xcode on mac mini with Lion Server

gauravfromnoida wrote:

I am planning to buy a mac mini with Lion Server, is it possible and allowed to install xcode and conduct development activities on Lion Server?

Yes, yes and yes.

In a server environment one often wants to install open-source software which may need compiling, e.g. Squid and to do this you need XCode. XCode is free, you download it from the Mac App store.

I haven't tried this with XCode on Lion, but it used to be possible to install XCode, do the compiling/installing, and then uninstall XCode. Uninstalling XCode afterwards has two benefits, you recover a significant amount of disk space, and by not having the command-line developer tools installed you reduce (but don't eliminate) the options for malware.

As a comment, for a brief period Apple did charge a nominal sum for downloading XCode from the Mac App store. I felt this was on dodgy ground for two reasons, first to install a lot of open-source software you need the command-line developer tools, and secondly those command-line developer tools included a lot of open-source software which potentially Apple might have been in trouble charging for. I did think Apple could have split XCode in to two, their XCode developer environment and the command-line tools with the command-line tools being free, but it was always better for the whole lot to be free. This makes it possible for a much bigger audience to become developers - even my humble self. Making all the developer tools completely free - the same tools Apple uses themselves to develop their own software - completely eliminates any argument other software developers might have. It is far cheaper as a result to develop Mac (or iOS) software than Windows.

Microsoft's equivalent to XCode might be considered to be Visual Studio which costs hundreds of dollars/pounds per person.