Building IPhone apps without A MAC?

14 replies
Hi everyone!

I'd 19, and I'd like to start programming apps in XCode but I don't have a mac.
I have a programming background and can learn alone.

I wanted to ask if there are any ways around this, I've tried installing mac os with virtualbox but it didn't work well, and I don't want to spend so much money on buying a mac...

Do you guys know of any sites or ways in which you can program in objective c to build apps (Even without uploading them, just for practice) with an online simulator?

So, in short, do you know of a work around this problem or I'm screwed? haha

Thanks in advance!

Dvir
#apps #building #iphone #mac
  • Profile picture of the author octopus
    I'm not an expert in IOS development. We do some of those where I work but I never work on one except to see how it works for fun.

    I think you'll need a mac at least to deploy your application on the app store.

    I know you can develop your application with tools like phone gap. With this, you can code your app and "create" an app for android, iphone, automagically. But the result won't be as native as with XCode...

    Good luck
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  • Profile picture of the author annaharris
    There is no Tool or Development environment available to develop iOS and Mac Application. You must have Mac OS and Mac machine to develop them.
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  • Profile picture of the author ilee
    I was in the exact same position as you when I was 19... couldn't afford a mac and there's literally no alternatives on windows. I ended up building a cheap ass hackintosh, but even then, to program for newer devices you need an up to date ish version of xcode which only runs on an up to date ish flavour of OSX.

    In the end, it just isn't worth trying to find a work around. Either save up for a mac mini, or make android apps instead.
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    • Profile picture of the author Brandon Tanner
      Are you dead set on using XCode / objective C for any particular reason? The reason I ask is because there's not a lot you can't do with some of the HTML5/jQuery based frameworks these days (jQuery Mobile, Phone Gap, Sencha, etc). Plus they're cross-browser, so if you go that route, you'll be able to reach a much larger audience.
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  • Profile picture of the author rlqualls
    Since no one is providing a helpful answer, I made an account to do so:

    Xamarin - Build cross-platform iOS, Android, Mac and Windows apps with C# and .NET - IDE that will let you make ios/android apps using C# in windows or osx. Free for educational use. It's not objective C, but from what little objective C I have looked at, I think that might be a good thing.

    Xamarin 2.0 reviewed: iOS development comes to Visual Studio | Ars Technica

    Phonegap has been mentioned, but there is also appcelerator: Titanium SDK | Mobile App Development | Appcelerator Inc.

    EDIT: If you just want to LEARN objective C without a mac, codeschool.com has a simulator via some mac servers: http://www.codeschool.com/paths/ios

    If you want to rent a server like codeschool does, there is something like: http://www.macincloud.com/
    According to the website, you can "Develop Apps on Your PC or Older Mac!"

    To be honest, if you take objective c / xcode out of your requirements, it frees you up from having to rent a server or pursue iffy solutions like VMing. Or spend money. Also, if you do end up renting a server or otherwise acquiring a mac, there is http://www.rubymotion.com/ which allows you to write native applications in ruby instead of objective c, which is definitely what I would do instead of investing so much time in objective c.
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    • Profile picture of the author dvir0776
      Wow, such a packed message with great info! Now I have to develop apps, with all those possibilities you provided me with, thank you and to everyone who answer me, warrior forum rocks! haha

      P.S WAIT you signed up just to answer me?! O-M-G lol that's very kind of you! Now I feel like I owe you 10 bucks for signing up dammit!

      I'll tell you what, I'll add a notification to update you 30 days from now on my progress with app development, Kappish?

      Dvir
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  • Profile picture of the author EdFarias
    You could also use software like Construct 2 and build your app/game in HTML5. Deploy it as HTML5 or wrap it with CocoonJS or Appmobi. They have have the ability to export to Blackberry 10, Windows Exe, Tizen, Chrome store, and more.

    Construct is extremely easy to use. I currently have 4 games on the droid and ios stores.
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  • Profile picture of the author georgejr
    You can't build an app for iphone without a mac, but with titanium you can create a js/html based app for android and titanium can build that code into iphone as well, just ask your buddy to borrow his mac until the build. (Titanium will need btw the Xcode installed on the mac)
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  • Profile picture of the author timlane
    Get a secondhand macmini (intel processor). Use that. Or, use an online app building service like phonegap build or Seattle Cloud.
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  • Profile picture of the author bob770
    There are many solutions as some suggested buy a second hand Mac, still this will charge you high. The other options are you can run an windows platform application to develop iOS apps, like Flash CS5.5, Airplay SDK, Unity 3D etc. Try any of those, and they are free to use.
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    iPhone app development India
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  • Profile picture of the author samuelallister
    If you would like to save a lot of money from buying a Mac, take my advice.

    First you need a considerably strong computer, something with about 8 GB of RAM and an intel i7 processor. The reason why I mention intel i7 is because I believe that intel i7 support VT (Virtualization Technology).

    With that stated, you can essentially, you guessed it, virtualize Mac OS X to run on your computer. You don't have to reformat your computer in anyway or repartition it.

    Virtualization will also save up a tremendous amount of space as it will create a file which is a virtual hard drive for your Mac OS X system and has a large compression rate. So a 250 GB hard drive filled up with about 50 GB worth of data may be around only 7 GB on your actual computer (host computer).

    Second, you need a fully licensed copy of VMWare. Google it and discover what options you have. VMWare is by far my favorite virtualization technology program. It's so professional and well coded. VMware is worth every penny.

    Lastly, you need a fully licensed copy of Mac OS X of your desired version, like Snow Leopard or Mountain Lion. Get the DVD and you can have VMware install a new virtual machine, insert the DVD in your computer, and it installs it!

    And here is where the VT Technology kicks in from your processor.
    VT Technology in a nutshell, lets you effectively use the most of your i7 Quad core processor and RAM in your virtual machine, so performance is never sacrificed. The only component that is not utilized on your host machine is your graphics card. There might be some ways to utilize it but I don't think it will serve much purpose for your designated task, which is iOS development.

    Reply/PM if you have any questions, hope I've helped!
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  • Profile picture of the author dvir0776
    Hi,
    Thanks for the very detailed answers!
    Unfortunately it's no longer relevant, at least not for me.

    Dvir
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  • Profile picture of the author webzie
    The iOS SDK is only available with Xcode, which is only available to use on a Mac. So while you can certainly compile Objective-C with gcc on other platforms, you won't be able to compile and link code that uses any iOS SDK APIs on anything but a Mac.
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  • Profile picture of the author Monika Verma
    Originally Posted by dvir0776 View Post

    Hi everyone!

    I'd 19, and I'd like to start programming apps in XCode but I don't have a mac.
    I have a programming background and can learn alone.

    I wanted to ask if there are any ways around this, I've tried installing mac os with virtualbox but it didn't work well, and I don't want to spend so much money on buying a mac...

    Do you guys know of any sites or ways in which you can program in objective c to build apps (Even without uploading them, just for practice) with an online simulator?

    So, in short, do you know of a work around this problem or I'm screwed? haha

    Thanks in advance!

    Dvir
    You can develop iPhone apps with cross platform tools and technologies like using PhoneGap, Appcelerator Titanium, Adobe Air without having a mac system.
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