What programming languages can one use to develop iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad (iOS) applications?
Also are there plans in the future to expand the amount of programming languages that iOS will support?
Apple lifted the restrictions on non-Objective C/C/C++ apps -- you just can't load code that isn't in the app bundle.
MonoTouch lets you use .NET languages -- C# is directly supported, but if you have Windows, you can make assemblies in any .NET language and use it.
There are rumors that Apple is going to support other languages directly -- I keep hearing ruby, but they are just rumors.
I think Lua is being used for game logic on a lot of apps.
EDIT (in 2018): Generally you can use any language that you can get to compile for iOS or even install language interpreters. The main thing you cannot do is load code from the Internet that wasn't in the app bundle.
People do this all of the time anyway (see React Native apps loading JavaScript from servers), but, technically, it's not allowed. The main thing that will get you attention from Apple if you make some kind of App Store that loads whole App-like things.
EDIT (in 2020): from #Pylot in comments: I know this is a long time ago, but now at least technically you can load code that isn’t embedded in the app, as you can write with JavaScript using the webview. Not staying your answer is wrong or anything, I definitely agree with you. but I was looking for something and found this post on the way. Figured if anyone sees this it might help them out.
The SDK agreement and App store guidelines have been changed (circa Sept 2010).
You can now probably use any compiled language that will compile to the same static ARM object file format as Xcode produces and that will link to (only) the public API's within Apple's frameworks and libraries. However, you can not use a JIT compiled language unless you pre-compile all object code before submission to Apple for review.
You can use any interpreted language, as long as you embed the interpreter, and do not allow the interpreter or the app to download and run any interpretable code other than code built into the app bundle before submission to Apple for review, or source code typed-in by the user.
Objective C and C will likely still be the most optimal programming language for anything requiring high performance and the latest API support (* see update below), as those are the languages for which Apple targets its iOS frameworks and tunes its ARM processor chipsets. Apple also supports the use of Javascript/HTML5 inside a UIWebView. Those are the only languages for which Apple has announced support. Anything else you will have to find support elsewhere.
But, if you really want, there are at least a half dozen BASIC interpreters now available in the iOS App store, so even "Stone Age" programming methodology is now allowed.
Added: (*) As of late 2014, one can also develop apps using Apple's new Swift programming language. As of early 2015, submitted binaries must include 64-bit (arm64) support.
With plans to slowly retire the long-used Objective-C, Apple has introduced a new programming language, called Swift, for designing apps and applications to run on Apple iOS devices and Apple Macintosh computers.
Apple says:
"Swift is a new programming language for iOS and OS X apps that builds on the best of C and Objective-C, without the constraints of C compatibility. Swift adopts safe programming patterns and adds modern features to make programming easier, more flexible, and more fun. Swift’s clean slate, backed by the mature and much-loved Cocoa and Cocoa Touch frameworks, is an opportunity to reimagine how software development works."
Introducing swift
What programming languages can one use to develop iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad (iOs) applications?
Ruby, Python, Lua, Scheme, Lisp, Smalltalk, C#, Haskell, ActionScript, JavaScript, Objective-C, C++, C. That's just the ones that pop into my head right now. I'm sure there's hundreds if not thousands of others. (E.g. there's no reason why you couldn't use any .NET language with MonoTouch, i.e. VB.NET, F#, Nemerle, Boo, Cobra, ...)
Also are there plans in the future to expand the amount of programming languages that iOs will support?
Sure. Pretty much every programming language community on this planet is currently working on getting their language to run on iOS.
Also, a lot of people are working on programming languages specifically designed for touch devices such as iPod touch, iPhone and iPad, e.g. Phil Mercurio's Thyrd language.
The programming language of iOS(and Mac OS) is Objective-C and C. You have to use Xcode platform to develop iOS apps, on the next version that is now available on beta release, Xcode 4 supports also C++.
It is also now possible to use OCaml for developing iOS applications. It is not part of the standard distribution and requires modifications provided by the Psellos company. See here for more information: http://psellos.com/ocaml/.
This might be an old thread, but I'd like to mention Appcelerator Titanium, which allows anyone versed in HTML5/JavaScript/CSS to develop iOS applications.
Only Objective-C is allowed by now... but since a few months ago you are allowed to write scripts that will be interpreted in your application.
