Programming for iPhone on Linux/OpenSUSE?

English Programming/Scripting
1

I would like to program for the iPhone but I don’t have a mac or OSX and the SDK requires it. Has anyone here been able to figure out a way to program for the iPhone on Linux? What libraries would I need? I believe it’s objective-c but there’s probably some non-standard stuff too.

2

I am not aware of any way to do this. I know that is is objective C, but also would likely have the cocoa libraries in use for the iPhone. I was talking to a friend and he was telling me that the only way he was aware of for developing for the iPhone was to have a Mac. Whether that’s true or not, I haven’t heard otherwise.

3

It’s not really about objective C, AFAIK you can code iPhone apps in C++ as well. But as it stands, the compilation and hardware emulation can only be done on a Mac, it’s proprietary stuff and they won’t make it available for non-OSX.

There is a guy that managed to create an app for the app store using VisualStudio on Win, he had to hack together a lot of files to make that happen, but even at the end, he still had to compile it on a friend’s Mac.

I can’t imagine that situation ever changing.

Cheers,
KV

4

That really sucks. For all their criticizing over the years of M$, looks like Apple’s exactly the same. It’s all about making an extra buck. It’s ridiculous that if I own an iPhone I can’t put apps on it unless they say so! What happened to fair use? I don’t understand why this stuff is considered acceptable on computers. Imagine if you bought a house and they told you that you had to get your furniture OK’d by the company that built the house.

5

Actually, from the perspective of lock-in and borderline abusive tactics, Apple makes Microsoft look as open as Debian. They have always been nasty and beligerent that way.

Still, as distasteful as I find Apple’s business tactics, you’d still have to pry my iPhone away from my cold, dead fingers. As ashamed as I am to admit that… :open_mouth:

Cheers,
KV

6

You ever consider running OS X in a virtual instance under something like VMWare or VirtualBox? You’d have to purchase the OS software and pay the developer fee to get the SDK, but you’d save the expense of the hardware.

I’ve been wondering if there is a virtualization solution that would provide adequate support for the OS, or if there would be any other obstacles in this approach.

7

That is actually illegal. OS X can only be ran on a Apple machine by terms of the OS X EULA. The only legal way to run it in a VM is to run it on a Apple computer already running OS X.

  1. Permitted License Uses and Restrictions.
    A. Single Use License. Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, unless you have purchased a Family Pack or Upgrade license for the Apple Software,
    you are granted a limited non-exclusive license to install, use and run one (1) copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-branded computer at a time. You
    agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-branded computer, or to enable others to do so.     This License does not allow the Apple
    Software to exist on more than one computer at a time, and you may not make the Apple Software available over a network where it could be used by multiple
    computers at the same time.
8

Wow, did not know that. Thanks for the information.

Actually, I wonder if “use and run one (1) copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-branded computer at a time” would be violated by a second instance of the OS running on the same Mac, in a VM.

In any case, that excludes me from developing for the iPhone without a Mac, which I don’t anticipate buying anytime soon.

9

Hi,

I saw there is an article in a Linux mag about developing for iPhone, sorry I can’t remember which one it was, but it’s on sale now. Maybe it can help you.

Regards,
Barry.

10

im a noob in Linux and use OS 11.0
you might want to read the article in the ‘LinuxUser issue 80 - pg 68 (8 pages)’ Linux User about Develop for the IPhone.

Official way (only 2 items out of 6):
3. You have to digitally sign you application
5. Submit you app to the Apply Store for Apple’s approval

The Open Way:

  1. Jailbreak your iPhone
  2. Build the open toolchain for your Linux system
  3. Self-sign your application
  4. Host your application in one of the public repositories or host your own repository.
  5. submit your application to Cydia. For paid applications. Cydia will keep 30 per cent of the total sales revenue.

Home · Cydia

The LinuxUser magazine has a great story (8pg) on developing for IPhone…Good Luck

11

You sign it away when you purchase/receive an Apple product.

You have two options, go with what cerpher said and jailbreak your iPhone, although that would be pointless if you want it on the iTunes/App Store. Or you could run a PPC OSX in PearPC, or Intel OSX in a VM, or Intel OSX on native hardware via OSx86. I can’t tell you where to get the ISOs/DMGs, as that would be illegal.

12

If you know C#, Mono (an open source .NET framework) is able to be developed on and run on Linux, Windows, OS X, Android and iOS. The previous Mono developers were let go from Novell when they were bought by Attachmate and formed their own company Xamarin.

Mono is an open source framework compatible with .NET and uses C# as its primary language. Xamarin sells MonoTouch (iOS) and MonoDroid (Android) for developing applications for the iOS or Android to run in Mono. They aren’t cheap, though ($399 for MonoTouch).

13

Yes i agree with you thanks.