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iOS non Mac development path?
- Thread starter rtphokie
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Nothing has been said. Didn't really think about that but yeah... looks like you need a Mac to make iPhone apps.
A non-Mac path is pretty unlikely. Besides porting XCode and Interface Builder to run on Windows/Linux they would also have to port a majority of the Cocoa libraries which the iPhone Simulator uses to "emulate" the iPhone. Then there is the whole Objective-C 2.0 runtime. On top of that there are key management issues, so KeyChain would have to come along too.
Really your best bet with doing iPhone development outside of OSX would be to get started doing work with an unlocked iPhone on Linux. O'Reilly has a book out called "Open Application Development on the iPhone" (or something similar) that runs through the process of getting up and running with a build chain on Linux. The book itself is mostly junk (dealloc should never _ever_ call [self dealloc]) but that section might get you started. Of course if you ever plan on actually releasing the application through the App Store you will need a mac to do the signing and final build.
-Chris
Really your best bet with doing iPhone development outside of OSX would be to get started doing work with an unlocked iPhone on Linux. O'Reilly has a book out called "Open Application Development on the iPhone" (or something similar) that runs through the process of getting up and running with a build chain on Linux. The book itself is mostly junk (dealloc should never _ever_ call [self dealloc]) but that section might get you started. Of course if you ever plan on actually releasing the application through the App Store you will need a mac to do the signing and final build.
-Chris
Pretty much a zero probability...
With Macs being Intel based now and with the ability to run other OSes through either virtualization or dual boot, I think there is zero chance Apple is going to devote the resources to porting to Windows.
If you don't have a Mac, get one for your next computer. When you really dig into the hardware, the Apple premium is pretty minor (or in many cases, non-existent), especially if you're a serious developer and you intend to make a living developing for the iPhone.
With Macs being Intel based now and with the ability to run other OSes through either virtualization or dual boot, I think there is zero chance Apple is going to devote the resources to porting to Windows.
If you don't have a Mac, get one for your next computer. When you really dig into the hardware, the Apple premium is pretty minor (or in many cases, non-existent), especially if you're a serious developer and you intend to make a living developing for the iPhone.
It would be about as likely as Microsoft releasing Visual Studio 2008 on OSX and Linux so people could make Windows Mobile apps.
ie. Not going to happen.
The price of a Mac Mini + iphone development registration is peanuts compared to normal development costs. For a home developer it's more of a strain.. but not greatly so.
ie. Not going to happen.
The price of a Mac Mini + iphone development registration is peanuts compared to normal development costs. For a home developer it's more of a strain.. but not greatly so.
It certainly would be nice. I think Google Android will benefit from the fact their platform is based on Java. A language that many developers already know and are comfortable with. Not so with Objective-C and Cocoa.
You'll never see the SDK on a non-Mac platform. Ever.
That doesn't stop you from building a game in OpenGLES, for example, and then incorporating it into an iPhone project on a Mac further down the road - you'll lose out on a lot by fragmenting your time and effort that way, but if it's a case of not wanting to splash out until you're ready, then it's probably reasonable.
That doesn't stop you from building a game in OpenGLES, for example, and then incorporating it into an iPhone project on a Mac further down the road - you'll lose out on a lot by fragmenting your time and effort that way, but if it's a case of not wanting to splash out until you're ready, then it's probably reasonable.