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With the technology preview of Android/iOS support in Qt 5.1, are there any news on deploying to Apple's app store yet? Since the non-commercial version of Qt is LGPL-licensed, and dylibs are usually not permitted by the app store rules, there would not to be an exception either on Digia's or Apple's side, however the Licensing talk doesn't provide any up-to-date information on the matter.
So, did anyone try to push a dynamically linked Qt app to the store, or have an official statement of either party?
So, did anyone try to push a Qt app to the store, or have an official statement of either party?
Yes, there are qt demo applications in there. See the following examples:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/subattack/id659283830
and
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/qtquicksand/id666273528
This answers your question and concern I believe. As for further information, Qt 5.2 will even come with more support for this mobile platform. Although, I am not working on this port in the Qt Project, but I see that as a developer that 5.2 seems to support a lot more.
For instance, v8 has just got replaced by the new shiny v4 engine which will allow the proper QtQuick2 delivery for this platform.
That being said, the Apple Store will not allow dynamic libraries for runtime loading, so you will need to link statically.
I don't know of a Qt iOS app that has been published, but I have been looking into this myself. One good thing I found was an iOS preview that was published by Qt which states the following:
"We are very excited to be able to bring Qt to a new platform. Qt for iOS is planned to be a supported part of Qt 5.2, scheduled for release late 2013. The scope of that release is not completely determined: available resources, platform/app store restrictions and Qt legacy set constraints on the project."
The rest of the blog can be found on the Qt site.
That's an official statement, although it's stating that they don't know yet.
I have been looking into the same situation and as of now it seems that you need to have a commercial license to deploy Qt on iOS.
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I am planning on building a Lua scripting engine into my iOS game engine to allow AI designers to control the game's AI. The game engine is written in Swift and SpriteKit and targets iOS on iPhone and iPad.
I have been reading lots of conflicting information online about whether Apple allows the execution of Lua scripts inside an iOS app. Does anyone know whether Apple allows this, as of 2022? I have found some answers online, including on StackOverflow, but some sources claim Apple allows this capability, and some say Apple does not.
There seems to be some distinction between downloading and executing scripting code, vs just executing the scripting code. I am Ok with bundling the Lua scripts into the packaged iOS bundle. I'd like to be able to dynamically download the Lua scripts, but it is not a requirement.
Note that I am able to include a copy of the Lua code in my Xcode project, included a bridging header with some Objective-C wrapper files, and can successfully call and execute Lua functions from Swift code, and vice versa. So technically this technique is possible, my question concerns whether Apple allows this.
In addition, in searching for an answer to this question, it appears that very few iOS games support modding. I was only able to find 2 or 3 games in which players claimed it was possible to write a mod for the iOS version of the game, but for even those, it was a little unclear whether the games actually allowed the mod on the mobile version. Mindustry was the only game that I could find in which you could install a mod on iOS. It is unclear to me whether the lack of modding support on iOS was due to Apple not allowing iOS apps to execute scripting code, which would effectively eliminate most games' modding capability, or whether the lack of modding on iOS was just because it's mostly PC gamers who write mods for their games. Mobile gamers just don't get into modding. So if anyone knows of any iOS games that support modding, especially via Lua scripts, could you post the name of the game?
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As someone who has never developed an iOS app but hopes to soon and has never had a Mac (to date) the whole XCode and process for developing apps was a little lost on me.
To start: things like which languages are supported in development was one area I wasn't sure of:
I've seen C, C++ and Objective-C referenced as the languages used to write the apps. But I've also seen JavaScript` + HTML + CSS and .NET as options and a host of other compiled languages, with people arguing if you can or can't use them.
Another thing I wondered about was Xcode, does it support all the mentioned languages? Or is an IDE built for a specific language such as Cocoa ? If it is, then how would someone use JavaScript for example to write the app?
I'm sure this is a fairly simple answer to Apple users, but I had some struggle trying to relate from a non-Apple background.
Updated
Thanks for the great answers and insight, hopefully other this post will be helpful to others who don't have an Apple / iOS background
All three language alternatives that you mentioned are available to iOS application developers *.
Objective-C/C++ offers a way of making native apps for iOS, you produce machine code that runs on the devices. You use Xcode to develop in these languages.
You can build apps in JavaScript + HTML + CSS because iOS comes with a browser. Apple offers a mode that gives your apps a completely native look and feel, so they do look like first-class citizens.
