes: Adding the platform as a suffix is common practice.
   • Examples:
     • MyApp iOS
     • MyApp macOS
     • MyApp watchOS (if you decide to add a watchOS version in the future)
3. Avoid Redundancy: If your project is relatively small and self-contained, you may not need overly complex target names.
   • Avoid something like MyApp-iOS-App-Target—just MyApp iOS is sufficient.

4. Consistency: Use the same naming convention across all platforms to keep your project easy to understand and maintain. If you add other targets (e.g., for extensions, widgets, or different configurations), follow the same pattern.

5. Consider App Variants (if applicable): If you plan to release different variants of the same app (e.g., free vs. pro), consider incorporating that into the target name.
   • Examples:
     • MyApp Free iOS
     • MyApp Pro macOS

By following these conventions, it will be easy to distinguish between different platform versions of your app and manage them in Xcode.