Why is XCode suddenly paid?

Do you have a technical problem with paying?
I really don't see where we can possibly solve your problem about paying for xcode.

Other than that, all we could offer is speculation and discussion about Apple's policies. Both of which are not allowed on these forums.
{quote}Stay on topic. Apple Discussions is here to help people use Apple products and technologies more effectively. Unless otherwise noted, do not add Submissions about nontechnical topics, including:
1. Speculations or rumors about unannounced products.
2. Discussions of Apple policies or procedures or speculation on Apple decisions.{quote}

As stated in many other posts about this topic, you can still get Xcode free.
You just simply sign up with Apple Developer. You don't have to pay
fees unless you want technical support or want to download code to iOS
devices.

Also, not ALL IDE's are free. Real Basic come to mind right off as well as others.
Also, many of the free ones don't have the capabilities of Xcode, primarily when
it comes to GUI design.

Anyway, 5 bucks is pretty freaking cheap for a development environment with
auto update capability, which is what the 5 bucks is getting you.

{quote}As stated in many other posts about this topic, you can still get Xcode free.
You just simply sign up with Apple Developer. You don't have to pay
fees unless you want technical support or want to download code to iOS
devices.{quote}

That is not totally accurate. You can download the old version for free, but free accounts are directed to purchase the 4.0 developer tools from the app store.

Right from Apple -

{quote}+You must be an iOS or Mac Developer Program member to download Xcode 4 or you can purchase Xcode 4 from the Mac App Store.+{quote}

garbageman, IMO you are absolutely right. That was the situation I was confronted with, I e-mailed devprograms@apple.com and got: "Please know that If a developer is NOT a member of either the iOS or Mac Developer Program, the developer may purchase Xcode 4 for $4.99 USD via the Mac App Store (this is a regular consumer purchase). All support for Xcode PURCHASES will be provided by the Mac App Store support team.". My problem with this scheme is that Xcode is not a mere "app", as I have already stressed in another post on the topic Xcode via Mac App Store. I hope Apple reviews and improves the updating of an "App" like Xcode. The rigmarole can be confusing, and the download speed (?) is slow, real slow. Apple might want to consider that, once the user as paid for Xcode 4.0, installed it, an update like 4.0.1 (and more to follow?) should be available through Software Update, and not through Mac App Store.
By the way, when MacOS 10.6.7 was available, I used the combo update.

robin1232 wrote:
I mean, I have no problem paying for it (I still won't update, though). But I think many people who would want to try it, will not because of the price tag.
Think about it, there are no paid IDE's, they're all free.

There are plenty of paid IDEs. All the "free" and open source over the past few years might make people unaware of that. For years people gladly paid Metrowerks hundreds of dollars for their Codewarrior IDE rather than use Apple's free MPW.

No, I think it will result in less people programming for OS-X, thus less programs and so less people buying OS-X. Bad call, Apple.

Have you checked the various app stores lately? Xcode programmers, especially newbies, are hardly endangered.

If you want to make OS-X just as closed as iOS, please warn me beforehand, so I can sell my Mac before nobody will want them anymore.

The only thing "closed" is the app store architecture. You can use any tool you want to create Mac applications. There are competitors to Xcode you know - but most of them cost more money 🙂

Well that may be the case then.

Still, 5 bucks is pretty freaking cheap.

If you don't like it, quit complaining and try working with open
source tools!

You are right, it is cheap, but it used to be free and that was an excellent plus point when it was introduced and Windows developers were forking out huge sums of money for MS development tools. I accept that other development tools have now come down in price and become more competitive but you have to ask yourself what the point is in charging such a small sum for such a brilliant product. In the UK its £2.99 which is certainly nowhere near the amount you would expect for such a vast and complex product. It does feel like a cheap money grabbing trick now they have the App Store, which is the perfect vehicle for making small sums transactions a lot easier (be honest, when its 0.59p and you click the button it doesn't feel like money!). Would they be charging this tiny amount if you had to go through a laborious process of entering payment details and going through card security??

I don't think so. This is an easy way for Apple to increase their profit margins a bit because, lets face it, anyone who wants to develop for Mac will not mind shelling out such a small amount. On the one hand it irritates and takes some of the wind out of my sail when I am waxing lyrical to my friends about how much better Apple are in comparison to Microsoft; but lets get to the bottom line here, Apple are a business and need to make as much profit as they possibly can so its hardly surprising as this is a good business decision, albeit one that slightly damages their reputation as a forward thinking company that is able to spot the next trend (how many other company's now allow you download the SDK/Tools for free!). Being an optimist I would like to think that this money is being channelled back into making the awesome products and tools that we can all agree Apple churn out on a regular basis.

Happy coding!

Milly.

We can't speculate on why Apple has done this. But the facts are:

-The price of an Apple Developer membership has dropped from $499/year to $99/year
-AD members can download XCode 4 for no additional charge
-Everyone else now has to spend $5 on XCode when it used to be free

I'm sure that the significant price drop for the AD membership will get many more developers on board than they will lose by charging $5 for XCode.