You can build your apps in C# as well by using Mono Touch. This is different from .NET, although the language is the same, because your code is compiled into binary ahead of time. Although using Mono Touch eliminates the learning curve associated with the new language, you need to go through a fair bit of learning to adapt your knowledge of .NET to a different platform.
* Except Cocoa, which is not a language, but a collective name for Apple's frameworks for developing under OS X and iOS.
iOS' native language is Objective-C. While it's true you can use C++ to make apps (Cocos for example, is mostly written in C++) it isn't the 'native language'.
As for the other languages you mention, while it's possible to create apps using them they won't be 'native' normally relying upon another IDE/Library, phone gap or adobe air for example. Most of these also support cross platform development.
Where I work we also use HTML5 to create a 'faux native' interface/experience.
If you're new to iOS it's worth while checking out Apple documentation/sample code at:
https://developer.apple.com
There is a wealth of knowledge there that should set you on the right path. It ins't however, something I'd recommend if you don't have any experience with object orientated programming.
Coming from a C++ background myself, I didn't find it too difficult but have been working on iOS for about 3 years (on and off) and am only just starting to really become truly fluent in it's processes and conventions.
Hope this helps, let me know if you want to know anything specific.
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NB: This question has been extensively edited to make it more relevant, for completeness the original question maintained at the end.
What version(s) of iOS should my App support?
When building a new iOS app what a strategies should one use to determine what versions of the operating system to support? What practical considerations are there in supporting legacy OS version. Are there any reliable statistics to support the business case of dropping legacy support?
Original Question
If I build a new iOS application, should I support iOS versions prior to 5.0, or is that not necessary anymore? Is there any reliable and up to date data on iOS 5.0 adoption rates?
iOS Support Matrix v3.0.1
This version is updated and includes iOS 7.1 and new iPads.
Link: http://www.iossupportmatrix.com
According to this article: http://thenextweb.com/apple/2012/03/06/why-do-developers-prefer-ios-over-android-try-75-adoption-of-ios-5-while-ics-is-stuck-at-1/
the adoption rate of iOS5 has been very fast, at least when compared to Android ICS. You will always have users that are very slow to upgrade, however they seem to be the minority on iOS. If the numbers from the article are correct, you should be fine using iOS 5 for you app.
Look at statistics and judge for yourself if it is worth the effort.
For example:
http://www.14oranges.com/2012/03/ios-version-statistics-march-14th-2012/
http://pxldot.com/post/18754186750/ios-ebb-and-flow
from which I can read that < 11% are still using iOS 4.3
Or just search for e.g. "ios version stats", and try to find a web site that matches the target audience for your app.
This depends a lot on your app. But I would recommend supporting only iOS 5.0 and later because:
The new Xcode creates iOS 5.1 projects by default.
The new Xcode doesn't include iOS 4.3 simulator by default.
Apple has some iOS 5.0 only apps (like iTunes U).
So I guess, Apple is somehow pushing developers to support only the newer versions of the iOS.
Here is a good article that has some recent stats about iOS 5 adoption rates and good arguments on why to support only iOS 5 for new apps.
Here is another good article that discusses the question. Its conclusion is:
I think that both positions (support old, or support only new) are valid.
So it really depends on your special case. But personally, I'll currently support iOS 5.0 or later, unless there are solid reasons for a particular app.
I asked the same question some time ago and did not get any good answer with respect to a reliable up-to-date source of statistic data. In the end it comes down to your target market.
People who do not update their os recently are not likely to buy apps in high volumes. So even if these devices exist, the fraction of potential customers amongst their owners is most likely much smaller. That makes it hard to justify the extra effort in providing iOS 5.0+ functionaltiy and same functionality for smaller iOS.
On the other hand it may be suitable for you just to omit some functions for older iOS. That of course depends on the nature of the 5.0+ function that you want to use. Testing the curent os version and then deciding wether to call a function/method or not ist not that much of an effort. It needs to be tested though.
On the other hand there may be an interesting part of the user community that does consume apps but did not yet afford a brand new device. There is a number of devices around which cannot be migrated to iOS 5.x. And I personally would be interested in a) how many of these divices exist and b) how many of these are still in use.
If it is a new app then adressing older devices may not be justifyable. Unless of course you address some very special interest group and now for sure that the amount of oder devices is of a significant value.
Just some thoughts. Sorry that I did not have the statistics handy that you were looking for.
In my opinion it depends on which features of iOS 5.0 you need...
As example: in an application I need support for forward geocoding, available only in iOS 5.0 so I decided that the number of unsupported devices "cost" less then the effort to find a non apple library for forward geocoding ..
