I'm looking for executing a .xib (with its own controllers and libraries) precompiled on a server, downloading it on runtime.
Is it possible?
Thanks!
EDIT:
So could somebody give me an example of a program that uses NSBundle that executes other app?
And how do I create the bundled application?
I don't think you can import a xib into the application's bundle at run-time (which you would have to in order for this to happen). Others may know more and correct me!
I can think of a couple of ways you could try to do this, but are you aiming to get it in to the store?
This is expressly prohibited by Apple Developer Guidelines.
A .xib file is just a data file, so there shouldn't be any problem loading one that's outside your app's bundle. I can't say I've ever tried it, but as long as it's in a bundle, you should be able to:
Create an instance of NSBundle using the path to the bundle containing the .xib you want to load. See +[NSBundle bundleWithPath:] for that.
Load the .xib using the bundle you created in the previous step with any of the normal .xib-loading methods, such as -[UIViewController initWithNibNamed:bundle:] or +[UINib nibWithNibName:bundle:].
with it's own controllers and libraries
That part won't work. iOS doesn't allow dynamic linking to frameworks other than the ones provided by the system, so there's no way to load your code. If you can build all the code you need into your app, though, you should still be able to use downloaded .xib's as described above. That would let you do things like update the way your views are laid out or what targets and actions your controls are connected to.
Related
So I created a simple project, which I can test as an iPhone app. Now I'd like to make a slight variation of it, with an iAd. I was able to duplicate the target and test to the iPhone, by managing schemes (http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/ToolsLanguages/Conceptual/Xcode4UserGuide/Building/Building.html).
The issue is that no matter what scheme I test, I overwrite the other app. I'd like to be able to have two apps
AppName
AppName (Free)
living at the same time on my phone.
I want to avoid duplicating source files, because only the storyboard and the view controller are different, they both use the same images and model otherwise.
Any help is welcome!
Have you tried changing the bundle identifier in the new target you just created? So your full version would have bundle identifier: "com.yourcompany.AppName" and your lite version will have a bundle identifier of: "com.youcompany.AppNameLite"
I'm not currently on my Mac partition so sorry if I'm a bit off.
I would add a new configuration for your app. Call it something like "Release Free". Add a gcc preprocessor symbol "FREE" to this configuration.
Then everywhere you initialize and instantiate your iads put the code within some "#if" statements.
Something like this.
#if FREE
// Init iAds
#endif
I think that looking at others' code is a good way to learn. I'm trying to learn iOS programming like this, but one thing that's confusing is when I look at a new project there's always a bunch of view controllers, and I don't know which one loads first.
Is there an entry in the plist file which says which view controller gets loaded first? How do you go about picking apart someone else's code in an Xcode project?
In the project there's a space called Main Interface / Main Storyboard that looks like this:
Target > General > Deployment Info > Main Interface:
But if they set it in code, then use ⇧+⌘+F on the project and search for 'rootViewController'.
I'm trying to convert a project, which has images, into a static library.
The code that gets the image is as follows:
[UIImage imageNamed:#"foo.png"]
When I include this library into another project, the image doesn't load. However, if I copy the images into the new project, then it does load.
Is there any way I can get this to work where the images are only contained in the library and I don't have to copy them over to my project?
By the way, my Header Search Paths contains the path to where these images are located in the library, if that makes any difference.
Just prepend the name of the bundle that contains your image to the image name:
[UIImage imageNamed:#"Myframework.bundle/MyImage"
This also works in Interface Builder, the preview may be broken but the image will be properly loaded.
If using CocoaPods (which I would recommend) make sure to use the resource_bundles option for your images and Nibs.
You can see a related answer here.
A static library cannot contain bundle resource. So simply linking the .a file will not be enough. But you should be able to cross-reference the static library xcodeproj. Example
Had a similar situation to this and wrote a script to copy the files in to the .app at compile time. A similar fix to the one we use is described in the "Non-code assets for static libraries" section on this web page. This works but can cause some code signing errors. Another option is to create a second .bundle target for the resources described on this web page although for some reason I could not get the bundle to actually build. I am currently looking at writing a script to copy the resources in to a bundle at compile time and compile any .xib files to .nibs, this is also a possible solution you could look at.
I'm having some trouble working with libraries and included xib files. Let me explain my situation first. I've got a project that's running pretty good. Now I need a part of my project as a library for another customer who want's to use some of the functionality in his app. I've created a library with help of that highly recommended article.
My customer should be able to initialize a main view controller like this:
LibraryMainViewController *lmvc = [[LibraryMainViewController alloc] initWithNibName:#"LibraryMainViewController.xib" bundle:foo];
That for sure leads to an error when I try to present that view controller modally. I'm not sure what bundle I have to use here. I tried something like
[NSBundle bundleForClass:[SomeClassInTheLibrary class]];
but that didn't solve the problem.
I would be glad if someone could tell me how to actually use a xib file in that kind of situation.
Thanks
–f
Update
Ok, I see I got it wrong somehow. Just for clarification: What I need is the library, the headers and the additional resources, right? Is there some kind of best practice for creating and shipping "a feature" with all it's parts above mentioned?
Static libraries can't include graphics, sounds, xibs or even headers. Only object code. Even if you added the xibs to Copy Bundle Resources, they won't become a part of the object file. Unfortunately, you can't use dynamic libraries or frameworks on the iPhone. See my answer here for a suggestion of how to create a separate assets bundle. You could also just send your customer the xib files separately, but then they have to replace them by hand if they change in the future.
Try without adding the extension to the XIB file. That's the way i usually do it. I'm also not sure if the XIB must be compiled to a NIB..
NSBundle *bundle = [NSBundle bundleForClass:[SomeClassInTheLibrary class]];
LibraryMainViewController *lmvc = [[LibraryMainViewController alloc] initWithNibName:#"LibraryMainViewController" bundle:bundle];
I'm trying to create an NSService in a Bundle project. I need to add a main and other bits of code to the actual cocoa bundle created for me by xcode.
Is this as simple as just adding an object-c class via the xcode wizard, then adding my main function to that? or is there some other magic way or other steps involved?.
Many thanks.
You can add code by simply adding source files.
A bundle normally does not have a main function since it is loaded from another executable.
thanks Nikolia - after adding the code, i also had to change the bundle type to Executable, which also allowed me to change the extension from .bundle to .service.
Now all I need to do is work out how to stop the service!