The iphone and open-source
18/07/08 12:23 |
Software
The FSF have
just gone on a bit of a rant
about how
locked-up and closed-source the iphone is, which
caused a fair amount of commentary and
meta-commentary, but the problem is that the basic
tenet of the FSF's screed is just not true. The
very first point they "make" is:
Now I have recently got my personal iphone development environment set up. I downloaded the 'accelerometer' example source as a DMG from Apple (this app graphs the accelerometer in real-time) - there's nothing special about this source code, I just wanted something a *little* more complex than 'hello world'. Any other source-code distribution would have illustrated my point just as well.
So, I went through the various certificate-signing things, and created development, distribution, and ad-hoc certificates. I compiled the code and dragged my ad-hoc certificate and the application onto itunes, then synced with my phone.
The result is that I have some-random-program (in this case the accelerometer app) whose source-code I downloaded from the internet installed and running on my iphone. I did without jailbreaking, or doing anything non-official according to Apple. I need the ad-hoc certificate at *compile-time*, which authorises my iPhone to be able to run the app, but if you're distributing open-source code, that's just fine and peachy - any recipient will want to compile it themselves anyway.
So, here's the choices if you want to code open-source stuff:
The *only* barrier to #2, #3 is the cost of the developer program, ($99) which isn't much of a barrier. If $99 is truly out of your reach, you probably ought not be fixating on luxury items like the iphone - and in any case you can still download, compile, and run the code in the simulator. This is open-source in every aspect, and my respect for the FSF has gone down as a result of their campaign. It reminds me of Greenpeace, who don't really give a damn about whether Apple *are* green, they only care funding themselves and Apple are a high-profile target name.
"iPhone completely blocks free software. Developers must pay a tax to Apple, who becomes the sole authority over what can and can't be on everyone's phones."
Now I have recently got my personal iphone development environment set up. I downloaded the 'accelerometer' example source as a DMG from Apple (this app graphs the accelerometer in real-time) - there's nothing special about this source code, I just wanted something a *little* more complex than 'hello world'. Any other source-code distribution would have illustrated my point just as well.
So, I went through the various certificate-signing things, and created development, distribution, and ad-hoc certificates. I compiled the code and dragged my ad-hoc certificate and the application onto itunes, then synced with my phone.
The result is that I have some-random-program (in this case the accelerometer app) whose source-code I downloaded from the internet installed and running on my iphone. I did without jailbreaking, or doing anything non-official according to Apple. I need the ad-hoc certificate at *compile-time*, which authorises my iPhone to be able to run the app, but if you're distributing open-source code, that's just fine and peachy - any recipient will want to compile it themselves anyway.
So, here's the choices if you want to code open-source stuff:
- Generate an ad-hoc
certificate for a set of phones (max 100) and
deliver the certificate along with the app (binary
and source). You can distribute binaries like this
for an identified set of phones.
- Distribute your source
code. Developers can compile their own version of
the app and install onto their own phone using
their own ad-hoc certificates
- Distribute the
source-code on your website as above, and the
binary via the app-store (for free).
The *only* barrier to #2, #3 is the cost of the developer program, ($99) which isn't much of a barrier. If $99 is truly out of your reach, you probably ought not be fixating on luxury items like the iphone - and in any case you can still download, compile, and run the code in the simulator. This is open-source in every aspect, and my respect for the FSF has gone down as a result of their campaign. It reminds me of Greenpeace, who don't really give a damn about whether Apple *are* green, they only care funding themselves and Apple are a high-profile target name.