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> iOS -> download Xcode, install, new project, build and run. Oh, come on. You're seriously joking, right? How about paying the $99 fee, otherwise you won't s

> iOS -> download Xcode, install, new project, build and run. Oh, come on. You're seriously joking, right? How about paying the $99 fee, otherwise you won't see it in action on your own phone? How about figuring out how to issue and install those damn certificates for your phone? How about learning Obj-C, a programming language that's only used on Apple's OS X and iOS? How about having to own a computer running OS X to be able to do anything? This doesn't even factor in the cost of learning yet another UI framework. My first mobile app was built for Android (because I don't have any OS X computer) on top of PhoneGap, because I only wanted to display a bunch of simple dialogs and item lists and I couldn't be bothered to learn Android's flavor for UI. And I already know HTML and Javascript.

kennywinker 14y ago
# Language: Making an app for any platform has a learning curve. If you know Objective-C, learning iOS programming is an easy jump. If, as in your case, you know HTML+javascript, making a PhoneGap / Firefox OS app will be an easy jump. If you learned Java in school, Android will be an easy jump. If you know none of these they're all going to be approximately equally difficult. # Cost: iOS - $600 Mac Mini + $300 iPod Touch + $99 developer account Android - ~$350 PC + $300 Nexus 4 Firefox OS - ~$350 PC + $300 Samsung Galaxy S2 (?) iOS is a bit pricier to get started on. No question. # Provisioning and Certificates: Yeah these are some annoying bullshit. I agree 100% on this point.
- bad_user 14y ago
  It's not the price of a Mac Mini that I care about. I already have a Mac Mini. The thing is, my workstation is Ubuntu. I feel comfortable with it, all my tools are here within reach, its setup is streamlined to get out of my way, etc... To develop for Windows or for iOS, I have to go out of my way and use another environment in which I don't feel comfortable. I don't get why Microsoft and Apple don't release cross-platform SDKs. I don't really care about XCode or Visual Studio, I just want a bunch of tools with which I can compile and publish projects from the command-line. Actually, I only care about publishing on my own personal phone and I don't really need an emulator either, as my own phone can substitute for that (provided it has a way to get some logs and stack-traces back). Apple makes this especially difficult, since you can't (legally) run OS X in a virtual machine (this was true last time I checked and the VMWare instance I managed to setup was extremely unstable). So that's why I brought up the OS X argument. Monetary cost is not the only cost. Google did a smart thing with Android, because even though you have to endure Eclipse, at least it doesn't pull you out of the environment you use daily. Also, developing with HTML and Javascript is even more kickass, because you can start mocking / messing around with just a browser like Chrome or Firefox with Firebug installed or something similar.

kennywinker 14y ago

# Language: Making an app for any platform has a learning curve. If you know Objective-C, learning iOS programming is an easy jump. If, as in your case, you know HTML+javascript, making a PhoneGap / Firefox OS app will be an easy jump. If you learned Java in school, Android will be an easy jump. If you know none of these they're all going to be approximately equally difficult. # Cost: iOS - $600 Mac Mini + $300 iPod Touch + $99 developer account Android - ~$350 PC + $300 Nexus 4 Firefox OS - ~$350 PC + $300 Samsung Galaxy S2 (?) iOS is a bit pricier to get started on. No question. # Provisioning and Certificates: Yeah these are some annoying bullshit. I agree 100% on this point.

bad_user 14y ago
It's not the price of a Mac Mini that I care about. I already have a Mac Mini. The thing is, my workstation is Ubuntu. I feel comfortable with it, all my tools are here within reach, its setup is streamlined to get out of my way, etc... To develop for Windows or for iOS, I have to go out of my way and use another environment in which I don't feel comfortable. I don't get why Microsoft and Apple don't release cross-platform SDKs. I don't really care about XCode or Visual Studio, I just want a bunch of tools with which I can compile and publish projects from the command-line. Actually, I only care about publishing on my own personal phone and I don't really need an emulator either, as my own phone can substitute for that (provided it has a way to get some logs and stack-traces back). Apple makes this especially difficult, since you can't (legally) run OS X in a virtual machine (this was true last time I checked and the VMWare instance I managed to setup was extremely unstable). So that's why I brought up the OS X argument. Monetary cost is not the only cost. Google did a smart thing with Android, because even though you have to endure Eclipse, at least it doesn't pull you out of the environment you use daily. Also, developing with HTML and Javascript is even more kickass, because you can start mocking / messing around with just a browser like Chrome or Firefox with Firebug installed or something similar.