Is it possible to test my app in the iPhone Simulator w/ the 3.0 SDK. The only options that I currently have available are 3.2 (iPad) & 4.0 (iphone). I know I could buy a iPod Touch w/ 3.0 off eBay or something but I'd really like to avoid spending money if it's possible to get this working in the simulator.
http://developer.apple.com/iphone/library/documentation/xcode/conceptual/iphone_development/125-Using_iPhone_Simulator/iphone_simulator_application.html
Important: iOS 4.0 uses the same Objective-C runtime as Mac OS X v10.6. iOS 3.2 and earlier use the Mac OS X v10.5 Objective-C runtime. Because of this change, binaries generated with an iPhone SDK distribution earlier than 4.0 do not run in the simulator that’s part of the iPhone SDK 4.0 and later distributions. After moving from iPhone SDK 3.2 and earlier distributions to a 4.0 or later distribution, you must rebuild your iPhone Simulator binaries to run them in the simulator. If you use licensed static libraries in your application, you must obtain versions of them generated with an iPhone SDK 4.0 or later distribution. For more information about the Objective-C runtime, see Objective-C Runtime Reference.
One other option is to maintain an older copy of the SDK/Xcode on another Mac, and run the old SDK and Simulator there for regression testing. But testing on a older device is the only way to test that an app can actually perform reasonably on such older devices. Neither a new device nor the Simulator can do that.
Related
I want to know whether iPhone Simulator version (i.e. iPhone 5.0 Simulator, iPhone 6.0 Simulator, etc) and Base SDK are related to each other or not?
So, if I develop an App with Base SDK 6.0 and if I test it on iPhone 5 Simulator - does it mean that I am testing it on device with iOS 5.0?
Please let me know.
Base SDK
The Base SDK is the version of SDK that will be used when compiling your application – the compiler will use the headers and libraries of this specific SDK.
iPhone OS Deployment Target
To specify which OS version is the minimum that your application will support, you set the deployment target. Your application will then run on this minimum OS as well as all later versions.*
For more info check this:-
Link
The base SDK is an indicator of what APIs your compiler will allow you to use. Deployment Target determins the minimum OS version this app will be allowed to run on. If they differ you need to make sure in code that you only use functions/classes/methods/symbols that already existed on the older OS. or else the app will crash with exceptions like "unrecognized selector"
Your question is imprecise: there is no "iPhone 5 Simulator". There is a Simulator app that can behave like a 4" iPhone 5 on a variety of OS version levels. The Simulator set to iOS 5.x will behave like a device with this OS version would.
Nope. With a base SDK of 6.0 means that you are using a simulator with iOS6.0 like for example if you were to deploy an application with base SDK 6.0 on your mobile device with iOS 5.1 and below, you will not be able to run it
We are about to issue version 4.0 of our iPhone app and have had some complaints recently that previous versions are only available from iOS 4.1 plus. I know that to change this I can set my Deployment Target (In Project>Build) to iOS 3.1. However, I've run through the app on an emulator and again on my iPhone (uses iOS 4.2) but I'm not able to test on anything older as everyone here has the same iOS or 4.3. Can I safely assume that just by changing the Deployment Target and testing the app on later models that the app will run safely on later versions like 3.1.
We are familiar with the reason why people with older iPhones wont upgrade to iOS 4.0 and above, so we would like to accomodate them but not if it means the app is unsound and we have no way of testing it.
No, just because it compiles and runs on newer version of the SDK does not mean that it will work on older versions. If you're using features that are only available in iOS 4+ you'll need to check for their existence before using them; your app will crash otherwise.
There are some subtleties that you'll probably miss the first time too (or at least I did). In short, there's no real alternative to testing.
for the problem you have you need to install older versions of xcode having ios 3.0 support and you need to check whether it's working on the same or not as there are lots many changes in os 4.0 and above so it's definite that the application will not work with the ios 3.0, 3.1 available device and it will crashed.
Just install older version of SDK and test on simulator , if works then fine else you need to make code according to ios version 3.0 and ios version 4.0 in your code by differentiating the os and run the code accordingly.
