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Apple licensing changes block Flash, Mono


By David Worthington


 David Worthington
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April 9, 2010 —  Apple has placed restrictions on its iPhone SDK that bar developers from porting Adobe Flash and Mono applications to the iPhone.

Changes made to the terms of Apple's iPhone Developer Program License Agreement on April 8 forbid cross-compiled applications. Apple's decree reduces developer flexibility and potentially weakens competing runtimes or languages, said Al Hilwa, programmer director of applications development software at IDC.

The iPhone SDK's APIs must now be used in the manner prescribed by Apple, and they cannot call private APIs; applications must be originally written in C, C++, JavaScript or Objective-C, according to the license.

Third parties, including Adobe and Novell, have released tools that translate code for execution on the iPhone. Adobe produces the Flash-to-iPhone cross-compiler, and Novell develops MonoTouch, a tool that brings .NET development to the iPhone.

Novell is reaching out to Apple for clarification on its intentions, and it will advocate for the license agreement to be amended prior to the release of Apple's iPhone 4.0 SDK this summer, said Joseph Hill, product manager for MonoTouch at Novell. Apple did not return a request for comment.

"While this restriction can be seen in the prism of the Apple and Adobe relationship around Flash, this is not just about Adobe, but potentially a problem for every developer runtime or language that wants to hold on to developers and maintain its longevity," said Hilwa.

"It is about programmers maintaining their livelihood. Probably even more importantly, it is about the flexibility to evolve computer science and software development."

Apple's decision to exert more control over developers could preclude it from evolving its own platforms in the future when new languages or interfaces grow in popularity, Hilwa added.

The impact on some enterprise developers will be immediate, according to Larry O’Brien, a private consultant and author of the "Windows & .NET Watch" column for SD Times. C# development teams that are presently using MonoTouch in their Visual Studio tool chain would find their work prohibited under the new agreement, he explained.

However, O'Brien said that Apple's restriction might only apply to applications that are deployed in its AppStore, and not to enterprise deployments. Some iPhone applications, including a top-selling "air hockey" game, were developed using MonoTouch, according to Novell vice president Miguel de Icaza.

“Prohibiting inefficient translation layers and libraries is one thing. Prohibiting code generation and higher-level languages is another. One of the showcase apps for the iPad is ‘The Elements,’ whose media, page layout and transitions were largely generated in Mathematica," O'Brien wrote in his blog.

"Many games use higher-level languages such as Lua to script AI,” he continued. “Logically, one would hope that the legal agreement would be clarified with some form of ‘…except for approved tool chains,’ and figure out how to work with Novell and Appcelerator and, yes, even Adobe."




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Comments


04/12/2010 02:30:45 PM EST

This will stop me from buying an iPhone as well as from focusing anything but the bare minimum development on iPhone as a mobile platform. Android is looking to be the future, we will see about Win7 mobile.

United StatesQ360


04/12/2010 02:31:11 PM EST

Apple's NIMBY: Not Developed Here. Definitely not just about Adobe. Mandating its own compiler and hidebound design practices fosters inefficient, anti-progressive engineering.

United Statesknowlengr


04/12/2010 02:42:49 PM EST

Headline: Apple Flexes its Muscles - Becomes New Microsoft

United Statesjim


04/12/2010 02:55:45 PM EST

Microsoft allows PHP and Ruby and has even incorporated versions into Visual Studio. Apple is far more restrictive than MS has ever been.

United Statesdgk


04/12/2010 03:33:30 PM EST

This does make a certain amount of sense from the Apple side of things - and not just as a way to force developers to come to the iPhone, or not at all. It is possible that this was aimed at trying to create a more homogenous application development environment, to try to bring increased stability in a platform that is largely a consumer one. Apple isn't saying that the Web content you connect to has to be limited on your server - just that the app running on the phone has to fit into their engineering vision of apps. Perhaps they're planning on making verfication / automated testing tools available. While I suspect it's more like a ploy from marketing, let's not ignore other sources for this policy change.

United StatesAnthonyJ


04/12/2010 06:01:38 PM EST

Well, how fast will those being shutout make calls to their lawyers? Will this be like the recent net-neutrality situation? Is Apple really able to restrict apps even after they have sold an iPhone to an individual? What's happened to the Liberty to do what you may want with your property?

United StatesJohn S Wolter


04/12/2010 07:50:24 PM EST

Was gonna finally break down and buy an iPhone - not gonna buy one now! Definitely getting an Android instead.

United StatesSteve


04/13/2010 07:43:56 AM EST

We dropped iPhone development last year and this just re-enforces the fact that we made a good decision. Apple's entire process for developing and deploying to the iPhone is flawed and inefficient and this is another strike. Good luck to anyone still developing for that platform.

United StatesBart Summar


04/16/2010 03:23:11 PM EST

I'm a Java programmer myself, and I'm mystified by their choice of development restrictions. Objective C, C, C++, or JavaScript? Really? Why would anyone deliberately cripple their own platform that way? The vast majority of developers in the world right now use Java and C#. Apple's arbitrary limitation is like a car manufacturer who declares "From now on, you may NOT power our automobiles with gasoline or diesel; you must use domestically produced natural gas ONLY." Such a move marginalizes any company that tries it. The only result this will have is that most developers will ignore Apple and program for a more open environment like Android. Way to go, Apple. Nail down that "niche player" status! Love the turtlenecks!

United StatesPhil


05/25/2010 05:14:34 AM EST

If you want to develop native cross-platform mobile applications for the iPhone, then you should note that PhoneGap has been officially accepted by Apple for OS 4.0 apps. Also its free and open source.

United StatesRob


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