Phonegap: key required for iOS - ios

I have started trying Phonegap. While it gives the .apk and .xap, but not for iOS and blackberry and asks for a key.
Can someone provide useful links for developing in iOS and understanding what are the keys mentioned?

In order to develop for iOS, you need an Apple Developer Account. This is costs $99/year, and you can find out the specifics here: https://developer.apple.com/programs/ios/
I've never gone through the process myself, but as I understand it, once you sign up to be an Apple developer, they'll give you a key (or some way of generating one) that every program that can build apps for iOS will require before it can build successfully. There is no way to develop for iOS without first subscribing to the developer program.

Related

Deploying app for personal use on iOS device

I want to build a very simple gallery like app (which uses the Telegram bot API to fetch images from certain telegram channel). I want to have this app for both Android and iOS device. I guess either progressive web app or flutter could be used to achieve this. I have developed native android apps before, and wish to learn PWA or flutter along with this project.
So my question is, can I deploy this app to my iOS device without enrolling in the Apple developer program? Since this is only for personal use and I do not wish to publish this app on any app store. Also, do I need to have a Mac with Xcode to do this?!
Thanks in advance!
For developing a Progressive Web App for iOS, you won't need Xcode and a Macbook since it is basically still a website with enhancements. However, bear in mind that PWA support on iOS is very limited. Android has much better PWA support.
This article gives an overview of what is currently possible

Can I test my Ionic App on my iOS device without Apple Developer Program

I tested my app on Android and Windows Phone 8.1 without any problem, and I want to test it on iOS.
I have never tested my App on it.
Before buying a Developer Program, I want to test my App first.
Is it possible to test my Ionic / Cordova App without having (paying 99$) Developer Program ?
If so how can I do that ?
As of XCode 7 it is possible to do this by getting a free Developers account, you should automatically get such an account when you try to deploy an app on a device in XCode.
There are however some limitations to such an account, you can compare all the memberships here. A much more detailed answer can be found here.
You could use Ionic View. I works great as long as you don't need to access non core plugins...
http://view.ionic.io/

How can my app detect that it was distributed via the new TestFlight?

I'm going to use Apple's relaunched TestFlight service to distribute a beta, and I'd like to force a certain message to be visible when running as a beta.
Obviously there's a lot of ways to solve this, but it got me thinking; has Apple provided a way to detect if the currently running app was distributed via TestFlight? iOS clearly differentiates it to the user, so I thought there'd be a way for the developer to tell, as well. Alas, I haven't found anything in the Apple Developer site.

Do I need an iOS device to test PhoneGap Built apps?

I'm a complete noob and figuring out all this as I go along so bear with me.
I've built an app using jQuery Mobile, used PhoneGap Build and it works totally fine on Android and I'll deploy it soon. I'm now trying to figure out the more complex steps towards getting it ready for the iOS market. I've got my developer account set up and have tested my app as built with Xcode 4.2 and Cordova.
What I'm having confusion over (well one of the things) is whether or not I need an actual iOS device in order to get the proper provisioning and certificates. Can I get those, run the package through PG Build and then test it with the Xcode iOS simulator? Must I bother my friends to give me one of their iPhones to test on?
If I'm being vague or asking this the wrong way I apologize.
I'm currently building an app for iOS using Phonegap and even though I have done some testing with a physical device I have seen that the simulator works really well. I mean it would definitely be a good idea to at least run one test of your final version on a physical device before you decide to submit, Apple and pretty much everyone else very strongly suggest that you do, but you aren't required to test on a physical device. All the provisioning and certificate stuff can be done through the Apple Developer site.
The only real reason I could see your app not getting approved relating to this topic is if there is some weird glitch that is only present on a physical device and looks fine on the simulator.
And keep in mind, though it probably won't get you disapproved I've noticed that Phonegap apps that use jQuery Mobile tend to be more glitchy on the transitions compared to when they are run on the simulator.
No you don't need an iOS device to get certificates. You can get them using OpenSSL. I created a GUI to help do just this for Windows users.
However Apple is one of the strictest in approval. It takes 8 days for them to approve an app. And they have been know to not approve apps simply because of there appearance.
Now I myself prefer to have iDevices to test apps.
http://community.phonegap.com/nitobi/topics/detailed_guide_for_setting_up_building_ios_apps_without_a_mac
http://community.phonegap.com/nitobi/topics/ios_app_rejected_advice_on_how_to_fix_it
To help with some App Rejection issues you may get when submitting the app.
https://github.com/AndiDog/phonegap-ios-tabbar-plugin
https://github.com/LinuxPhreak/iOS-Win-Signer
You will need an Apple computer to submit apps to the App Store. Apple no longer has a web based App Submission

MonoTouch Trial adaquate to submit to App Store?

I am enrolled in the Apple Developer Program ($99/year) and I have the trial (free) version of MonoTouch. Am I able to submit MonoTouch apps to the App Store with what I have now or do I need to get one of the paid versions of MonoTouch first? I know that one of the differences between the free version of MonoTouch vs. the paid versions is the ability to run your apps on your iOS hardware during development but doesn't the Apple Developer Program get you some kind of ability to do this as well? Just a bit confused.
Note: If this belongs in another StackExchange site, please let me know and I will move it.
I think you're getting confused...
MonoDevelop is free, its MonoTouch that has the trail/paid versions. Basically you'll need to purchase either MonoTouch Professional or MonoTouch Enterprise in order to get your iPhone app into the App store as the trail version only allows to run the app in the simulator.
http://monotouch.net/Store - see first paragraph
EDIT: Being part of the Apple Dev Program provides you with a Developer Certificate which allows you to upload applications to the App Store (generally, be it obj-c based or other) whereas the paid versions of MonoTouch provides you with the mechanism to get your application in a state where it can be deployed to a device and the app store - and also a cunning way of generating money. Because whose going to develop iPhone apps without a desire to distribute them ;)
without a license, you can only run MonoTouch apps in the simulator. You cannot deploy them to a device or the App Store.

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