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How did you manage to get something written in Go into the iOS app store? I was under the impression that foreign binaries weren't allowed.

by tkfu 9y ago

mikeash 9y ago
There was a brief period where they seemed to be insisting on Objective-C, but it didn't last long. Now they don't care what language you use as long as your functionality follows their guidelines.
brbz 9y ago
This was brought up a couple days ago during discussion of a game built in Rust on the app store. A comment there[0] claims that the restriction on languages is no longer in the guidelines. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14302931 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14302931
- comex 9y ago
  In fact, it was only in the guidelines for a few months back in 2010. I can only quote the response to the comment you linked: > This rule got so much press 7 years ago that it will be one of those "truths" about a platform that never dies on internet forums, that and the Playstation platforms using OpenGL as their primary API...
geofft 9y ago
Google has had a Go app, "Ivy," on the app store since 2015. I think it was just an experiment at getting Go to build for the App Store and getting it approved, but it was in fact approved. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ivy-big-number-calculator/id1012116478 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ivy-big-number-calculator/id... It's true that fork() isn't allowed on non-jailbroken phones, so you can't shell out to a Go binary (you can on Android if you want). But you can build a static library in Go and link it and call into it with cgo from Objective-C or something.
azinman2 9y ago
The bigger problem with go is if/when Apple requires bitcode on iOS.
- lloeki 9y ago
  For those who don't know what "bitcode" refers to and why the "if/when": https://medium.com/@FredericJacobs/why-i-m-not-enabling-bitcode-f35cd8fbfcc5 https://medium.com/@FredericJacobs/why-i-m-not-enabling-bitc...
- tgragnato 9y ago
  I hope never ... Unless devs are given the option to test the final binary, it's delivering untested binaries to users, and as such should be a no go.

How did you manage to get something written in Go into the iOS app store? I was under the impression that foreign binaries weren't allowed.

by tkfu 9y ago

How did you manage to get something written in Go into the iOS app store? I was under the impression that foreign binaries weren't allowed.

mikeash 9y ago

There was a brief period where they seemed to be insisting on Objective-C, but it didn't last long. Now they don't care what language you use as long as your functionality follows their guidelines.

brbz 9y ago

This was brought up a couple days ago during discussion of a game built in Rust on the app store. A comment there[0] claims that the restriction on languages is no longer in the guidelines. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14302931 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14302931

comex 9y ago
In fact, it was only in the guidelines for a few months back in 2010. I can only quote the response to the comment you linked: > This rule got so much press 7 years ago that it will be one of those "truths" about a platform that never dies on internet forums, that and the Playstation platforms using OpenGL as their primary API...

geofft 9y ago

Google has had a Go app, "Ivy," on the app store since 2015. I think it was just an experiment at getting Go to build for the App Store and getting it approved, but it was in fact approved. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ivy-big-number-calculator/id1012116478 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ivy-big-number-calculator/id... It's true that fork() isn't allowed on non-jailbroken phones, so you can't shell out to a Go binary (you can on Android if you want). But you can build a static library in Go and link it and call into it with cgo from Objective-C or something.

azinman2 9y ago

The bigger problem with go is if/when Apple requires bitcode on iOS.

lloeki 9y ago
For those who don't know what "bitcode" refers to and why the "if/when": https://medium.com/@FredericJacobs/why-i-m-not-enabling-bitcode-f35cd8fbfcc5 https://medium.com/@FredericJacobs/why-i-m-not-enabling-bitc...
tgragnato 9y ago
I hope never ... Unless devs are given the option to test the final binary, it's delivering untested binaries to users, and as such should be a no go.