Apple: third-party iOS dev tools OK after all
Runtimes allowed back into Steve's garden
Apple has said is to allow software developers to create iPhone and iPad apps using tools it does not directly sanction.
"We are relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps," the company said in a statement released this afternoon, "as long as the resulting apps do not download any code.
"This should give developers the flexibility they want, while preserving the security we need," it added.
The move follows Steve Jobs' ruling from on high that iOS apps may only be created using Objective C, C or C++ and compiled against documented APIs.
That limit was put in place to stop developers creating apps in, say, Adobe Flash, and then using tools like Adobe's Flash Professional CS5 to recompile them into an iOS friendly format or package them up with an iOS-compatible runtime engine.
The anti-Adobe stance was a result of the very public fight the two companies had earlier this year over whether Apple should allow Flash onto iDevices, and a broader debate on the extent to which Apple should control the software development and release process.
Today's about face will allow developers working in Flash - and God knows there are a lot of them - to create apps for the iPhone without having to worry about porting them manually. It will also allow games publishers to churn out 'classic' titles that, under the hood, run on an emulator.
Their apps will still have to go through Apple's review process if they're to be made available through iTunes to the vast majority of iDevice owners - and then face a host of commenters only too willing to point out with the Store apps that are slow, buggy or both.
The 'no downloading code' rule, meanwhile, will prevent the appearance of iOS apps that are themselves online stores, keeping the sale process in Apple's hands. It's not ceding that much control... ®
COMMENTS
Re: Yuck
Yeah, just watch the store get flooded with thousands of lame fart apps. Oh, no, wait...
yes, he's really made a mess of it over the last few years hasn't he?
Rob, what planet are you on? You may prefer 'Free' / clunky / tinkerable / cheap-as chips , but Jobs has demonstrated quite convincingly that there is a big and profitable market for slick / integrated / usable / value / quality and yes, beautiful.
Apple perfect? No of course not. But on the whole 10x better than most other gadgets and computers I've come across. Give the man some credit for what he has done to Apple. And he seems to be doing fine with his other company, Pixar / Disney.
Edwin
@AC (or Edwin)
My reality is grounded on cost and performance especially when referring to electronic kit, I don't see Apple's products marrying the cost vs performance part though. Example being my phone does all that the iPhone does out of the box bar any Apple specific products/services and costs a mere fraction in terms of ownership. The same can be said for my PC's at home, they cost a lot less and in particular my desktop quad core's speed is like slippery poo off a greased spade, all for a mere £500 and no tinkering needed (small white lie, I added another SLI graphics card for that extra whooph).
Last time I checked Jobs was a board member of Disney / Pixar and I think the success of Disney was well established before he became a board member by default due to the Pixar aquisition. Ignore me though as what I've said might distort your reality bubble a bit, drink more kool-aid and all will be well again.
WTF ?
"Apple's greatest move would be to get rid of Steve Jobs or it could be their downfall."
Pick one ?
Sounds as though ..
Apple is getting increasing attention from competition authorities. If you bar one recompilation tool, then you have to be totally pure and bar the lot, without exception.
I suspect a Reality Inspector has pointed this out to His Steveness and has also mentioned the amount of $$$$ that Adobe could suck out of Apple's coffers if he continues with his one rule for Flash and another for everyone else.
