Apple may introduce iPhone SDK at developers conference - report
Apple Inc. at its developers conference next week may introduce a software developers kit (SDK) that will allow third party developers to write small applications for its upcoming iPhone handset, according to a published report.
Citing a person briefed on the company's plans, the New York Times reported Monday that the Cupertino-based electronics maker "intends to announce that it will make it possible for developers of small programs written for the Macintosh to easily convert them to run on the iPhone."
The paper offered no further details on the matter.
Since introducing iPhone in January, Apple has wrestled with the prospect of opening the device to third party developers, a move which could have serious ramifications on the security and stability of the highly touted handset.
Although the company had initially indicated that it would not allow third-party application development, chief executive Steve Jobs seemed to relent during an interview at last week's
All Things Digital conference.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg, the Apple frontman candidly revealed that Apple was looking for ways to make it possible for developers to create software for the phone, suggesting that the arrival of third-party iPhone access is now a question of "when" rather than "if."
Jobs noted that poor software has served to tarnish the Japanese consumer electronics industry. On the other hand, he said, the iPhone's robust Mac OS X Leopard-based foundation signifies a five-year lead on the rest of the handset industry.
?If you look at the iPhone, it?s software wrapped in wonderful hardware,? said Jobs.
Critics of the Apple handset have long pointed to the device's lack of third party access as a major barrier to its success in the enterprise market, as corporations would be unable to extend their applications to handset. By contrast, the three most popular smartphone operating systems in the U.S. today -- Windows Mobile, Symbian, and BlackBerry -- all allow for such capability.
Citing a person briefed on the company's plans, the New York Times reported Monday that the Cupertino-based electronics maker "intends to announce that it will make it possible for developers of small programs written for the Macintosh to easily convert them to run on the iPhone."
The paper offered no further details on the matter.
Since introducing iPhone in January, Apple has wrestled with the prospect of opening the device to third party developers, a move which could have serious ramifications on the security and stability of the highly touted handset.
Although the company had initially indicated that it would not allow third-party application development, chief executive Steve Jobs seemed to relent during an interview at last week's
All Things Digital conference.Speaking to the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg, the Apple frontman candidly revealed that Apple was looking for ways to make it possible for developers to create software for the phone, suggesting that the arrival of third-party iPhone access is now a question of "when" rather than "if."
Jobs noted that poor software has served to tarnish the Japanese consumer electronics industry. On the other hand, he said, the iPhone's robust Mac OS X Leopard-based foundation signifies a five-year lead on the rest of the handset industry.
?If you look at the iPhone, it?s software wrapped in wonderful hardware,? said Jobs.
Critics of the Apple handset have long pointed to the device's lack of third party access as a major barrier to its success in the enterprise market, as corporations would be unable to extend their applications to handset. By contrast, the three most popular smartphone operating systems in the U.S. today -- Windows Mobile, Symbian, and BlackBerry -- all allow for such capability.
Comments
Seriously, it seems like the first step in releasing 3rd-party software will come from the multitude of widgets that are available right now. A few developers have already created optimized versions for the iPhone's interface.
I really don't see Apple having a new Xcode for the iPhone ready at this time, much less willing to unleash it.
Critics of the Apple handset have long pointed to the device's lack of third party access as a major barrier to its success in the enterprise market, as corporations would be unable to extend their applications to handset. By contrast, the three most popular smartphone operating systems in the U.S. today -- Windows Mobile, Symbian, and BlackBerry -- all allow for such capability.
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
Third party apps are a great way of allowing more with less effort on Apple's part but I can understand Steve's concern regarding stability and not wanting the iPhone to develop a reputation of "crashing" or allowing 'viruses' due to those third party apps.
'Windows Mobile, Symbian, and BlackBerry -- all allow for such capability.' and out of curiosity, what is their stability record?
I'm curious to see how deep this SDK will go.
I really don't see Apple having a new Xcode for the iPhone ready at this time, much less willing to unleash it.
They wouldn't need a new Xcode, just an SDK which you could use from the existing XCode. If the iPhone runs a scaled down version of Mac OS and contains either a PPC or Intel chip, it should be easy. Compile the app in XCode on your Mac against the set of SDKs/Frameworks the iPhone supports, send it over to the iPhone via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and test it out.
I can see Apple requiring developers to submit their work to Apple for review and to keep downloads limited to downloads from Apple - ensuring that malware is not added after the review.
the other issue will be bloat ware - a potential problem with the limited capacity of the iPhone and all of the other bits & pieces that consumers will want installed, from music and pictures to movies. 8 Gigs can be filled up rather fast by some consumers.
And what's Google Gears?
Uh-huh.
What is going to be interesting is how Apple controls the customer's access to the iPhone apps/widgets.
I can see Apple requiring developers to submit their work to Apple for review and to keep downloads limited to downloads from Apple - ensuring that malware is not added after the review.
the other issue will be bloat ware - a potential problem with the limited capacity of the iPhone and all of the other bits & pieces that consumers will want installed, from music and pictures to movies. 8 Gigs can be filled up rather fast by some consumers.
The only way I can think off of controlling it, is to have the phone only execute software that has been signed by Apple. If Apple likes the software they sign it, if they don't like it they don't sign it and therefore can not be executed by the phone.
Malware can not execute unless signed by Apple or a defect on the system.
The only way I can think off of controlling it, is to have the phone only execute software that has been signed by Apple. If Apple likes the software they sign it, if they don't like it they don't sign it and therefore can not be executed by the phone.
But then how does one actually do development? It's a bit of a chicken-and-egg dilemma: to do development you need a digital signature, but to get a digital signature, you need a working application which Apple approves of.
The best solution I can think of which satisfies developers and end-users is this:
Any application which is installed by an end user needs to run via the system installer, which checks for a digital signature. However, developers can put their applications in a certain place on the iPhone by hand for testing. Obviously, an application/widget which is downloaded can't place itself there manually (Safari puts limitations on what is done with downloaded files), so unless an end-user runs a malware installer script, they won't end up with bad software.
But then how does one actually do development? It's a bit of a chicken-and-egg dilemma: to do development you need a digital signature, but to get a digital signature, you need a working application which Apple approves of.
Two words: iPod games.
Two words: iPod games.
I hunted around the ADC website and couldn't find anything about how to develop games for iPod (not even a way to get in contact with anyone about it). Is developing for the iPhone going to be just as obscure as this?
But then how does one actually do development? It's a bit of a chicken-and-egg dilemma: to do development you need a digital signature, but to get a digital signature, you need a working application which Apple approves of.
Easy. You only make the signature mandatory for actual deployment.
The inability to load 3rd party apps has been one of the biggest complaints so far.
Next up - integrate GPS.
open PDFs
open microsoft office documents (excel, word, powerpoint)
integration with ms exchange email systems
access to IM with voice capabilities
-------That should be enough to satisfy business users.
The other issue will be bloat ware - a potential problem with the limited capacity of the iPhone and all of the other bits & pieces that consumers will want installed, from music and pictures to movies. 8 Gigs can be filled up rather fast by some consumers.
Most portable device software is VERY small. Tens of ks is common. Hundreds of ks not so common.
But then how does one actually do development? It's a bit of a chicken-and-egg dilemma: to do development you need a digital signature, but to get a digital signature, you need a working application which Apple approves of.
.
How console developers do it is they get a special development kit with a device that lets them run unsigned code.