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Are there resources on the web which help to get started with native Metro app development with Delphi (Win32)?
So far I found the MSDN introduction, Getting started with Metro style apps, which links to the available API sets, including two native APIs:
Windows Runtime (WinRT) - "A native API built into the operating system.
Fundamental to Metro style apps. Implemented in C++ and supported in
JavaScript, C#, Visual Basic, and C++ in a way that feels natural for
each language".
Win32 and COM for Metro style apps - "The subset of the Win32
and COM APIs that you can use in a Metro style app". Quote:
Metro style apps can use a subset of the Win32 and COM API. This
subset of APIs was chosen to support key scenarios for Metro style
apps that were not already covered by the Windows Runtime, HTML/CSS,
or other supported languages or standards. The Windows App
Certification Kit ensures that your app uses only this subset of the
Win32 and COM API.
Side note: the first Metro app contest already closed on January 8, 2012 according to the Metro Windows Store blog and the winners have been introduced end of February - these Metro apps are already available through the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.
Thom Gerdes wrote this blog article on December 14, 2011:
Writing Hello World for WinRT in Delphi
There is relatively little information out there on developing Native
Metro applications, especially for languages other than those that
Microsoft has provided projections for (C++, C#, and JavaScript).
Other languages, including Delphi, need to create their own
projections before they can use them effectively. I've been
investigating getting Delphi to produce native applications for WinRT.
And his article Hello World: Hooking events shows how to use Metro "multicast delegate" event handlers with Delphi.
Sources are available at https://github.com/tgerdes/DelphiWinRT
There are some new blog and forum articles around this topic, pointing to problems with API usage which disqualifies applications from the MS app store:
Why no native WinRT support in Delphi XE3? - quoting a forum post by Allen Bauer
We are very keen on supporting WinRT with native Delphi & C++ code.
Right now, the issues surrounding the WinRT space center around the
fact that many OS-supplied APIs which are required by anyone
implementing their own language RTL are actually off-limits unless
you’re the VC++ RTL DLL. You know, little things like RtlUnwind for
exception processing and VirtualAlloc (et. al.) for memory management…
Any calls to those APIs from your application will automatically
disqualify your application from being an "official" WinRT application
capable of delivering through the MS app store.
See also:
Third-party compilers locked out of Windows Runtime development
On the other hand, this official Microsoft presentation contains a statement that
Martyn (Lovell) made it clear that we not only want language designers and
implementers to add WinRT to their list of target platforms for their
language and toolchains, but we will help and advise.
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Is there a logging framework for iOS that could aid developers in diagnosing app crashes?
You may like:
Lumberjack: stable and traditional
"It is similar in concept to other popular logging frameworks such as log4j, yet is designed specifically for Objective-C, and takes advantage of features such as multi-threading, grand central dispatch (if available), lockless atomic operations, and the dynamic nature of the Objective-C runtime."
LibComponentLogging: beautiful and hardcore, used by RestKit
"LibComponentLogging is a small logging library for Objective-C applications on Mac OS X and the iPhone OS which provides conditional logging based on log levels and log components. Additionally, different logging strategies can be used, e.g. writing log messages to a file or sending them to the system log, while using the same logging interface."
NSLogger: fancy with a dedicated visualization OS X App
"NSLogger is a high perfomance logging utility which displays traces emitted by client applications running on Mac OS X or iOS (iPhone OS). It replaces your usual NSLog()-based traces and provides powerful additions like display filtering, image and binary logging, traces buffering, timing information, etc."
I know this post is old but I'm looking for one as well. I found one called Lumberjack, though I haven't tried it yet.
I created a simple logging framework that might help. I'd appreciate any feedback you have. Hope it helps.
Link to Project Page
This previous question seems to overlap. But the bottom line is:
NSLog(#"message");
or:
printf("message");
I have a slightly different need: not only do I want to debug crashes, but I also need to debug other errors (NSError, NSException).
I tried all 3 packages mentioned in IlDan's answer. However, all of them require me to adopt a new way of logging, which may not be compatible with the libraries I depend on. For example, I intended to adopt NSLogger but RestKit, which is an important library in my project, uses LibComponentLogging.
So I ended up with writing a small pod (https://github.com/kennethjiang/Teleport-NSLog) for that. The mechanism is to redirect stderr (where NSLog + all these logging frameworks write messages to) to a backend HTTP server. Now I can debug my app running in user's device just as if it was running in my xcode. :)
For basic logging use NSLog(#"your message here")
If you want more flexible logging look into Lumberjack. It can let you disable logging in production etc etc.