Why does a coder have to be a 'power user'? Why can't the applications needed for coding be like any other normal application? You don't need to use esoteric stuff like emacs to be a coder.
What's a "normal application"? How would you classify Xcode?
The complexity comes from the nature of the work. Nobody wants complexity for its own sake, but sometimes you need it, otherwise you can't accomplish anything. That's what the "power" part of the power user means. The power to accomplish your goals. I would contrast "power user" with "powerless user". ;-)
People get this funny idea that coding is a fundamentally low-level activity in conflict with user protection. It isn't - it can be high-level. A compiler is a pure function!
Haha, that's only because Apple controls the App Store and the OS. The first time you launch Xcode, it wants your admin privileges so it can install a bunch of stuff outside the sandbox. I shouldn't even say sandbox, because I think Xcode is not actually sandboxed?
A coder doesn't have to do anything. They don't have to use a Mac, they don't have to use Apple's tools.
Apple provides an ecosystem. Coding tools can fit into that ecosystem, or they can whine about it, or they can leave it.
> Why can't the applications needed for coding be like any other normal application?
They are - install them like a word processor or a graphics editor or whatever.
> You don't need to use proprietary software like xCode to be a coder.
Who said you did? You also don't need to use emacs. And it's Xcode, not 'xCode'.
The point is - Apple make it easy to code - the provide XCode. Saying 'but why not emacs' is entirely missing the point on what they're trying to do.
Why would I pay a premium to use an operating system that can't run software my free OS can?
Because you don't need all that software if your goal is to 'code'. If your goal is to run some specific ancient text editor then yeah you may struggle. If you want to code and get something done it's the right platform.
And because the 'normal' things are 10x better - power management, touchpad, display driving, etc.
Do you want to spend your time creating, or time trying to make basic display scaling work on Linux? And why are they better? Because Apple integrates.