51–60 of 69 posts
And this is why we can't have nice things. Someone is going to submit a React Native app to the App Store, use this bullshit to bypass the update review, and either use it to steal information of a user, or post dick pics all over the app.
The PhoneGap app (and probably many others) has been pushing JS code without the need of Apple's approval for a long time now, and Apple hasn't had any problem with it. If this is not abused, to do things against the ToS, it is a really nice thing to have.
We later found out that Apple thought PhoneGap was our own custom version of webkit which is what actually concerned them more. Once they came to learn more about the implementation detail on how PhoneGap works it started to become accepted but this was a very long process.
To clarify, 1) Apple hasn't always approved apps packaged with PhoneGap. 2) PhoneGap hasn't always taken this approach (although this was the initial design).
This sounds great!
AppHub co-founder here, we realize that this is something that would seem to be prohibited by Apple, but updating JavaScript code is explicitly permitted by the iOS Developer Agreement [1]. This same technology is used by Meteor [2], Trigger.io [3], and Adobe Hydration [4], and also used by Facebook and Palantir [5] in their apps. [1] https://developer.apple.com/programs/ios/information/iOS_Pro... [2] http://info.met…
Apple aside, doing this kind of thing silently sucks for users -- one of the benefits of native applications over the web is having control over when updates containing potential regressions are inserted into your workflow.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This: "Stop waiting weeks for Apple to review your app. Just add our iOS framework and start pushing updates." says otherwise.
The key verbiage is "release" vs "updates." You still have to go through the initial App Store Release process initially. After that, using this framework you can push updates directly, rather than waiting the requisite 5 business days[1]. As an app developer, being able to push updates (read: bug fixes) immediately is a blessing--we live and die by our reviews, and a bad update can cause an avalanche of negative rev…
The problem with this is not if Apple will allow it or not, but the uncertainty, which is deadly for a platform. No developer who take themselves seriously will want to depend on a platform that may go away. Good for you if Apple lets you get away with it, but that doesn't mean it will be like that forever, nor does it mean all apps using this approach will be accepted. It's case by case, and it's already shitty as i…
A developer who chooses to use AppHub is not depending on the platform. If AppHub goes away (which we hope will never happen!), our iOS SDK defaults to using the App Store build. Moreover, developers can implement their own "AppHub server" if they so choose, so they're not locked in to using our service.
We're excited to open source the iOS SDK when we launch to the public so that developers can audit the code and assure themselves that they're not depending on our platform.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yep, "feature flipping" can lead to app rejections and getting booted from the store. * If the AppHub founders think this is a real danger, then you'd expect bold and strenuous documentation. * But, I wonder if the AppHub authors believe that people should ignore this rule, because practically speaking it's hard to get caught. They wouldn't say so, of course, because encouraging people to break Apple ToS is illegal.
Is it illegal? I would expect it to maybe break the ToS or something contract related, not be criminal.
This is the great idea! And it works for many. It's easy, though, to get an inconsistent state of the app, where JS bundle would be newer than ObjC part. You should be super careful while npm-installing libs, including react-native itself since most of them consist source code that should be compiled. Maybe it wouldn't be a problem when react-native and most major third-party libraries will be stable
> Celebrate! This is the last time you'll have to wait for Apple review. This is the great idea! And it works for many. It's easy, though, to get an inconsistent state of the app, where JS bundle would be newer than ObjC part. You should be super careful while npm-installing libs, including react-native itself since most of them consist source code that should be compiled. Maybe it wouldn't be a problem when react-na…
I'd love to have you try it out - ping me at (matt at apphub.io).