So you may be able to write a LUA interpreter or a Python interpreter, then write some part of your application in this scripting language. If you want your application accepted on the App Store, these scripts have to be bundled with the application (your application cannot download it from the Internet for example)
see new app store rules
objective-c is the primary language used.
i believe there is a mono touch framework that can be used with c#
Adobe also is working in some tools, one is this iPhone Packager which can utilize actionscript code
You can use "smart BASIC" programming language. It is a genuine but very advanced BASIC language with all its power and simplicity. Using its free SDK, BASIC code can be easily published as a standalone App Store application. There are many apps in App Store, written in "smart BASIC" programming language.
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Technology to write iPhone, BlackBerry and Android phone at the same time?
Edit - guys, we need one more vote to close this. This question is a dup (read the comments)
I've heard that Apple banned such tools. Ok, so Apple lifted their ban in September. Still, the question holds - is there a sane way to develop apps to these two platforms without writing nearly everything twice?
Is there something I'm missing, or is the current state of affairs really that every company that develops a cross-platform legally has to maintain two code bases?
Apple reversed their ban in early September after receiving some pressure from the FTC and EU. However, unless you plan on using a third-party tool such as Adobe Flash Pro CS5 (I believe you can create AIR apps that will run on Android this way, as well as the much publicized iOS functionality), you'll have to maintain two codebases anyway, as Android apps are written in Java and iOS apps in Objective-C, two vastly differently languages with vastly different APIs.
You can always use standard HTML5 technologies to make a pure web app. Apple has two tracks for apps: native apps through the App Store written in Objective-C, or web apps that have only the restrictions of the underlying HTML5 technologies.
If you don't like pure web apps you can even merge the two and make a custom app that displays heavily customized web-like content in an embedded browser view (UIWebKit on iOS). Android and iOS web browsers frameworks are from WebKit and very close in features/appearance/conformance.
Instead of starting from a viewpoint of "I can't do X on Apple's closed iOS" start with "Can I do this in any supported application technology, even if its web-based or a web app hybrid, available across all platforms?"
I've done some research on this recently and have found a few companies that can to do this for you.
Appcelerator Titanium Mobile. They make a product that allows you to write your code in Javascript. I've found that the business logic, like networking, files, etc are write once, but the UI has quite a bit of if(android) else \iphone logic to get right. Apps will look native.
FeedHenry. They are more of a HTML based solution, but have a broader support of devices. More than just iphone and android. The sdk is still pretty early, and work can only be done in their special ide that is web based.
Phonegap. A javascript/css/html based framework that targets the iPhone, Android, and the Blackberry.
There are plusses and minuses to all of the solutions. Depending on your app's complexity, it may be a good decision to pick a platform like those to develop on. Coding an app could be much faster if the features they support are right for your app. Right now, it seems that they are all in early release phases and don't support a full toolkit that a developer would be used to, like a debugger, full IDE support, etc. Also, many of them build to a lowest common feature set, so you may not get all of the new release features as they come out, you would have to wait for a particular version of the platform to be released in order to have them.
XMLVM: Android to iPhone
XMLVM can translate your Android code to Objective-C for iPhone. But as what I know you still need a Mac to compile the iPhone application.
Android has the NDK (native dev kit) to allow C and C++ code to be included in APKGs and called from Java via the JNI. Apple's toolchain will also deal with both; the code that will be different will be the platform interface code, mostly in Java on Android and ObjC on iOS.
This is only useful when the bulk of your application is in C or C++.
An alternate would be to go with MonoTouch and the upcoming MonoDroid, if everything works out you could basically code C# on all platforms including of course Win7 Mob.
It looks promising but haven't tried it myself yet.
In September, Apple lifted some of the restrictions in the iOS license that had made it difficult to do cross-platform development. See this press release. I'm not familiar with the details of the current license, but you can get a copy through their developer program.
Another possibility that would be the Rhodes framework, if you like MVC, ORM, and Ruby.
take a look at the System.getProperty() values with android the vendor shows as The Android Project. I haven't looked at the iPhone or the IPad since I don't have one but hopefully they have something changed for their's too. But this will only work with java that I know of.
As Apple has removed the restriction for java and flash should I go for these tools or just continue developing iPhone/iPad apps using Apple tools(Xcode, objective C .. etc).
I want to know the benefits of using apple tool instead of java or flash.
Thanks
Java is not an option anyway. There is no Java runtime for the iPhone that you can use to produce apps.
This is a no brainer. For iPhone, use Apple's SDK. You'll get latest APIs first than in any other platform, better performance, and, what's even more important, you are sure that Apple will keep pushing its API. With other products (like Java, Flash or Mono) you will always fear they changing their policies when they want. No guarantees.
