Xcode is Not Environmentally Friendly
20 Apr 2020Dread sets in whenever a new version of Xcode releases. It’s dreadful because Xcode is a bloated monolith; downloading Xcode means downloading a 7.5 GB bundle that includes an IDE, simulators, and the appleOS family of SDKs, all from scratch, every single time there is an update. Frustration and dread is compounded with frequent failed downloads from Apple’s Developer website and the random, silent failures when downloading from the Mac App Store.
Compare this to Android where the IDE, Android Studio, is a comparatively light 768 MB download. Updates to Android Studio are downloaded and applied as small patches. The Android SDK, build tools, and emulators live separately from the IDE so when you get a new version of Android Studio there’s no need to download all that stuff again.
Ultimately Xcode is not environmentally friendly. From the article Does Irresponsible Web Development Contribute to Global Warming? by Emerge Interactive:
According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy it takes 5.12 kWh of electricity per gigabyte of transferred data. And according to the Department of Energy the average US power plant expends 600 grams of carbon dioxide for every kWh generated. That means that transferring 1GB of data produces 3kg of CO2.
A download of Xcode generates 22 kg of carbon dioxide. That’s the equivalent of burning two and half gallons of gasoline! A more modularized Xcode would not only be more environmentally friendly, it would make updates for developers less dreadful. Be green and be kind, Apple!