Can I develop iOS games on Ubuntu?

Can I develop for iOS on Ubuntu?

I was told that since it was Unix based, that I could develop for iOS on Linux. But can I also upload iOS games to the Apple's App Store on Linux?

Solution 1:

You can upload compiled programs to Apple from an Ubuntu machine without any issues, since (I'm pretty sure) that the process takes place via a browser.

Since iOS uses Objective-C, you can always "code" the app (write it using gedit or Geany, or anything else) on Ubuntu, but you won't be able to compile it into an .ipa file.

However, in order to compile and test it, you will require Apple's SDK, which is only available on Mac OS X. - So, not possible.

There are always alternative ways to program iOS apps however. One way is that you purchase a retail Mac OS X DVD, and set up a VirtualBox Machine (or VMWare, if you want). Then, download the SDK from the apple website. Another way would be is to use "on-line" app makers, such as Tiggzi (My personal favourite, since it has a lot of options for compiling and such). On-line app makers use HTML and JavaScript for the design and functions, then compile it using PhoneGap.So, there's no need for Objective-C.

So, long story short, No, you can't make iOS apps on Ubuntu, however you may write them, but you won't be able to compile them into .ipa files. You can always submit iOS apps to Apple from any Ubuntu machine, since it is done by a browser. There are alternative ways to make them on Ubuntu - such as Virtual Machines and on-line app creators.