It really depends on what kinds of apps you are making.
If you are just making a basic app, that you want to look like the standard Apple apps, you shouldn't switch.
If you really rely on Flash as a base, you should use that.
If you have little experience with Objective-C and prefer to code in C#/.NET, you may go for MonoTouch.
It really depends on your preferations, but if you want the most stable, reliable, and supported platform, you should go with Objective-C.
In my eyes, you should really only be using anything other than the standard Objective-C if it is utterly necessary, as others have pointed out; with Apple, you get the latest API's first, better performance, etc.
For new development I would jump in and use Apple's frameworks with Objective-C. If you're entering a new country you should speak their language. However, which development framework you choose will be largely dependent on whether or not you have an existing product. If you're just trying to target a new platform with an existing code-base it may be in your best interest to use an intermediary framework like MonoTouch or Adobe's Packager for iPhone.
If your codebase is Java, you'll be starting from scratch in Objective-C. Java is not currently available in any form on iOS.
If your codebase is in ActionScript 3, you may want to explore Adobe's Packager for iPhone. It will likely have a shorter path to market if your are porting an app already developed on ActionScript 3, but you will always be at the mercy of Adobe's intermediate layers. I know less about the Adobe bindings and how your application actually compiles, so I can't speak to any additional technical-risks there.
If your codebase is in C#, you may want to look at Novell's MonoTouch. Again, this may result in a shorter time to market. You still need to develop on a Mac (MonoDevelop only works on a Mac), and some .NET APIs are not available on Mono.
In any other circumstance I'd pick up Objective-C and use Apple's SDK directly. It's always tough to learn a new language (especially one as different as Objective-C), but it's worth it in the end.
Use the tool that will make the most sense for your goals and the experience you want to provide your users. Apple's lifting of restrictions only removes one risk: that using a framework not endorsed by Apple will be the sole reason for App Store rejection. The lifting of restrictions will not remove other risks that may exist like:
Continued support by third-party vendors (Novell, Adobe) of their frameworks.
Inability to target/test against the newest version of iOS until third-party frameworks add official support.
I have made apps for iPhone, but want to also code for the Android but want to know if it is first worth my time, second worth my having to learn another language, and third worth the effort in the sense that am I going to make a profit from this. Also if in any way Android code is similar, then will it be hard to bring the iOS (Xcode) files, or copy and paste my iOS code into the Android code.
It's a most definite no. As iPhone Guy pointed out, there's a major difference in the languages both platforms require. iPhone uses Objective-C whereas the Android is based on Java (don't know if it's Mobile Edition or "regular" though). In addition, it's a completely different set of APIs. iPhone uses a modified form of Cocoa called Cocoa Touch whereas the Android makes uses of Google's SDK for it. In answer to your question, you won't be able to copy/paste your code between the languages. Your Objective-C code won't compile to Java and vice versa.
Yes -- programming on the iPhone uses Objective-C while programming for Android is in Java. Although they use similar concepts, the two languages are different.
I was a Java programmer before switching to Objective C. Personally I like Objective C better than Java, but that's just a personal opinion ;)
Hi I'm looking into iPhone development, and Objective-C is not be my preferred language. As far as I can see at this moment Ruby cannot be used to talk to Cocoa Touch at the moment on the iPhone.
So my question is, am I wrong? Can I use Ruby on the iPhone to develop Cocoa Touch applications. And what is the future looking like for Ruby on the iPhone?
Now you can with RubyMotion
In the iPhone OS, mprotect() will fail if you try to use it to mark writable sections of memory as executable. This breaks bridges like RubyCocoa (and probably MacRuby) that use libffi to create Objective-C method handlers at runtime. I believe that this is by design because it was not always the case.
Ultimately, this is more a matter of platform politics than technology, but a technical workaround for this exists. Instead of generating custom method handlers at runtime, precompile a pool of reconfigurable ones that are assigned as needed, essentially making the bridging process entirely data-driven. As far as I know, this is not yet being done in RubyCocoa or MacRuby.
Another significant thing to consider is that the compiled Ruby and RubyCocoa runtimes can be significantly larger than compiled Objective-C apps. If these libraries were available on the iPhone, this wouldn't be an issue, but for now, even if you had RubyCocoa working, you might not want to use it for apps that you distribute.
No, you are correct. Currently, and most likely for the foreseeable future, Ruby will not be an option, at least for AppStore applications. There's no reason you couldn't do this on a Jailbroken phone, but Apple is pretty wed to Objective C for official development.
