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iPhone App Package Contents - access?

Is there a way for a client to go through the package contents of an iPhone App I have done for them and alter it or learn how the app was made to try to find another developer to change it? Can they reverse engineer the app?

iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.7)

Posted on Aug 21, 2009 11:13 AM

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Aug 21, 2009 12:32 PM in response to voxanBoxer

No, not easily. Apps are binaries, meaning the individual items you know during development are blended into code that requires specific mining tools.

Look at it this way...if your client had the scrum to vivisect and/or reverse engineer your app, they likely wouldn't be looking to you as a resource.

But like anything else, if someone considers there is sufficient value, they will find a way to harvest- reverse engineering is healthy and alive...not much you can do if they take that much of a liking to something you've done. If you're that good, then making something else to move on and up should be trivial, tho 🙂
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Aug 22, 2009 11:16 AM in response to voxanBoxer

Any images, text files, html, xml, and other resources you include in the bundle are easy to access- so don't expect to hide any secrets there.

You can examine the bundle yourself by going to the build folder, right-clicking the bundle and choosing "show contents." It's just a folder with your resources and object files inside (not source code).

It's similar to buying a piece of furniture - with enough knowledge of furniture making you can figure out how it was built, and re-create the set of instructions used to build it. But it's not trivial.
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Aug 22, 2009 11:20 AM in response to xsmasher

You can examine the bundle yourself by going to the build folder, right-clicking the bundle and choosing "show contents." It's just a folder with your resources and object files inside (not source code).


You can examine it all you want, but If the client gets the app (a binary), not the package file/project, this isn't a problem...the binary can't be opened by 'show contents'.
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Aug 22, 2009 4:52 PM in response to K T

You can examine it all you want, but If the client gets the app (a binary), not the package file/project, this isn't a problem...the binary can't be opened by 'show contents'.


I may be misunderstanding - are we talking about the .app folder, the .ipa you get from iTunes, or the actual executable inside the bundle?

The .app file can be examined just as I instructed. The .ipa file downloaded from itunes is really a zip file of the same folder. I just opened up Tap Tap Revolution, and I see the png files, the .mp4 files, and the other resources alongside the executable.

If you're saying that decompiling the executable is more difficult, I agree. I'm just warning the OP that the client will be able to look at the resources.
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iPhone App Package Contents - access?

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