I've been writing iOS apps for some time now and for this particular project, I decided that I needed a static library for code sharing purposes.
I've followed some tutorials in creating static libraries and everything works perfectly.
Now I wonder, is there any way of versioning the static library?
I couldn't find any files regarding version number in the static library project, nor any good search results (both Google and here) regarding this particular issue.
I think I could create some kind of "fake" Info.plist and store the version info there.
Is that the way of doing it? Any other approaches to the problem?
Edit:
I think I may have not been clear on my purpose:
I have a workspace that has both my library project and related projects using the library, which is imported using the .xcodeproj file, then configured the dependencies so it builds whenever needed.
I just need some way of versioning the library, so that I can include that in some sort of about box, just in case.
I think you should stay away from bundling binary builds of your own code. Unless you're building a really, really, really massive library, you're better off just importing the code in any of your projects, and rebuilding it each time. You can put it in a separate target though, so Xcode doesn't rebuild it all the time.
You might want to write a tool that takes version info in a .plist and writes it out as literal strings defined in a .h file, which you can then include in your own code.
To make it foolproof (avoid mismatch between the header and the library), define a class method like [YourLibraryClass versionString] that returns a NSString with the version number or signature.
Related
I have some source code in C/C++. I have to make static library to use in my iPhone application. is there any third party tool to create static library for armv6/armv7 ?
this link will help you create a static library in xcode ...
http://www.icodeblog.com/2011/04/07/creating-static-libraries-for-ios/
just rename the .m file to .mm file and write your c/c++ implementation code in it....
try it for a small function first and if it works for you can implement all your classes in it...
Please make sure when you try to use this library in any other project in XCODE , only use .mm extension for all your files even the appdelegate... hope this helps.
I would recommend iOS Universal Framework. I have used it to create a number of static frameworks that I link against my application projects. It works like a charm and is really easy to setup - no need to come up with your own complicated shell scripts.
It adds a template for a new target project type, which you can then import and use just like an ordinary Apple framework. I would recommend setting up a workspace containing both the framework project and application project, that way the dependencies are handled automatically by Xcode.
In general, you DO NOT WANT to link to a static lib that is made with another compiler than the one used to compile the lib. Static libs are not really portable between compilers, since static lib formats are not covered by C/C++ standards. Due to name mangling and other formatting differences, you may not be able to link at all, or worse, it seems to work but injects bugs. Worse, if you use the standard library from your compiler in your lib, it will create horrible name collisions when someone links to your lib and they don't use an IDENTICAL version of the standard library!
Publish the lib using the compiler you expect them to be using. And if you must use the standard library, then you have to make sure they have the same version you have. Really, you should just have them compile the lib themselves or prebuild it for each compiler you support. It sucks, but that's the reality of it as it stands today.
My clients wants to use some of the already available features in my app into their app. But, i dont want to share my source code with them and vice versa. I found out from some googling that, we can do this by creating some static libraries or frameworks in iOS. Can anyone throw some light on how to create a static library or framework (which ever is better) out of my already available source code.
My preference is to use static libraries over Frameworks. You will provide your customers the library file (.a extension) and the header file(s) for the functions in it. They just need to install the files somewhere in their project tree, set the include path, add the library to the project and they are good to go.
Note that if you want them to use your lib in the Simulator as well as on device you will need to provide them two versions of the library, one for each.
For instructions on how to create and use an iOS static library see this site.
Just for your information:
I created a static framework for iOS according to jverkoey's instruction
A ton of thanks to Diney Bomfim for his excellent article on how to create a framework. This is exactly what i am looking for.
EDIT - The Link is NOT working anymore...
i want to share some code with other iOS projects. So I create static library.
When I use this library in other projects and use header file from that lib I get an error like No such file and Directory. Can any one tell me fixes of it.
Here I get reference for making static lib
http://www.amateurinmotion.com/articles/2009/02/08/creating-a-static-library-for-iphone.html
I downloaded that sample. It is also not working in my case. So please help me to fix that error.
Thanks in advance
My guess would be because the blog, whilst detailed, is probably a bit old now. Like anything there's a thousand ways to skin a cat.
You can now create frameworks for the iPhone sdk and include both simulator and device versions of the classes. Frameworks have the advantage that they can simply be dragged and dropped on Xcode to include them in a project. In addition I like to store my frameworks in version numbered directories so if I make changes, dependent projects can still use the old ones until I'm ready to update them.
I don't do it, but for the above reasons I'm not sure I'd drag and drop a libs project on a client project. To me the idea of a static framework is that it's independent on it's clients. Dropping it into client projects makes a connection between the two projects that is too tight.
Anyway do some searches on lipo and static frameworks. I also have so scripts in my project at https://github.com/drekka/dUsefulStuff that you mint find useful.
Hi experts i have created a set of UItableviewcustom cell classes. Now can i group those classes to an static library so that i can include that library in whichever project i want and i can use it.
You can, but it really isn't worth the trouble... with the rate that they keep on releasing new SDKs, and considering that you'd have to make it a Universal binary supporting both the simulator and the iPhone device, it really isn't worth the effort... I'd just save the ".h" and ".m" files and drop them in a new project.
However, if you are absolutely determined to go that route... I do have some articles on creating iPhone frameworks: here. Note that they are somewhat outdated (circa iPhoneOS3.1), so I don't know how much has changed, and I've since converted to the Android camp... but you still might find the info there useful.
I'm trying to write an SSH client for the iPhone, and I'd like to use the libssh2 open source library to do so. It's written in C.
How should I include this C library for my iPhone app? Should I compile it into some binary that I include into the my app, or do I add all the source to my project and try to compile it along with the rest of my app?
I'm interpretting this question as:
"Should I compile the C library code once, and include the binary library in my project? Or should I include all the source and compile it every time I build my app?"
It depends. One of the projects I work one depends on several external libraries. Basically, we have a simple rule:
Do you think you will need to change code in the C library often?
If you will be changing the code, or updating versions often, include the source and build it with the rest of your project.
If you're not going to change the code often or at all, it might make sense to just include the pre-built binary in your project.
Depending on the size of the library, you may want to set it up as a distinct target in your project, or for even more flexibility, as a sub-project of your main project.
If I was in your place, I would build libssh2 ahead of time and just include the binary library in my iPhone project. I would still keep the libssh2 source around, of course, in case it does need to be re-built down the road.
I have an iPhone app that is 90% c. I have had no problem adding 3rd party sources to my project and compiling. I am using Lua, zLib, and libpng with no modifications. I've also included standard libraries like unistd and libgen and they just workâ˘
The Three20 iPhone library has a great howto on adding their library to your xcode project. Give that a shot.
I think you will find in the long run you will be better off building it into a standalone library and linking it with your application. This makes it easier to integrate into future apps. Another benefit is that it encourages code separation. If you feel pretty confident with the library, you can link your debug exe to the release build of the library and get some extra performance.
I can't really think of any downsides to creating a library, after the initial cost of setting it up, and having an extra project to modify if you have some changes that need to be made to all your projects. Even if you don't know how to make a library for the iPhone, this is a good excuse to learn.
Just adding the source to you project should work fine as well.