You are better off as a programmer knowing a number of different languages - think of Objective-C as a good learning opportunity.
I've found that things you learn in other languages often make you a better programmer overall, and give you new insights into other languages you already know.
rhomobile is an option to run ruby code on the iPhone, but it's essentially web app development. A web server runs locally on the iPhone and your ruby code renders to standard client side web technologies (html/css/javascript).
http://rhomobile.com/
Actually, the ruby cocoa bridge isn't awkward at all; things work remarkably smoothly, right down to connecting outlets in IB etc. The resulting code is down right beautiful.
As for iPhone development, if you want an official AppStore application, you're out of luck unfortunately. Apple dictated that iPhone is Obj-C/Cocoa Touch, and there's a clause in the SDK license saying that one of the things they will reject an app for is having a language interpreter/JIT compiler, so you couldn't add a ruby interpreter in your app yourself.
Off topic, but hilariously, this is why Flash for the iPhone is Adobe blowing smoke. They couldn't get a swf player onto the AppStore even if they wanted to, per Apple's license.
Uh, Rhodes (Rhomobile) does allow you to do native apps on the iPhone and all other smartphones. Yes, we do leverage doing rendering via the WebUIView control. But we allow all device capabilities and synchronized local data.
You might want to take a look at shinycocos. It is a child project of cocos2d-iphone, an Objective-C game programming framework for iPhone.
I haven't yet played with it, but from the git README I infer that it bundles Ruby 1.9.1 into your app.
I installed the ruby package from Cydia on my iPod Touch 1G jailbroken on 3.1.3:
Seems to work.
Now as for cocoa-touch that is a whole different story I would assume.
Take a look at http://www.appcelerator.com/products/titanium-mobile/
"Native iPhone and Android apps built with Web technologies."
Sounds good isn't it ? ;-)
No you can not create iOS native app in Ruby.
There is only two options for native apps for mac and iOS:-
Objective C and Swift Programming Language
Tutorials:-
Apple's official tutorial on Objective C
Apple's official tutorial on Swift Programing Language
If you are familiar with Ruby and only want to create iOS apps by Ruby. Ruby Motion, can be a cross-platform option for you, but it is not free.
Cross-Platforms
RubyMotion
Xamarin required .net skills
appcelerator HTML,XML,CSS,JS skills required
phonegap HTML,XML,CSS,JS skills required
I imagine it won't work right now, but I'd imagine that you'll eventually be able to use MacRuby to build iphone apps. Apple are putting a lot of work into it
Here's a link to an ADC article describing how to build normal cocoa apps
You don't have to use Objective-C to write iPhone apps. If you use QuickConnectiPhone, http://sourceforge.net/projects/quickconnect/, you can write it completely in JavaScript, CSS, and HTML and still have an installable application not a web app.
If you know ruby you are probably working with JavaScript already.
To see how to install it, run it, and other ideas go to tetontech.wordpress.com
There's an open-source Ruby-Cocoa bridge you might try to get working. But I gather that there's a bit of an impedance mismatch between Ruby and ObjC that makes it a bit awkward to use.
The Ruby Cocoa bridge probably will not work. Most of the bridges for dynamic languages need to generate executable thunks (either manually or with libffi). More limited bridges (for more static languages) may not have such issues.
In either event, bringing up a bridge is probably going to require becoming more familiar with the Objective C runtime than one would just learning how to write Cocoa Touch apps, which probably defeats the point of doing it in the first place.
Currently isnt true, Apple change their policies, take a look at ShinyCocos, is a ruby bindings for the Cocos2D-iphone game framework.
https://github.com/funkaster/shinycocos
One possible solution would be to create an application wrapping for example the rice library (google it) which includes a ruby-vm. I reckon you would be able to create c++ wrappers that you could expose to ruby, thus making an environment for iphone development with ruby. This probably requires a lot of work though ^^
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Using PyObjC, you can use Python to write Cocoa applications for OS X. Can I write native iPhone apps using Python and if so, how?
You can use PyObjC on the iPhone as well, due to the excellent work by Jay Freeman (saurik). See iPhone Applications in Python.
Note that this requires a jailbroken iPhone at the moment.
Not currently, currently the only languages available to access the iPhone SDK are C/C++, Objective C and Swift.
There is no technical reason why this could not change in the future but I wouldn't hold your breath for this happening in the short term.
