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iOS SDK

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iOS SDK
Developer(s)Apple
Initial release3 June 2008 (2008-06-03)
Stable release
iOS 4.1 Final / 8 September 2010; 14 years ago (2010-09-08)
Written inObjective-C
Operating systemMac OS X
Available inEnglish
TypeSoftware development kit
Websitedeveloper.apple.com Edit this on Wikidata

The iOS SDK (formerly iPhone SDK) is a software development kit developed by Apple Inc. and released in February 2008 to develop native applications for iOS. It has received criticism because it is available for Mac OS X only.

History

On October 17, 2007, in an open letter posted to Apple's "Hot News" weblog, Steve Jobs announced that a software development kit (SDK) would be made available to third-party developers in February 2008.[1] The SDK was released on March 6, 2008, and allows developers to make applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch, as well as test them in an "iPhone simulator". However, loading an application onto the devices is only possible after paying an iPhone Developer Program fee. Since the release of Xcode 3.1, Xcode is the development environment for the iOS SDK. iPhone applications, like iOS and Mac OS X, are written in Objective-C.[2]

SDK release history

See also: iOS version history
Version Build Date Notes
iOS 1.2b1 Beta 1 5A147p March 6, 2008 Release for iPhone OS version 1.2b1. Announced at an Apple Town Hall meeting.[3]
iOS 2.0b2 Beta 2 5A225c March 27, 2008 Release for iPhone OS version 2.0b2,[4] which added Interface Builder, an application for building graphical user interfaces for iPhone applications.[5]
iOS 2.0b3 Beta 3 5A240d April 8, 2008 Release for iPhone OS version 2.0b3.[6]
iOS 2.0b4 Beta 4 5A258f April 23, 2008 Release for iPhone OS version 2.0b4. This version of the SDK supports OpenGL 3D graphics, primarily used to make games,[7] and indications that some applications will be allowed to run in the background (as the iPod, Phone, and Mail applications do), something that Apple had previously stated was not possible.
iOS 2.0b5 Beta 5 5A274d May 6, 2008 Release for iPhone OS version 2.0b5.[8]
iOS 2.0b6 Beta 6 5A292g May 29, 2008 Release for iPhone OS version 2.0b6. The code in this update gave hints about updates to Apple's .Mac[9] service and also gave a first reference to the upcoming version of Mac OS X, version 10.6 Snow Leopard.[10]
iOS 2.0b7 Beta 7 5A331 June 9, 2008 Release for iPhone OS version 2.0b7, which unlocked Apple's .Mac replacement, MobileMe. This release was for WWDC, Apple's developer's conference, which is noted as part of the name of the iPhone OS beta download.
iOS 2.0b8 Beta 8 5A345 June 26, 2008 Release for iPhone OS version 2.0b8.[11]
iOS 2.0 July 11, 2008 Release for iPhone OS version 2.0. This coincided with the launch of the App Store.
