Find out why Xcode has decided to link to a particular library - iphone

I'm using the Unity 3D engine to build an iPhone app, and when I go to generate my Xcode project for compilation, it includes a few fairly large libraries: Mono.Security.dll.s, System.dll.s, System.Core.dll.s, etc.
I don't know if this question is really an Xcode question or a Unity question, but I'm trying to figure out why each of those libraries is being linked - which functions / classes are being referenced - ideally so that I can rewrite my code to remove as many of the dependencies as possible. Does anybody know a way to find this information out?

Are you using any external assemblies? If so you should get the source code for them and check what they are including. Sometimes it's possible to disable stuff in external assemblies to remove unneeded dependencies.
Go into the "project settings->player" menu in Unity and make sure that stripping level is set as high as possible. Stripping will attempt to swap System.Core with mscorlib, which doesn't include stuff like Linq.
A way to find out why a particular assembly is being included is to open up the references section of your MonoDevelop solution, and double-click on an assembly. This will open the assembly browser and you'll be able to get an idea of the namespaces that depend on a particular assembly.

This DLL stuff is added to project by Unity3D, Xcode has nothing to do with this. What version of Unity3D do you use? Try to tweak Optimization options in project settings (Inspector), especially 'Stripping'.

Related

Header file not found for embedded framework inside library for React Native app

I'm currently working on a contract job where I've been asked to help integrate a 3rd party SDK with an existing React Native app. The SDK only comes in Android and iOS specific flavors, meaning that it has to be added on the platform-specific side of things (in my case, the iOS side with Xcode).
For the app, the client has created a react native module which gets built into a Library in Xcode, represented by a separate nested Xcode project in Libraries/MyLibrary.xcodeproj from the root of the base Xcode workspace project. This library has several method stubs defined in React Native which will need to be implemented in Swift (and likewise in Android), as this is in these methods that the 3rd party platform-specific SDK is utilized.
The issue I'm having has to do with accessing the 3rd party SDK framework in the library's existing bridging header file. I have followed every tutorial under the sun for how to integrate external frameworks with an existing Xcode project. This includes steps about adding the framework to the project, adding it under the Embedded Binaries and Linked Frameworks and Libraries sections of the project target, adding it under the Build Phases/Link Binary With Libraries section of both the project target and the library target, and adding the framework path under Project Settings/Framework Search Paths. From here, I add the appropriate import statement to my library's Library-Bridging-Header.h file with #import <MyFramework/MyFramework.h> so I can then access the framework in Swift. (This import statement is copied directly from the bridging header file of the sample project included with the SDK, so I know it is correct and should not be given in a different format such as quotes instead of angle brackets).
Regardless of following all of these steps multiple times over and in various combinations, I still get this error at build time: MyFramework/MyFramework.h file not found.
To clarify, MyFramework is just an alias for the actual 3rd party framework I'm attempting to integrate, and MyLibrary is an alias for the existing library with nothing but method stubs given to me by the client to implement in Swift.
Again, I have read every tutorial and forum under the sun, but none seem to address this very specific issue of integrating a 3rd party framework in a xcodeproj Library within the iOS version of a react native app. I would appreciate any new insights or suggestions anyone might have to offer! And please, please don't just post a link to or copy the steps from existing forum posts about a similar-sounding issue, as I've probably already read it 😉. Understand that I think that there is something subtly unique about my specific circumstances which are causing these same steps from the 10+ articles that come up on the first page of Google and StackOverflow NOT to work.
Figured it out! I'll post my solution here in case anybody out there ever runs into the same issue as me.
TLDR - You must add the 3rd party framework in the root of the xcodeproj Library (NOT the top level project) AND ensure that the files were actually copied into that directory, not just referenced from the directory you copied the framework from (be sure to double-check in Finder, since checking the 'Copy if needed' box doesn't always work for some reason). Then, you must add $(PROJECT_DIR) to your xcodeproj Library's Build Settings/Framework Search Paths, and also drag and drop the framework from the root of your xcodeproj Library into the Library's Build Phases/Link Binary With Libraries panel.
I'll address some of the issues with other tutorials/forums that I found, with hopes that it might help someone else that finds themselves as frustrated as I was in this position.
Most only address adding the framework to the base level project, not the obscure case of a project within a project. Therefore, when you start following the steps, it can be confusing to know whether you should be changing the settings of the top-level project or the sub-project. Again, as I discovered, all changes should ONLY be made to the sub-project.
There are a few tutorials that do seem to address this situation regarding a project within a project, but the steps describe adding the framework to the top-level project under Embedded Binaries and Linked Frameworks and Libraries, but I believe the situation described in these tutorials are somehow subtly different than this situation here. Again, only mess with the sub-project.
There's a lot of discussion out there about "umbrella frameworks", but that doesn't really apply to this situation, and again, the terminology similarities can make it seem like it's a similar issue. As I understand it, "umbrella frameworks" are discouraged by Apple, but again, this situation is not the same.
Sorry for the long-winded explanation, but I'm hoping to provide the kind of detail I would have liked to have found when I was searching for solutions for this weirdly obscure problem.
Cheers!

