Xcode 3.1
I began writing Xcode 3 Unleashed in September 2007, when Xcode 3.0 was still under nondisclosure. In March 2008, Apple distributed a developer preview of Xcode 3.1 as part of the iPhone SDK; our technical reviewers had been testing X3U against 3.0 for nearly two months. When 3.1 was released to the public in July of 2008, X3U had already gone to press.
This put me into a quandary that befalls most technical writers: By the time you publish, the subject has changed. It happens all the time. When we published X3U, it had undergone weeks of technical review against Xcode 3.0. Xcode 3.1 was changing monthly, and was under nondisclosure anyway.
Waiting for Xcode 3.1 to stabilize enough to make accurate screen shots and instructions possible, and then re-doing all the technical reviews (for which we couldn't have gotten fresh eyes), would have pushed publication to near the end of 2008. We decided we'd do more good by getting the book into your hands promptly.
I think this was the right tradeoff. Xcode 3.1 contains a lot of improvements—this section of the web site will cover them—but the principles are the same. Xcode 3 Unleashed will teach you how to use Xcode 3, regardless of the comparatively small changes later versions may bring.
This section of the Xcode 3 Unleashed site will trace the differences between Xcode 3.0 and 3.1. This is still under way (X3U is, like, my third job); stay tuned!