iOS 2.1 Beta 1 5F90 July 24, 2008 Release for iPhone OS version 2.1.[12] Apple notes that applications built using the 2.1 SDK will not run on the iPhone 2.0 software, and will not yet be accepted into the App Store.
iOS 2.1 Beta 2 July 30, 2008 Release for iPhone OS version 2.1.[13]
iOS 2.1 Beta 3 August 8, 2008 Release for iPhone OS version 2.1.[14]
iOS 2.2 Beta 1 5G29 September 25, 2008 Release for iPhone OS version 2.2.[15]
iOS 2.2 9M2621 November 20, 2008 Release for iPhone OS version 2.2.
iOS 2.2.1 9M2621a January 27, 2009 Release for iPhone OS version 2.2.1.[16]
iOS 3.0 Beta 1 March 17, 2009 Preview of iPhone OS version 3.0 and SDK 3.0 beta release.[17]
iOS 3.0 Beta 2 March 31, 2009 Release for iPhone OS version 3.0.[18]
iOS 3.0 Beta 3 April 14, 2009 Release for iPhone OS version 3.0.[19]
iOS 3.0 Beta 4 April 28, 2009 Release for iPhone OS version 3.0.[20]
iOS 3.0 Beta 5 May 6, 2009 Release for iPhone OS version 3.0.[21]
iOS 3.0 GM Seed June 8, 2009 Final Release for iPhone OS version 3.0 for developers and private testers only.[22]
iOS 3.0 Final June 17, 2009 Final release for iPhone OS version 3.0 for standard users was released on June 17.[22]
iOS 3.1 Beta June 30, 2009 First beta release for iPhone OS version 3.1 released to developers June 30.
iOS 3.1 Beta 2 July 15, 2009 Second beta release for iPhone OS version 3.1 released to developers July 15.
iOS 3.1 Beta 3 July 27, 2009 Third beta release for iPhone OS version 3.1 released to developers July 27.
iOS 3.1 Final September 9, 2009 Final release for iPhone OS version 3.1 for standard users was released in the Apple "It's Only Rock and Roll, but we like it" special event on September 9, 2009.
iOS 3.1.2 Final October 8, 2009 Final release for iPhone 3.1.2.
iOS 3.1.3 Final February 2, 2010 Final release for iPhone 3.1.3.
iOS 3.2 Beta January 27, 2010 Initial, developer-only beta release for iPhone OS version 3.2. iPad only.
iOS 3.2 Beta 2 February 10, 2010 iPad only.
iOS 3.2 Beta 3 February 23, 2010 iPad only.
iOS 3.2 Beta 4 10M2144 March 9, 2010 iPad only.
iOS 3.2 Beta 5 10M2148 March 17, 2010 iPad only.
iOS 3.2 Final 10M2148 April 3, 2010 First public release of iPhone OS version 3.2. iPad only.
iOS 4.0 Beta 1 8A230m April 8, 2010 First beta release for iOS version 4.0 released to developers April 8.
iOS 4.0 Beta 2 8A248c April 20, 2010 Second beta release for iOS version 4.0 released to developers April 20.
iOS 4.0 Beta 3 8A260b May 4, 2010 Third beta release for iOS version 4.0 released to developers May 4.
iOS 4.0 Beta 4 8A260b May 18, 2010 Fourth beta release for iOS version 4.0 released to developers May 18.
iOS 4.0 GM Seed 8A293 June 8, 2010 Golden Master Candidate release for iOS version 4.0 released to developers June 8.
iOS 4.0 Final 8A293 June 21, 2010 The final release of the iOS 4.0, announced for June 21.
iOS 4.1 Beta 1 July 14, 2010 First beta release for iOS version 4.1 released to developers July 14.
iOS 4.1 Final 10M2309 September 8, 2010 Final release for iOS version 4.1 released to developers September 8.

