I'm wondering if anyone has apps that have been accepted by Apple that rely on loading external mobile web pages as the app. Building Phonegap based apps would be a lot easier if I could load sections of the app directly from my server, I'm not sure if Apple allows this though.
I don't see any problems with an app which loads content from your servers. If I'm not mistaken the iPad App Store does the same.
Loading external JavaScript is definitely a no-no. Loading content should be OK, so as long as those pages don't have any JavaScript (or too much JavaScript), you should be good. That's kind of the problem with IOS development, you never know what Apple is going to decide breaks their TOS. Basically I think they want to be reviewing the Application as a whole, and not having you able to slip new functionality in without their approving it (so you can't get an app approved and then change it so that it violates the TOS after it is approved).
Why would you expect it to be rejected? There are browsers in the app store, and all they do is load external content.
The cross-domain security policy applies to external web pages.
The cross-domain security policy does not affect PhoneGap applications. Since the html files are called by webkit with the file:// protocol, the security policy does not apply.
(in Android,you may grant android.permission.INTERNET to your app by edit the AndroidManifest.xml)
You should try fetching data from server not whole page with Js.
Related
I've created a web application using asp.net. I customized it form mobile(jQuery Mobile) .
I created an iphone application that has a web view that shows the website.
Is this will be applied by Apple to publish this application???
Regards,
Moayyad
If the only purpose of the app is showing the webview with the website, and it does absolutely nothing else, then it will most likely be rejected. However, if showing the website is just a small part of its functionality, and it does some other useful things as well, then using a webview for displaying your own website is OK, as far as I know.
Note, however, that I/we can only make assumptions and guesses. Nobody except Apple knows what exactly will happen to your app - there are numerous cases when an app was rejected for a feature which another approved app had, so there are inconsistencies in the AppStore approval policy of Apple. Don't expect anything.
I don't think so. They prefer use of HTML5 in webapp. Try to review the Apple guidelines for building web app.
I have an application using JQtouch and would like it to be on the App Store.
Will my application get rejected from the App Store if all the functionality is done remotely (loading in UIWebView) and I provide no offline functionality?
Thanks.
From the Apple App Approval Guidelines:
12.3: Apps that are simply web clippings, content aggregators, or a collection of links, may be rejected.
Basically if your app does not add anything to the experience of viewing the website, then you may get rejected.
I have had apps approved in the app store that were just a web view pointed on a JQTouch application. However, I loaded the .html from a local file included in the app. I believe the no "web clippings" clause of section 12.3 in the App Approval guidelines is only meant for clippings of full web sites. Embedding a mobile web application in a local app will likely get accepted.
I don't think this should be a problem. Apple reviewers are probably the most fickle people on the planet, but I can think of several apps that are UIWebView based, and which provide little or no offline functionality.
I'm currently developing an iPhone version of existing Android application.
Customer wants to provide his web services via mobile apps. On Android this is made in a modular way: user installs main app, and then he can download additional modules to it if needed. That way he can install only modules that he needs.
Is there a way to achieve same functionality on iPhone? I read about In-App Purchasing, but I don't know if it will work because additional functionality will not be built-in and unlocked - it needs to be downloaded and added to my app as a new module - so user's space would not be wasted with unneeded modules.
Thank you!
2.7 Apps that download code in any way or form will be rejected
From App Store Review Guidelines
Judging by the question, this is not a world-facing app - it has a specific customer. With Terente's answer in mind, do consider side-loading, AKA in-house distribution. That is - bypass the app store. The prohibition on the downloadable code is an App Store policy, not a limitation of the platform.
The enterprise contract with Apple is $300/year instead of regular $100/year. But you get to install your app on as many devices as you wish, completely bypassing the App Store. Either over the air (by browsing from the phone) or via iTunes.
Under this model, your app can download, store and run custom code all you want. The specifics of the plug-in model are up for you and your customer.
EDIT: so app store is a must. How about this: have a WebView in the project, have it download HTML pages with JavaScript in them, have code hooks for JavaScript to call. To the best of my knowledge, AppStore does not reject apps that display Web pages from the Net, and if the Web page happens to have a script, there's no prohibition on executing that script.
This violates the spirit of the rule while relying on letter and precedent. Technically speaking, JavaScript IS code. And again, technically speaking, WebView is capable of downloading and running it. And App Store is choke full of apps with WebView in them.
How will this fly with your customers, who knows.
I'm about to begin development of an iPhone app. The app itself is fairly basic, and I want a speedy turnaround time.
I'm a web developer myself, specialising in traditional web technologies such as PHP/MySQL; I have no experience in Objective-C.
My plan was to create a very basic iPhone app that is just a Safari service that passes some basic variables to a URL. That URL is the app built in PHP and housed on my servers, this way I can create the app very quickly without needing to outsource anything.
My question is whether apps of this nature would be accepted into the iTunes store, or would they be out-right rejected? Anyone's experiences or comments are very welcome.
Thanks
It could go either way, but mind bullet 12.3 from the App Store Review Guidelines:
12.3 Apps that are simply web clippings, content aggregators, or a collection of links, may be rejected
In my opinion, a simple UIWebView wrapper around your web site comes close to the definition of a simple web clipping. Your approval may very well hinge on your luck in drawing a sympathetic reviewer.
It really depends upon your application...These kinds of application have been approved in the past but again I am saying that it depends on many factors.
Try to test your app in every possible manner and also keep in mind the memory issues.
Best of luck!!!
Should be fine - its called a web app and there is software out there that will do just this for you.
All you need to do is to make a UIWebView and put your web app into it.
Also look at http://jqtouch.com. That gives you some idea of what you can do web-side. :)
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Yes, it will be accepted as long as you stick with HTML, CSS, JS and Obj-C on the client side. You still need to wrap it in an iPhone app. In my experience, the best way to this is to use http://www.phonegap.com/ or a similar framework.
You'll have the option of deploying you app through iTunes or as a regular web app (you users will be able to create a link to your web app right on their springboards)
It SHOULD be accepted, granted you test test test and make it look just like a native application. Also you'll have to make sure that your server is never down, or if the application can't reach it just display an error message. You also have to keep in mind that there are a lot of iPod Touch users, and they don't have access to the internet all the time. Which means that chances are you'll get a BUNCH of 1 star reviews
I'm working on an eBook app for the iPhone. Given the time it takes for Apple to review and publish updates, I'm considering adding a feature to update the content via my own (Google App Engine-powered) web site.
This would allow me to update the content at will, rather than being at the mercy of the App Store review team. Is Apple likely to reject this kind of behavior in an app? I've asked in the Apple Developer forums, but received no response.
We have developed an application on the App Store that will go our web server and get new content when new content is available and store it on the iPhone. You should not have any problem as long as the content is not offensive. This could lead to your application being removed from the app Store. I've also heard that they may make your app 17+ because of getting content from the web.
You probably received no response because no one knows for sure. Apple has allowed apps that embed webkit before, but it has also rejected them as well.
iphone + web hybrid apps perfectly ok i think, not sure why apple would be concerned.