|
Finally, here it is.
Here is our first ELIPS Studio beta release which supports the iPhone natively.
But first a small introduction...
There are several reasons why a Flash or Flex app would never go through the Apple app store.
The first one is called VM or interpreted code. Apple does not allow interpreted code in apps published in the app store. Never. The reason is easy to understand: they do not want another vector of apps distribution on the iPhone. A VM, which considers code as files, can enable this vector.
The second one is called UI guidelines. Many apps are refused every day because their UI does not respect Apple’s UI Guidelines. To respect those UI guidelines, you simply have to use the iPhone widgets.
The third one is performances. Flash, as any interpreted code, is not just as efficient as native code.
The good news is that we have answers for all these points.
For the first one, the "interpreted code":
Simple, this is just how our product works. It generates pure native code (C, C++) out of your MXML and AS. That’s one of the difference with what Flash CS5 will do: we generate readable C++ source code, whereas Flash CS5 generates directly binary code. And yes, it allows you to simulate your app in the iPhone simulator.
For the second one, the "UI guidelines" (and here’s also where we bring something unique):
We’re mapping native widgets inside your Flex application. It means basically that when you use a list UI Component in your app, and deploy on the iPhone, the MXML/AS implementation of the list is automatically replaced by the iPhone list. So that the list in your application on an iPhone looks and behaves exactly like an iPhone list. Of course, since it is an iPhone list. Same for button, toolbar, slider, etc.
This is the second difference with Flash CS5. And it’s a big one: it happens quite often that an application is refused because it does not respect iPhone UI guidelines. With ELIPS Studio, you’re not taking that risk.
For the third one, "performances":
well first, refer to the first one - native code performs by far better than interpreted code. Additionally, at Open Plug, we have this written in our DNA: we have 8 years, or should I say more than 300 man years, of writing optimized code for small, non-powerful devices. Look at our corporate site: our background has been software for mobile phones since 2002, especially for mass-market and feature phones. On platforms that are by far less powerful than an iPhone or a Windows Mobile device.
But I won’t comment too much on this part, as it will be the core subject of a future post.
Now, about the release...
As you can imagine, being the first release, there are still a couple of issues remaining, and most importantly some things left to do. But bear with us, we're working on improvements, which we will release every month or so. Some already known issues are listed in the release notes.
Here is some more insights about this release
(the hybrid) Tool chain
As explained in the blog article posted 2 weeks ago, and in the iPhone setup tutorial, this release is based on an hybrid toolchain, meaning that you need a Mac to build and sign the iPhone app package.
This can mean 2 things, depending on whether you're a PC or Mac user:
- If you're a Mac user, then it’s easy for you: just build for the iPhone device inside the VM in which you have installed ELIPS Studio, and take the generated source out of the VM to your mac, to build the generated XCode folder.
- If you're a PC user, then you need an additional Mac to compile and sign your application
In the future, we'll bring several improvements to this toolchain:
- Firstly, we're working on a pure Windows toolchain: it will be possible soon to build your iPhone application with a PC under Windows only
- Secondly, we'll adapt soon our tools to work on Mac OS.
The widgets (or UI Components)
We’ve started to build a number of widgets in MXML/AS, with their iPhone native counterpart.
What we provide today in beta 2:
- List (UITableView - StyledPlain)
- Group List (UITableView - StyleGrouped)
- Message Box (UIAlertView)
- Tab Bar (UITabBar)
- Text entry with in-place edition (UITextField)
- Button (UIButton)
We'll post soon a sample application using all these widgets, illustrating the native mapping on the iPhone.
And we'll post soon our widget roadmap in the "Coming next..." section. But you're already welcome to post your own requirements and wishes about widgets in the forum.
A new Service API: The GeoLocation API
We’ve exposed the GeoLocation API, as defined in Flash 10.1, and mapped to platform on the iPhone, on Windows Mobile and on Symbian. This API allows to get the GPS coordinates updates from the platform. We're still facing issues on Symbian, but they're close to be solved, an update will be made available then (refer to the release notes for more information about known issues).
As far as roadmap is concerned, we're already working on some other services that have been asked by several users, such as for example access to the camera, access to the local photo gallery, ability to record a sound.
Now download and install beta 2 release!
Note that all existing users should upgrade to this release, as beta 1.x previous releases are set to expire on January 11, and will not be usable beyond that date.
So now is the time to download and install this release!
What about you?
As always, we tend to be user driven. We've decided to implement GPS because it was one of the favorite services asked through our Forum. Do not hesitate to push for a service that is important to your application.
- Cristian Livadiotti
|
RSS
RSS (News)
Become a Fan
ELIPS Studio 3 on LinkedIn
Comments
Please see this thread on the Forum about loading SWF assets:
http://developer.openplug.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=166
BR