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That analogy is utter nonsense. With a Linux or Windows desktop equipped with a good toolbox we can cross-compile to a wide range of architectures. That this r

by nandemo 15y ago

That analogy is utter nonsense. With a Linux or Windows desktop equipped with a good toolbox we can cross-compile to a wide range of architectures. That this range doesn't currently include the iPhone is completely accidental; it's merely a consequence of a business decision by Apple (and it might even be a good business decision for all I know). It doesn't tell us anything about the adequacy of a Linux/Windows desktop as a tool.

ay 15y ago
I think there is a difference between "effectiveness of the tool in general" vs. "effectiveness of a tool for the particular purpose". Pliers are a fantastic tool. You can even put the screws in with it. But it is a very poor tool for putting in the nails. Arguably it is merely a consequence of a business decision to have nails the way they are. For that you need a hammer. Therefore I believe the parent analogy makes perfect sense. If you wanna write iPhone apps, get the tool that does the job. At this point in time this is a Mac. Linux/Windows is a fantastic tool, but for making iPhone apps it is rather useless.
- nandemo 15y ago
  I don't get your point. OK, a Linux desktop is normally useless to make iPhone apps. But this thread is about a tool that allows you to you use your Linux desktop to make iPhone apps. I was disagreeing with a comment implying that somehow you must have a physical Mac to make iPhone apps.
  - ay 15y ago
    My point was: "can" != "should". At least not in case of serious development. For myself - I'd probably consider using this to tinker with XCode and see if maybe I should get myself a Mac if I get into iP(hone|ad) app development beyond trying to compile "Hello world". Anyway, having Linux as my only OS for circa 8 last years (minus some powerpoint operating system use due to practical constraints @work), I would be curious if you have any experience developing for iPhone/iPad on Linux/Windows that you can share.
delinka 15y ago
But the OS isn't the tool: the project-building, code-compiling apps are the tools.
randomdata 15y ago
Cocotron or GNUStep plus Chameleon will get you most of the way to developing iOS apps on other platforms. I imagine there is some work to do to round out the experience, but tis the nature of open source. There's definitely nothing stopping you from developing iOS apps on other platforms though. It's just going to be a bit more work than using the polished packages from Apple. [1] http://cocotron.org/ http://cocotron.org/ [2] http://www.gnustep.org/ http://www.gnustep.org/ [3] http://chameleonproject.org/ http://chameleonproject.org/
- ay 15y ago
  This is pretty cool, thanks. Do you know of any tutorials that would guide the Apple-noob through the process of compiling a "Hello, world!" type of App for iPad/iPhone entirely on linux ? The ones I found were talking mostly of Objective C development for other platforms, not on other platforms. Being pretty much 100% linux-only, I do not feel like purchasing the Mac just for toying around. (And maybe this kind of service "in the cloud" could be for me - but would be curious if one can do it on linux).

by nandemo 15y ago

ay 15y ago

I think there is a difference between "effectiveness of the tool in general" vs. "effectiveness of a tool for the particular purpose". Pliers are a fantastic tool. You can even put the screws in with it. But it is a very poor tool for putting in the nails. Arguably it is merely a consequence of a business decision to have nails the way they are. For that you need a hammer. Therefore I believe the parent analogy makes perfect sense. If you wanna write iPhone apps, get the tool that does the job. At this point in time this is a Mac. Linux/Windows is a fantastic tool, but for making iPhone apps it is rather useless.

nandemo 15y ago
I don't get your point. OK, a Linux desktop is normally useless to make iPhone apps. But this thread is about a tool that allows you to you use your Linux desktop to make iPhone apps. I was disagreeing with a comment implying that somehow you must have a physical Mac to make iPhone apps.
- ay 15y ago
  My point was: "can" != "should". At least not in case of serious development. For myself - I'd probably consider using this to tinker with XCode and see if maybe I should get myself a Mac if I get into iP(hone|ad) app development beyond trying to compile "Hello world". Anyway, having Linux as my only OS for circa 8 last years (minus some powerpoint operating system use due to practical constraints @work), I would be curious if you have any experience developing for iPhone/iPad on Linux/Windows that you can share.

delinka 15y ago

But the OS isn't the tool: the project-building, code-compiling apps are the tools.

randomdata 15y ago

Cocotron or GNUStep plus Chameleon will get you most of the way to developing iOS apps on other platforms. I imagine there is some work to do to round out the experience, but tis the nature of open source. There's definitely nothing stopping you from developing iOS apps on other platforms though. It's just going to be a bit more work than using the polished packages from Apple. [1] http://cocotron.org/ http://cocotron.org/ [2] http://www.gnustep.org/ http://www.gnustep.org/ [3] http://chameleonproject.org/ http://chameleonproject.org/

ay 15y ago
This is pretty cool, thanks. Do you know of any tutorials that would guide the Apple-noob through the process of compiling a "Hello, world!" type of App for iPad/iPhone entirely on linux ? The ones I found were talking mostly of Objective C development for other platforms, not on other platforms. Being pretty much 100% linux-only, I do not feel like purchasing the Mac just for toying around. (And maybe this kind of service "in the cloud" could be for me - but would be curious if one can do it on linux).