Features

Developers are able to set any price above a set minimum for their applications to be distributed through the App Store, of which they will receive a 70% share. Alternately, they may opt to release the application for free and need not pay any costs to release or distribute the application except for the membership fee.[23]

Since its release, there has been some controversy regarding the refund policy in the fine print of the Developer Agreement with Apple. According to the agreement that developers must agree to, if someone purchases an app from the app store, 30% of the price goes to Apple, and 70% to the developer. If a refund is granted to the customer (at Apple's discretion), the 30% is returned to the customer from Apple, and 70% from the developer; however, Apple can then take another 30% of the cost from the developer to make up for Apple's loss.[24]

SDK contents

As iOS uses a variant of the same XNU kernel that is found in Mac OS X, the tool chain used for developing on iOS is also based on Xcode.

The SDK is broken down into the following sets:[25]

Along with the Xcode toolchain, the SDK contains the iPhone Simulator, a program used to emulate the look and feel of the iPhone on the developer's desktop. Originally called the Aspen Simulator, it was renamed with the Beta 2 release of the SDK. Note that the iPhone Simulator is not an emulator and runs code generated for an x86 target.

The SDK requires an Intel Mac running Mac OS X Leopard or later. Other operating systems, including Microsoft Windows and older versions of Mac OS X, are not supported.[citation needed]

Core Location

Core Location is a software framework in iOS. It is primarily used by applications on iPhone OS 2.0 for detection of the device's location. On the iPod Touch, Core Location uses Skyhook Wireless's Wi-Fi-based positioning system. On the original iPhone, it uses cellular tower triangulation in addition to Wi-Fi positioning. On the iPhone 3G and 3GS, it also uses the available GPS hardware, on the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 it also uses the compass. The actual selection of location method is abstracted from the user and developer.

It was announced as part of the iPhone Software Roadmap event on March 6, 2008,[26] and was made available as part of the iOS SDK.

SVG

Mobile Safari supports SVG starting with iPhone OS 2.1. The SVG support features scripting and most of the static parts of the SVG 1.1. specification. SMIL animation is not yet supported for SVG graphics. It will be delivered after the Webkit SMIL implementation is mature enough. In addition to SVG, the HTML Canvas is supported.

Other development languages

Java

Apple has not announced any plans to enable Java to run on the iPhone. Sun Microsystems announced plans to release a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) for iOS, based on the Java Platform, Micro Edition version of Java. This would enable Java applications to run on iPhone and iPod Touch.[27]

Soon after the announcement, developers familiar with the SDK's terms of agreement believed that by not allowing 3rd-party applications to run in the background (answer a phone call and still run the application, for example),[28] allowing an application to download code from another source, or allowing an application to interact with a 3rd-party application (Safari with JVM, for example), could hinder development of the JVM without Apple's cooperation.[29]

It is clear that Java running on the iPhone is outside the bounds of the iOS SDK Agreement. The guideline in question is rule 3.3.2, which reads:

3.3.2 — An Application may not itself install or launch other executable code by any means, including without limitation through the use of a plug-in architecture, calling other frameworks, other APIs or otherwise. No interpreted code may be downloaded or used in an Application except for code that is interpreted and run by Apple’s Documented APIs and built-in interpreter(s).

However, some iPhone users have shown that it was possible to install and use a J2ME stack on an iPhone, though it involved jailbreaking.[30][31]

It has also been revealed that there were talks between Sun and Apple concerning the availability of Java on the iPhone, and that Sun was working in that intent with a company called Innaworks.[32][33] Since it is required that all ARM9 or later processors include Jazelle support, the iPhone includes the hardware for accelerated Java execution.[34]

.NET/CLI

It is not permissible to install a .NET Framework or similar runtime on an iPhone, but by using Novell's commercial MonoTouch framework it is possible to achieve similar results. MonoTouch uses a custom fork of the Mono Project to compile all CLI bytecode in .NET to native ARM machine-code ahead of time.[35]

Since this framework is fully compatible with CLI compliant languages that do not emit runtime compiled code, until iOS 4 it was possible to develop with the wide range of languages supported by .NET, including C# and Visual Basic .NET. MonoTouch did not suffer from the same constraints on the iPhone as Java did but this changed with the new terms of iOS 4 that were introduced on April 8, 2010, when Apple stated in clause 3.3.1, which reads:

3.3.1 — Applications may only use Documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple and must not use or call any private APIs. Applications must be originally written in Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iOS WebKit engine, and only code written in C, C++, and Objective-C may compile and directly link against the Documented APIs (e.g., Applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool are prohibited). [36]

While not specifically singled out by Apple, it is understood that this more or less excludes applications developed in MonoTouch for iPhone.[37] However, Novell remains optimistic that it can provide an updated release for iOS 4 that is in compliance with Apple's licensing terms.[38] Since the announcement of iOS 4, multiple applications developed with the MonoTouch framework have been approved by Apple and listed in the AppStore.[39]

Flash

iOS does not support Adobe Flash, and Flash movies on web pages cannot be viewed in Mobile Safari[note 1]. Although Adobe has two versions of its software - Flash and Flash Lite - Apple views neither as suitable for the iPhone, claiming that full Flash would be too cumbersome for the iPhone, while Flash Lite would not provide a worthy experience for the users.[41]