how do I reference a separate project in xcode 4?

How do I reference another project which has code I wish to leverage in XCode 4. In particular I'm trying to make use of the NSDate extensions from here.
Some notes:
I was assuming I should probably reference rather than trying build a framework
I tried copying the existing "Hello World" xcode project file across into my project, however this didn't seem to work
Do I need to create a new "Target" based on "coco touch static library" option?
Then would I need to Edit the current Product Scheme so that when I build the new target would build
What do I need to do on my project side exactly - should going Add Files, and choosing the extensions Xcode Project File be enough?
thanks
I was assuming I should probably reference rather than trying build a framework
yes, reference and link with it, unless you need only a bit of it. at this stage, separating the bits you want may be an advanced topic (depends on the lib's layout/depends as well). you should prefer to reference and link because it will normally minimize your maintenance time, especially if you use it in multiple projects.
I tried copying the existing "Hello World" xcode project file across into my project, however this didn't seem to work
you don't create a project, you add the library's xcode project to your app or library, set the lib as a dependency, add the library to your search paths if needed, then link with the library.
Do I need to create a new "Target" based on "coco touch static library" option?
no
Then would I need to Edit the current Product Scheme so that when I build the new target would build
no. you configure it as a dependency. you may need to alter the lib's build settings if there is a major conflict, which the linker or compiler would point out.
What do I need to do on my project side exactly - should going Add Files, and choosing the extensions Xcode Project File be enough?
start with the process outlined above.
There is no reason to bring in an actually project. Either you can bring in the source files themselves and you could even use the same exact files instead of copying them if you want. However, if you have more than just a few files, and you don't think you will be changing the code much, then creating a static library would probably be the best option.

Best practices for MacOS/iPhone library cross compiling

I've build a static library working nice in a Cocoa Touch environment. Now I'd like to compile it also for Cocoa.. Can I have a single XCode project with different sdk targets? Is there some resource out there able to give hints about best the practices in this (and other) sense?
This last two months I have been working on exactly this task ( cross compiling static library for iPhone/Android/Mac OS/Linux/Windows...
It is certainly possible, a nice way, is adding an external xcode project as a target to your first xcode project. So you create a new "Active Configuration" for Mac OS X, iPhone and other platforms that you want to support.
Here, you can find a good tutorial about how to use a secondary Xcode project as a target of your main project to build a static library. It's a cool way because if you debug for example you still have all the symbols of the library, etc.
It can be done but it requires some manual tweaking of the build.
Start with the Xcode Build System Guide.
As an informal way of accomplishing this, you can create two separate projects and add references for exact same set of library source files to each project. Set one project to compile for Cocoa-Touch and the other for Cocoa. If both projects reference the same files, changes made in one project will be automatically reflected in the other. (If you have both projects open, Xcode will complain that the file has been changed by another app but otherwise it won't notice.)
I have a utility class that I continually dump new methods in. I add it to every project and just park methods as I need it. The new methods show up in old projects because the source files are shared across all the projects.

