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The app is monetized by limiting the number of “runs” you can do per month. Based on iOS limitations I think we can assume this means the compilation is done on

The app is monetized by limiting the number of “runs” you can do per month. Based on iOS limitations I think we can assume this means the compilation is done on a remote server. EDIT: nevermind! I tried running a program with airplane mode on and it still worked. Now I’m really interested to hear how this was accomplished.

lnxg33k1 2y ago
Didn't Apple recently allow to run "emulators"? So code that generates code on the app store?
- glhaynes 2y ago
  More like code that runs code, not code that generates code. Assuming the latter means that it's generating native code and attempting to execute it natively, that's not allowed.
  - kmeisthax 2y ago
    Code that generates code - specifically user-specified code - has been allowed on the App Store for years now. They have a very patronizing term for it, too: "learn-to-code apps". Granted, Apple's never going to give you the entitlements necessary to make this performant or let you create separate temporary containers for compiled apps like Swift Playgrounds can. But you can absolutely ship a dev environment on iPadOS as long as you're willing to deal with those limitations.
- trollied 2y ago
  Emulators don't have to generate code. At the simplest level, a CPU emulator is a switch statement.
- mrbungie 2y ago
  Emulators don't necessarily generate code (maybe if they use JIT). They run arbitrary code, but that's other thing.
lewurm 2y ago
Probably a OpenJDK Zero VM build. That's a configuration without JIT or template interpreter, but a "plain" C++ switch dispatch interpreter that requires no runtime code generation.
- mdaniel 2y ago
  I felt out of the loop, thinking that Zero VM was some kind of new distro for OpenJDK but chasing <https://packages.debian.org/sid/openjdk-22-jre-zero#:~:text=See%20the%20README.Debian%20for%20details https://packages.debian.org/sid/openjdk-22-jre-zero#:~:text=...> to <https://sources.debian.org/src/openjdk-22/22.0.1%2B8-1/debian/README.Debian/#L4 https://sources.debian.org/src/openjdk-22/22.0.1%2B8-1/debia...> lead me to https://github.com/openjdk/jdk/tree/jdk-22-ga/src/hotspot/cpu/zero https://github.com/openjdk/jdk/tree/jdk-22-ga/src/hotspot/cp... It seems that it's a specific CPU target for the Hotspot JIT for non-mainstream architectures (or for research purposes, as I saw mentioned once)
  - saagarjha 2y ago
    No, it's just a tier where it doesn't JIT. You can build it for your computer, too.
Rohansi 2y ago
I don't have a compatible device but I'm curious how the pricing works. Does it work like a subscription where you pay monthly for unlimited runs per month? Or do you just need to pay for enough runs and buy more if you run out?

lnxg33k1 2y ago

Didn't Apple recently allow to run "emulators"? So code that generates code on the app store?

glhaynes 2y ago
More like code that runs code, not code that generates code. Assuming the latter means that it's generating native code and attempting to execute it natively, that's not allowed.
- kmeisthax 2y ago
  Code that generates code - specifically user-specified code - has been allowed on the App Store for years now. They have a very patronizing term for it, too: "learn-to-code apps". Granted, Apple's never going to give you the entitlements necessary to make this performant or let you create separate temporary containers for compiled apps like Swift Playgrounds can. But you can absolutely ship a dev environment on iPadOS as long as you're willing to deal with those limitations.
trollied 2y ago
Emulators don't have to generate code. At the simplest level, a CPU emulator is a switch statement.
mrbungie 2y ago
Emulators don't necessarily generate code (maybe if they use JIT). They run arbitrary code, but that's other thing.

lewurm 2y ago

Probably a OpenJDK Zero VM build. That's a configuration without JIT or template interpreter, but a "plain" C++ switch dispatch interpreter that requires no runtime code generation.

mdaniel 2y ago
I felt out of the loop, thinking that Zero VM was some kind of new distro for OpenJDK but chasing <https://packages.debian.org/sid/openjdk-22-jre-zero#:~:text=See%20the%20README.Debian%20for%20details https://packages.debian.org/sid/openjdk-22-jre-zero#:~:text=...> to <https://sources.debian.org/src/openjdk-22/22.0.1%2B8-1/debian/README.Debian/#L4 https://sources.debian.org/src/openjdk-22/22.0.1%2B8-1/debia...> lead me to https://github.com/openjdk/jdk/tree/jdk-22-ga/src/hotspot/cpu/zero https://github.com/openjdk/jdk/tree/jdk-22-ga/src/hotspot/cp... It seems that it's a specific CPU target for the Hotspot JIT for non-mainstream architectures (or for research purposes, as I saw mentioned once)
- saagarjha 2y ago
  No, it's just a tier where it doesn't JIT. You can build it for your computer, too.

Rohansi 2y ago

I don't have a compatible device but I'm curious how the pricing works. Does it work like a subscription where you pay monthly for unlimited runs per month? Or do you just need to pay for enough runs and buy more if you run out?