Flash for Apple is a virtual machine with a just-in-time compiler. Apple's iOS SDK prevents any software on the iPhone from downloading or running external executable code (e.g. a virtual machine). Additionally, apps built under the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement for the iPhone SDK 4 Beta may not be originally written in any other programming language than C, C++, or Objective-C.[42] What Adobe had done in their CS5 release for the iPhone was to create a static compiler that allows developers to compile their flash programs into apps that can run on the iPhone.[43] This would have allowed many Flash games to become apps, but still preventing web interfaces such as Hulu from working on the iPhone. But as these apps wouldn't have been originally written in C, C++ or Objective-C, they may not pass the App Store approval process when done under the terms of the iPhone SDK 4 Beta.

Unofficially, some Flash video sites can be viewed by using a jailbroken iPhone with certain third-party applications.[44] However, it results on extremely low frame rate due to the lack of memory bandwidth and CPU speed for Flash JIT execution. Another reason is the general lack of optimization of Flash for iOS, which can be seen in several benchmarks of Flash in OS X.[45]

Since November 2009, Adobe has posted the following notice on the Flash download page when viewed from an iPhone:[46]

“Flash Player not available for your device
Apple restricts use of technologies required by products like Flash Player. Until Apple eliminates these restrictions, Adobe cannot provide Flash Player for the iPhone or iPod Touch.”

Licensing

The SDK itself is a free download but in order to release software, one must enroll in the iPhone Developer Program -- a step requiring payment and Apple's approval. As of January 2010, cost of enrollment in the iPhone Developer Program is US$99 per year (the cost varies from country to country) for the standard program. Signed keys are provided to upload the application to Apple's App Store. Applications can be distributed in three ways: through the App Store, through enterprise deployment to a company's employees only, and on an "Ad-hoc" basis to up to 100 iPhones. Once distributed through the App Store, a developer can request up to 50 promotional codes that can be used to freely distribute a commercial application he or she has developed. Much like Mac OS X, the SDK can only be installed on Apple-branded computers.

Notes

  1. ^ Note that there are workarounds available which implement Flash in Javascript - though they are not widely used.[40]

