[RESOLVED] iPhone/iPad Development

[akhileshbc]

Hi,

I was thinking about learning iApp development

And I have some general questions:

• do I really have to enroll to the developer program by paying 99$ for an year ?
• is there a discounted or student developer program that allows skipping the yearly fee ?
• is it possible to develop the apps using a Windows based machine ? Or do I have to really buy a Mac PC for this ?

I am not thinking about getting involved as whole in iphone development at the moment. So, I was having a doubt whether to pay the developer fee or not. I mean, whether there is some other way available(ie. without paying the fee) or not.

Thanks in advance

[dilettante]

Might get a better answer faster by asking somewhere besides a VB programming site.

[akhileshbc]

Might get a better answer faster by asking somewhere besides a VB programming site.

Good idea

[BlindSniper]

Hi,

• do I really have to enroll to the developer program by paying 99$ for an year ?
• is there a discounted or student developer program that allows skipping the yearly fee ?
• is it possible to develop the apps using a Windows based machine ? Or do I have to really buy a Mac PC for this ?

I've done a bit of research about this and with the info I have:
#1 Yes
#2 Knowing apple probably not
#3 I'm sure if you somehow 'obtained' mac os you could make a partition on your drive and install it there and develop, but you would still need the IOS sdk wich is the mentioned $99

The only way to develop from a windows machine is by making browser based apps. I'm not sure if any illegal ways popped up since I last checked, because the only legal way is on a mac after you bought the sdk.

[akhileshbc]

I've done a bit of research about this and with the info I have:
#1 Yes
#2 Knowing apple probably not
#3 I'm sure if you somehow 'obtained' mac os you could make a partition on your drive and install it there and develop, but you would still need the IOS sdk wich is the mentioned $99

The only way to develop from a windows machine is by making browser based apps. I'm not sure if any illegal ways popped up since I last checked, because the only legal way is on a mac after you bought the sdk.

Thanks

So what would the software firms do ?

They'll buy the license per head (ie. 99$/head) ?

[BlindSniper]

Business take the company package but that's also 99$/year the only free option is https://developer.apple.com/programs/ios/university/ you might as well try that out since you don't have anything to loose.

[Nightwalker83]

I think you only have to pay the $99/year if you want to publish your applications, I not sure though since I'm learning iPhone/iPad Development was part of my software development diploma at school.

[akhileshbc]

Business take the company package but that's also 99$/year the only free option is https://developer.apple.com/programs/ios/university/ you might as well try that out since you don't have anything to loose.

Thanks

I found a comparison sheet here: https://developer.apple.com/programs/start/ios/

I think you only have to pay the $99/year if you want to publish your applications, I not sure though since I'm learning iPhone/iPad Development was part of my software development diploma at school.

Maybe it's the University package that BlindSniper had mentioned. It allows 200 students for free, I think.

[SJWhiteley]

You can sign up as an Apple developer for free. You can download XCode for free. However, to test your application on a real (iOS) device you will need to pay the developer fee.

You can obtain the Mac OS 'images' and virtual machines via various (less than legal) methods. Some have reasonable success getting them to work on a PC, while others fail. Honestly, for me, the whole point of Mac OS development was to avoid the PC/Windows BS to a certain extent (the 'frying pan/fire' situation notwithstanding).

A Mac Mini is a reasonable price, combined with the developer license ($99), it comes out a lot cheaper than the MSDN subscriptions. Perhaps not a fair comparison, but suffice to say, you are not paying an extortionate amount.

Personally, I find the $99 per year palatable: while it is understandable that some are on a limited budget, if you have an iPhone you are, by definition, not on a limited budget when you consider what you pay for the 'privilege'.

I suggest not getting hung up on the cost, and think of it as an incentive to get your moneys worth over the year, and will drive you to create great looking and useful apps.

[akhileshbc]

You can sign up as an Apple developer for free. You can download XCode for free. However, to test your application on a real (iOS) device you will need to pay the developer fee.

You can obtain the Mac OS 'images' and virtual machines via various (less than legal) methods. Some have reasonable success getting them to work on a PC, while others fail. Honestly, for me, the whole point of Mac OS development was to avoid the PC/Windows BS to a certain extent (the 'frying pan/fire' situation notwithstanding).

A Mac Mini is a reasonable price, combined with the developer license ($99), it comes out a lot cheaper than the MSDN subscriptions. Perhaps not a fair comparison, but suffice to say, you are not paying an extortionate amount.

Personally, I find the $99 per year palatable: while it is understandable that some are on a limited budget, if you have an iPhone you are, by definition, not on a limited budget when you consider what you pay for the 'privilege'.

I suggest not getting hung up on the cost, and think of it as an incentive to get your moneys worth over the year, and will drive you to create great looking and useful apps.

Thanks

That means I can test it in the simulator without problems ?

I am not planning to concentrate on iPhone development at the moment(I like webdev. more ). Just want to explore the ideas and create a small project once I get the basic ideas. Like I did for Android. I've just gone through the basics of Android, then tried creating a small app for my friends, which was successful.

And I don't even own an apple product yet. I don't think it would help me in any way other than live testing the apps that I might create.

May I would try buying an iPad next year.