Information on the subject of iOS 4.3 device support is pretty thin on the ground at the moment. However, the lack of a 4.3 beta for iPhone 3G devices (and older iPod touch devices) leads many to believe this could be the end of OS upgrades for older devices.
Even if this assumption is incorrect right now, one day it won't be. There are hardware limits that will eventually stop Apple from supporting the oldest of devices with new iOS updates.
Given that iPhone application development debugging has the requirement of both iOS SDK and iOS version being the same, how would one continue development using iOS 4.3.x SDK releases while doing device performance testing on an iPhone 3G (or older device)? Are there ways of debugging over different iOS/SDK versions? Or do we have to simply drop development support for the older devices and tell those customers who don't upgrade their hardware: "tough"?
You should have no problem running code written using the 4.3 SDK on an older phone. I'm currently doing testing using the latest beta SDK, but running the code on a iPhone 3G running 3.1.3. As long as you are careful to check for the existence of newer methods/classes, your app will continue to run on old OSs. I'm not sure where you heard that OS and SDK versions need to match to debug; that is not true.
If you're willing to forgo the latest features, you should be able to support the original iPhone as long as you like.
You have to set a deployment target with an earlier build number - you can still target 3.0. You just have to be careful about what frameworks and calls you use and check for compatibility.
Since the newer SDK's do not have simulators that support earlier IOS versions, it's important to keep around devices with older builds.
For using iPhone 3G as debugging device in Xcode 4.3 just go to Build Setting and edit
the Architectures to armv6 and armv7 both. armv6 architecture is used for older devices.
Select the Deployment target 3.0.
This will work.
I have been developing an iPhone app and now I am trying to build the binary.
I have noticed the base SDK is set to iPhone 4.0. Does this mean only iPhone 4.0 users can run the app?
I can change it to the lowest iPhone device 3.2, but how can I change the target so that I can test on the simulator in OS 3.2?
The Base SDK should be set to the latest iOS version you want to support. To also support older phones, set the “Deployment Target” build setting to the lowest iPhone OS version you want to support. Currently, I don’t believe you can set it to anything less than 3.0 and still get approved by Apple.
That's OS version, not hardware. You can adjust the deployment target and the base SDK to set up handling the differences between 3.x and 4.x APIs. A tutorial on how to do it is here:
http://iosdevelopertips.com/xcode/base-sdk-and-iphone-os-deployment-target-developing-apps-with-the-4-x-sdk-deploying-to-3-x-devices.html
There seems not to be an SDK 2.x.x for Snow Leopard. Or am I mistaken?
BTW, I'm loving the built-in Clang!! Kudos to the Xcode team!
From Apple:
Set your Base SDK to iPhone 3.0 Device.
Set your iPhone Deployment Target to 2.2.1.
Use AvailibilityMacros when you call iPhone 3.0 APIs.
There isn't an iPhone Simulator for 2.x in Snow Leopard. Set your Active SDK to iPhone 3.0 Simulator to test in the simulator; set it to 3.0 Device and set your Active Executable to 2.2.1 to test the app on a 2.2.1 device.
You can write applications targeting iPhone OS 2.x for Snow Leopard. Just make sure you are not using any iPhone OS 3.0 specific API:s.
You can also write applications that target both 2.x and uses 3.0 features if available. Two things to keep in mind if you do:
Link any iPhone OS 3.0 frameworks weakly.
Be sure to check the [UIDevice currentDevice].systemVersion before calling something 3.0-ish.
Could be a third bullet; Ask yourself if user who did not even care to upgrade to iPhone OS 3.0, is likely to care for installing apps?
I asked about this at WWDC and was told that the 2.2 SDK doesn't work with XCode 3.2. I tried just copying it over, and it didn't work. That said, I'm not sure how many iPhone customers are still running 2.2...
This is a big problem because we can't test apps for OS 2.x without a device that have OS 2.x!
http://www.fdambrosio.net/archives/1395
There's a problem with supporting iPhone OS 2.x and iPhone OS 3.x related to device or interface rotation animation:
Read my blog post here:
http://blog.jessearmand.com/post/358250047/regarding-iphone-os-compatibility-and-support-of-older