References

  1. ^ Jobs, Steve (2007-10-17). "Third Party Applications on the iPhone". Apple Inc. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |archive-url= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  2. ^ "Did Apple Make A Mistake Choosing Objective-C For iPhone SDK? at Simon's Blog". Psynixis.com. Retrieved 2010-05-09.
  3. ^ Block, Ryan (2008-03-06). "Live from Apple's iPhone SDK press conference". Engadget. Weblogs, Inc. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
  4. ^ Dan, Moren (2008-03-27). "iPhone SDK: now with 100% more Interface Builder". Macworld. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  5. ^ "Interface Builder". Apple Inc. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  6. ^ Apple Seeds New iPhone OS 2.0 Beta (5A240d), SDK Update (Beta 3) - MacRumors 2008-04-08.
  7. ^ iPhone SDK Beta 4 Now Available, Comes with OpenGL ES 3D Graphics Support - Gizmodo.
  8. ^ iPhone SDK Beta 5 Now Up: Bug Fixes, Updated OS Support - Gizmodo.
  9. ^ MacRumors - Apple's .Mac Service to be Renamed, Revamped? - MacRumors 2008-05-30.
  10. ^ Mac OS 10.6 reference in iPhone SDK beta 6 - MacRumors 2008-05-29.
  11. ^ "iPhone SDK beta release 8 - Download Notes" (PDF). Apple Inc. June 26, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
  12. ^ "iPhone SDK 2.1 beta release 1 released". Gearlive. July 25, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  13. ^ "Apple Seeds 2nd Beta of iPhone 2.1 Firmware to Developers". MacRumors. July 30, 2008.
  14. ^ "Apple Releases iPhone Firmware 2.1 Beta 3". MacRumors. August 8, 2008.
  15. ^ The iPhone - iPhone OS 2.2 Developers beta released
  16. ^ iPhone DevCenter
  17. ^ "iPhone OS 3.0 is coming, preview on March 17th". Engadget. Retrieved 2010-05-09.
  18. ^ Martin, David (2009-04-01). "Apple releases iPhone OS 3 beta 2 to developers". CNET Reviews. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
  19. ^ Ziegler, Chris (2009-04-15). "iPhone OS 3.0 beta 3 goes live". Engadget. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  20. ^ Miller,Ross (2009-04-28). "iPhone OS 3.0 beta 4, iTunes 8.2 pre-release now live". Engadget. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
  21. ^ Miller, Ross (2009-05-06). "iPhone OS 3.0 beta 5 now available". Engadget. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  22. ^ a b [1][dead link]
  23. ^ "Introducing the iPhone Developer Program". Apple Inc.
  24. ^ "iPhone developers could be bankrupted".
  25. ^ Arnold, Kim (2008-03-06). "Apple Releases iPhone SDK, Demos Spore, Instant Messaging". MacRumors.com. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  26. ^ Dalrymple, Jim. "Apple unveils iPhone SDK | Mobile". Macworld. Retrieved 2010-05-09.
  27. ^ Krill, Paul (2008-03-08). "Sun: We'll put Java on the iPhone". Infoworld. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  28. ^ Krazit, Tom (2008-03-07). "The iPhone SDK: The day after". CNet. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
  29. ^ Krill, Paul (2008-03-14). "Sun's plan for Java on iPhone could hit roadblock". The Industry Standard. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
  30. ^ Guisi, Bruno (2008-05-25). "First steps with iPhone and Java". Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  31. ^ Chakraborty, Angsuman (2008-06-10). "How To Install, Compile, Run Java On iPhone". Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  32. ^ Kizito Kasozi, Emmanuel (2008-04-28). "Apple, Sun Talks Gives Hope for Java on iPhone". ibtimes.com. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  33. ^ "Innaworks announces Java Development Solution for iPhone". Innaworks. 2008-03-28. Retrieved 2008-08-31. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  34. ^ Block, Ryan (2007-07-01). "iPhone processor found: 620MHz ARM CPU". engadget.com. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
  35. ^ Paul, Ryan (2009-09-15). "MonoTouch drops .NET into Apple's walled app garden". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  36. ^ Gruber, John (2010-04-08). "New iPhone Developer Agreement Bans the Use of Adobe's Flash-to-iPhone Compiler". Daring Fireball. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  37. ^ O'Brien, Larry (2010-04-09). "The Absurdity of Apple's New iPhone Restrictions". Knowing .NET. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  38. ^ Novell (2010-04-09). "MonoTouch and iPhone OS 4". Mono Project. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  39. ^ "MonoTouch and iPhone OS 4 Update". 2010-04-19 accessdate=2010-08-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing pipe in: |date= (help); Text "publisher Mono Project" ignored (help)
  40. ^ http://paulirish.com/work/gordon/demos/
  41. ^ Krazit, Tom (2008-03-19). "Adobe realizes SDK not enough for Flash on iPhone | Apple - CNET News". News.cnet.com. Retrieved 2010-05-09.
  42. ^ John Gruber (April 8, 2010). "New iPhone Developer Agreement Bans the Use of Adobe's Flash-to-iPhone Compiler". Daring Fireball. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
  43. ^ October 5, 2009 Ben Parr View Comments (2009-10-05). "Adobe Announces Flash Support for iPhone (But Only for Apps)". Mashable.com. Retrieved 2010-05-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  44. ^ http://imobilecinema.com/
  45. ^ Paul, Ryan (2008-10-17). "Benchmarking Flash Player 10 (Updated)". Arstechnica.com. Retrieved 2010-05-09.
  46. ^ "Adobe Gets Sharky Snarky With Apple's iPhone Flash Ban - iPhone Flash Support". Gizmodo. 2009-11-02. Retrieved 2010-05-09.
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