Arch Linux

sugardeath

Member

Registered: 2010-03-02

Posts: 82

iOS Development on Linux?

I'm taking a class this semester to learn mobile application development.  Sadly, when my friends took it a year ago, it was both Android and iOS development.  This semester it's just iOS.  Thankfully, we can convince him to let us do an Android final project, but he's not going to teach and Android programmign at all.

I don't own any iDevices, so I can't develop on a Mac and connect to my iPhone.

We do have a Mac OSX lab with the required hardware and software, but I was hoping there was a Linux solution to this so that I could do most of the work at home.  I did find this:

http://www.saurik.com/id/4/

I haven't yet read through everything on there, but so far it looks to be extremely convoluted.

I guess if there's no real solution, I'm gonna look into doing a Hackintosh thing, and last solution would be trekking to campus more often than I would like

Thanks in advance for any tips or even just a "Don't bother, you'll just frustrate yourself" response.

tavianator

Member

From: Waterloo, ON, Canada

Registered: 2007-08-21

Posts: 859

Website

Re: iOS Development on Linux?

I don't think there's any feasible way to develop iOS applications on Linux.  If you jailbreak your device, there is a compiler that runs on the device itself, and you can SSH into the device.  But you'll still need the SDK headers to be able to write anything with a GUI, and you've got to pay to get them from Apple.  Once you have those, it's conceivable that you could set up a cross-compiler on Linux, although signing the binaries could be tricky, and I think you'd need iTunes to put the app on the device.

Basically, don't bother, you'll just frustrate yourself .  Even if you go the Hackintosh route, you'd need to pay for a developer license (unless your class is sharing one or something, who knows).

drcouzelis

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From: Connecticut, USA

Registered: 2009-11-09

Posts: 4,092

Website

Re: iOS Development on Linux?

Is there a Mac OS X server that you could login to remotely? Then you could at least work at your Linux computer.

I can't imagine your instructor expects everyone in the class to buy an iOS device, an Apple computer, and a developer licence. What is everyone else in the class doing? Just using the lab?

Anyway, my advice is: make your projects for iOS, do whatever else the professor expects, only work hard enough to get a good grade, and during your free time develop a killer Android application.

sugardeath

Member

Registered: 2010-03-02

Posts: 82

Re: iOS Development on Linux?

Basically, don't bother, you'll just frustrate yourself .  Even if you go the Hackintosh route, you'd need to pay for a developer license (unless your class is sharing one or something, who knows).

Yeah, the university has an academic developer's license or something.

Is there a Mac OS X server that you could login to remotely?

No, sadly.  Someone asked that in class and it would be impossible to set up: The Macs dual boot and are in Windows for most of the day because of the other classes that use the lab as well.

I can't imagine your instructor expects everyone in the class to buy an iOS device, an Apple computer, and a developer licence. What is everyone else in the class doing? Just using the lab?

Yep, he expects us to use the lab if we don't have our own hardware.  Which is fair, I guess, but it still sucks.

Anyway, my advice is: make your projects for iOS, do whatever else the professor expects, only work hard enough to get a good grade, and during your free time develop a killer Android application.

Haha, yeah.  In the past he has taught sections on Android, but the students didn't like the focus being split and preferred one topic or the other.  The teacher really dislikes Java, so iOS it is.  But if we really want to do an Android final project (but only the final project), we're allowed to.  He just won't teach us anything for it.  I think that's the route I'm gonna go.

Well, thanks for the advice.  I can still go the Hackintosh route and get the developer information from him if I really want to work on code at home, but I think I'm just going to suck it up and spend more time on campus.