#996 closed defect (cannot reproduce)

make it easier to build the iPhone client for a jailbroken iPhone using open-source toolchain

Reported by: davidsarah Owned by: somebody
Priority: major Milestone: eventually
Component: packaging Version: 1.6.0
Keywords: iphone install Cc:
Launchpad Bug:

Description (last modified by exarkun)

Marco Bonetti's report of building the iPhone client with open-source tools:

Right now I'm focused on the iPhone client: it's extremely cool to have one, unfortunately (unless I'm missing something really obvious) looks like you're distributing it as Xcode source only.

This is somehow limiting for the distribution of the program: if I'd want to run it on my phone I'd have to build it on a Mac and spend something like $99 yearly to be able to install the binaries on a provisioned phone. So I tried to build it using the open source toolchain on Linux for jailbroken iPhones and... well, let's just say I can build it ;-)

I come up with the attached Makefile but I have very limited code and makefiles writing skills, if someone will help me with the code building process we can probably adapt the Xcode project to be built with open toolchains too.

Usage is not immediate: once you have a working open toolchain, darcs get the sources, then you have to copy the Makefile and the small bash script launcher in the AllMyData? folder. At this point a "make bundle" will start the building process, with lots of problems so far:

  • looks like my toolchain doesn't like C99 style definitions in the for loops, it's just a matter of moving the "int i = 0;" out of the loop. Really annoying though and, probably, a problem on my side as it's supposed to be supported in the official toolchain
  • I get a LOTS of warning about methods which couldn't be recognized, this is usually a problem which arise when you're not correctly including all the needed headers and framework, I read the project plist fle to get them, but I'm probably missing something
  • I'm copying *.png and *.xib inside the main application folder but I should probably create a subfolder, who knows? :D
  • you've to link (or move) main.m inside Classes/, this is all for my suckiness at writing Makefiles
  • it would be nice to have binaries and bundle built in build/ and not in the sources root, same reason as above ;-)

So, what are the results? Well, I can build the application somehow and I can deploy it on jailbroken phone but, upon start, I can only see the phone background. I think that the binary either fails to load needed xibs (misplaced?) or the functions used are not the right one (the warnings generated during compilation).

By the way, another option for providing binaries should be that of building the application bundle with Xcode, signing the binary with ldid and zipping everything up. But I don't know if this will get the iphone client developer in troubles with Apple and their sdk agreement.

Attachments (1)

Makefile (1.7 KB) - added by sid77 at 2010-03-13T15:17:45Z.

Download all attachments as: .zip

Change History (3)

Changed at 2010-03-13T15:17:45Z by sid77

comment:1 Changed at 2010-03-13T15:18:24Z by sid77

Attached Makefile with C99 fix and no more need to link main.m into Classes/

comment:2 Changed at 2020-01-16T20:00:11Z by exarkun

  • Description modified (diff)
  • Resolution set to cannot reproduce
  • Status changed from new to closed

It is very cool to learn that there was a Tahoe-LAFS iPhone app. Unfortunately, "was" appears to be the operative word. I cannot find this on the internet.

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