hello,
i have a qestion. can i make an apps for iphone on windows, or i need to have a mac?
i found for example unity game engine, which has iphone export. is it really possible to make a game and sell it on app store without using mac or iphone? or it is suicidal 🙂
thanks for any informations
You can develop on windows using unity/shiva etc. However, to create the proper signed package you will need OS X. I have seen people just running OS X through VMWare on PC hardware.
For a package to be sold in the AppStore, it must be signed by the Apple-issued developer's key. You could probably work out how to sign the package, provided that you have your key, outside of Xcode, but Xcode integrates the package signing procedure with the project.
In order to sell a native iOS through the App Store, you have to be a registered Apple developer. When you complete the registration process, you will have access to the iOS provisioning portal -- a web site where you can obtain certificates or "keys" that you can use for digitally "signing" your applications. These are the same sort of certificates that are used by websites to authenticate their identity, or in secure e-mail or document management systems. Digitally signing applications provides three functions: it identifies an application as one developed by a registered developer, it identifies who that developer is, and it permits the target platform to determine if the application that was received matches the one that was signed. Modify the application, and the signature becomes invalid (very important for apps that make use of secure remote services).
Most platforms have some sort of application signing requirement. Android uses the signatures to negotiate inter-application resource sharing and if an app doesn't validate against it's signature, it won't run. Windows Mobile and RIM Blackberry have similar things (I think RIM is very similar to Apple).
The App Store will only accept properly signed apps, and the iPhone will only run properly signed apps unless it's been jail-broken (which is simple enough, but most people don't do). Jail-broken phones can download apps form anywhere, and most of the security features are disabled (for better or for worse).
Xcode is Apple's development environment for iOS and OS X. It is free for users of OS X and there is no version for non-OS X platforms. It includes several compilers, iPhone and iPad simulation software, debuggers, instrumentation and performance testing tools, etc. It has a relatively steep learning curve, but once mastered it is very efficient for development.
You can write games for iPhone using Unity, however Unity does require both OS X (10.5.4 or later) and Xcode (with the iPhone SDK) in order for you to use the iPhone publishing support.
There is one platform that permits you to develop iPhone (and other mobile platform) apps directly on Windows: [AirPlay SDK|http://www.airplaysdk.com/overview.php]. It's $99 per person per year (not including the $90 iOS developer cost) if you earn less than $100,000, otherwise it's $2500/person per year. You're stuck using C++, and you don't have all the iOS APIs available or the breadth of optimization tools, BUT if you can deal with that, then you have a platform that not only can you use from Windows but also target multiple mobile platforms.
On the other hand, you can get a refurb Mac Mini for $580 from apple.com, so you might consider going native if you are serious about it.