Automate the XCode build settings

I've developed a static library that I'd like to share between XCode projects. I did some reading to learn exactly how to include this library as a binary dependency so that it runs on both the device and the simulator and that lead to a couple of manual steps which I'd now like to automate. Overall I'd like to be able to release new versions of my library and have a simple upgrade process for any project using the older version. Currently that process consists of deleting and/or copying the new binary files over the original location, deleting copying over new header files. The initial install consists of the same two steps along with additional project/target level configuration to set conditional linker flags based on the target SDK. Is there a way this could be automated? I mean I know I could do something like write an Applescript to do the heavy lifting but how? Has anyone ever automated xcode build settings via applescript? How would I call into XCode via Applescript? Are there any other alternatives? Is there a better way to maintain binary level dependencies?
Update
I'm looking to maintain a binary level dependency where project A depends on a static library created by project B. Something similar to a framework that can be included into an XCode iPhone project easily. After building "B" I want something that can practically be dropped into and project including A. While I am becoming aware of all the procedures around leveraging such a dependency I am looking for some solutions to soften up all of the rough edges.
Add a custom build script through Xcode:
select your target under the Targets group on the left
select Add -> New Build Phase -> New Run Script Build Phase
double click on the new Run Script item underneath your target
this allows you to write a shell script, accessing most of the Xcode environment variables related to the current build, e.g. $BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR
if you check the "Show environment variables in build log" and view the detailed build output you can see all the variables available.
Have a Google search and you'll find lots of examples, e.g. section 20.3 here etc.
If you are using Subversion I believe you can use SVN externals to specify which particular version of your library to use.
You just have to drag & drop your library project in your project. xCode will dot the rest...
Regards,
Thierry

Best way to share iphone and mac code between projects

I realise that the view/controller stuff will be different between Mac and IPhone apps but the model code may well be similar/the same. So whats the best way to organise a project(s) so that the model code is/can be shared?
Copy/paste - just duplicate it and manually keep it in sync
Have 2 xcode projects point at the same workarea - one for Mac and one for IPhone and share the code.
Common library - presumably you can't do this (or can you)
Thanks for any tips.
There are a few ways to do this. The first thing you can do is is create a project that builds as a framework on Mac OS X. Since you cannot use frameworks on iPhone, you can make static library target that contains the same code files. That basically works, but the header paths will be different. If you want the header paths to be the the same (i.e. <Myframework/MyFramework.h>) you will need to modify the the install path of the static library headers so that they are copied into "$SDK_ROOT/usr/local/include/MyFramework", and make sure /usr/local/include is an included header search path. You will then need to install the library and headers into each SDK_ROOT.
I started out doing the above, but I found it to be a royal pain. So I ended up doing something that is a variant of #2. Basically, I get the header paths to be equivalent by making a directory named "Externals" in my iPhone project root, then a directory named with the appropriate name ("MyFramework") in the externals folder. That is the folder I copy I drag the framework files into.Findally I add the Externals folder as a system header path (which is admittedly sort of a gross hack). You need to manually add new files to the iPhone project, but I have found that to be less of a pain the installing static libs into my build root.
I'm not sure if the suggestion from the previous answer would work. If you look at my previous question, you'll see that I've failed to load a custom framework on the iPhone even though the framework works fine on Mac.
I would go with method 2.
You could develop your application in JavaScript, CSS, and HTML. You would use the WebView and UIWebView objects on the Mac and the iPhone respectively. You can do pretty much anything you want in the WebView objects, even make calls down to Objective-C.
The QuickConnectiPhone installer, found here https://sourceforge.net/projects/quickconnect/, installs QuickConnectMac and QuickConnectiPhone templates into Xcode.
This way you can quickly create an application in one environment and then migrate the view to the other. In fact the QuickConnect framework is highly modular.
If you don't want to develop in JavaScript the same modular framework is found on the Objective-C side of the templates installed.
It should make it much easier for you to do what you are attempting.