That said, Objective-C and Swift really are not too scary...
2016 edit
Javascript with NativeScript framework is available to use now.
It seems this is now something developers are allowed to do: the iOS Developer Agreement was changed yesterday and appears to have been ammended in a such a way as to make embedding a Python interpretter in your application legal:
SECTION 3.3.2 — INTERPRETERS
Old:
3.3.2 An Application may not itself install or launch other executable
code by any means, including without
limitation through the use of a
plug-in architecture, calling other
frameworks, other APIs or otherwise.
Unless otherwise approved by Apple in
writing, no interpreted code may be
downloaded or used in an Application
except for code that is interpreted
and run by Apple’s Documented APIs and
built-in interpreter(s).
Notwithstanding the foregoing, with
Apple’s prior written consent, an
Application may use embedded
interpreted code in a limited way if
such use is solely for providing minor
features or functionality that are
consistent with the intended and
advertised purpose of the Application.
New:
3.3.2 An Application may not download or install executable code.
Interpreted code may only be used in
an Application if all scripts, code
and interpreters are packaged in the
Application and not downloaded. The
only exception to the foregoing is
scripts and code downloaded and run by
Apple’s built-in WebKit framework.
Yes you can. You write your code in tinypy (which is restricted Python), then use tinypy to convert it to C++, and finally compile this with XCode into a native iPhone app. Phil Hassey has published a game called Elephants! using this approach. Here are more details,
http://www.philhassey.com/blog/2009/12/23/elephants-is-free-on-the-app-store/
Yes, nowadays you can develop apps for iOS in Python.
There are two frameworks that you may want to checkout: Kivy and PyMob.
Please consider the answers to this question too, as they are more up-to-date than this one.
An update to the iOS Developer Agreement means that you can use whatever you like, as long as you meet the developer guidelines. Section 3.3.1, which restricted what developers could use for iOS development, has been entirely removed.
Source: http://daringfireball.net/2010/09/app_store_guidelines
Pythonista has an Export to Xcode feature that allows you to export your Python scripts as Xcode projects that build standalone iOS apps.
https://github.com/ColdGrub1384/Pyto is also worth looking into.
The iPhone SDK agreement is also rather vague about whether you're even allowed to run scripting languages (outside of a WebView's Javascript). My reading is that it is OK - as long as none of the scripts you execute are downloaded from the network (so pre-installed and user-edited scripts seem to be OK).
IANAL etc etc.
BeeWare is an open source framework for authoring native iOS & Android apps.
2019 Update:
While Python-iOS development is relatively immature and likely will prevent (afaik) your app from having native UI and functionality that could be achieved in an Apple-supported development language, Apple now seems to allow embedding Python interpreters in Native Swift/Obj-C apps.
This supports importing Python libraries and running Python scripts (even with supplied command-line arguments) directly from your Native Swift/Obj-C code.
My company is actually wrapping our infrastructure (originally written in Python) in a native iOS application! It works very well and communication between the parts can be easily achieved via a client-server model.
Here is a nice library by Beeware with a cookiecutter template if you want to try and run Python scripts in your iOS app: https://github.com/beeware/Python-Apple-support/tree/3.6.
Technically, as long as the interpreted code ISN'T downloaded (excluding JavaScript), the app may be approved. Rhomobiles "Rhodes" framework does just that, bundling mobile Ruby, a lightweight version of Rails, and your app for distribution via the app-store. Because both the interpreter and the interpreted code are packaged into the final application - Apple doesn't find it objectionable.
http://rhomobile.com/products/rhodes/
Even after the latest apple press release - rhodes apps (mobile ruby) are still viable on the app-store. I'd find it hard to believe that tinyPy or pyObjC wouldn't find a place if there is a willing developer community.
You can do this with PyObjC, with a jailbroken phone of course. But if you want to get it into the App Store, they will not allow it because it "interprets code." However, you may be able to use Shed Skin, although I'm not aware of anyone doing this. I can't think of any good reason to do this though, as you lose dynamic typing, and might as well use ObjC.
The only significant "external" language for iPhone development that I'm aware of with semi-significant support in terms of frameworks and compatibility is MonoTouch, a C#/.NET environment for developing on the iPhone.
I think it was not possible earlier but I recently heard about PyMob, which seems interesting because the apps are written in Python and the final outputs are native source codes in various platforms (Obj-C for iOS, Java for Android etc). This is certainly quite unique. This webpage explains it in more detail.
I haven't given it a shot yet, but will take a look soon.