/rw-ios-app-distribution-rea

Practical part of the "iOS App Distribution" book.

rw-ios-app-distribution-rea

Sinopsis and practical part of the "iOS App Distribution" book.

TOC

Chapter 1. The App Store

App Development Lifecycle

  • Development (making the app)
  • Upload (packaging and uploading for further downloading by others)
  • Testing
  • Product Page (marketing and App Store product page decoration inclides setting the app’s price, adding screenshots, writing compelling descriptions, etc.)
  • App Review (real Apple employees look at your app submission to make sure it meets the App Store Review Guidelines)
  • App Store (approved version becomes available in the App Store)
  • Analytics (analytics, app reviews and crash reports)

Notes:

  • Versions of the app:
    • Development
    • Alpha
    • (Beta)
    • Production
  • CI — continuous integration
  • CD — continuous delivery

Chapter 2. First App in the App Store

Creating a developer account

  1. Create an Apple ID and enable two-factor authentication.
  2. Enroll in the Apple Developer Program.
  3. Download and install Xcode.
  4. Configure your app in the App Store’s backend system.

Notes:

Enrolling in the Apple Developer Program

Apple Developer Program (need to pay $99 once per team) gives:

  1. Software development kits (SDKs) for all Apple platforms.
  2. Beta versions of the SDKs and developer tools when available.
  3. Advanced app capabilities like In-App Purchases, push notifications and CloudKit.
  4. Developer relations and editorial support. Entire teams at Apple support developers and feature the best apps on the App Store.
  5. Code-level support. You can ask two detailed code-level questions per year.
  6. Special programs and events like the option to attend WWDC.
  7. App Store distribution.

Types of Enrollments:

  • Individuals/sole proprietorship (if you decided to use your personal Apple ID)
  • Organization (if you’re publishing an app for your employer, but you need to sign up for a D-U-N-S number through Dun & Bradstreet before you can complete your enrollment)

List of Roles:

  • Account Holder (that’s you!)
  • Admin
  • App Manager
  • Developer
  • Finance
  • Marketing
  • Sales

Notes:

  • When you complete the enrollment, you automatically become your team’s Account Holder
  • The Account Holder role used to be called «Team Agent»
  • Identify the app’s publisher and use The app publisher's Apple developer account whenever you start a new project
  • Use your client's Apple developer account if you are a contractor or consultant

Installing Xcode

Versions of Xcode:

  1. The current version (macOS App Store)
  2. The gold master (GM) version (version of Xcode to upload apps that rely on pre-released SDK features)
  3. Beta versions (beta versions are used for testing and development, you can't upload and distribute apps to the App Store with them)

Notes:

  • Download Xcode IDE
  • Enable Developer Mode
  • Install additional components to support running and debugging
  • Organization Name
  • Organization Identifier (its may be reverse DNS notation of the app publisher’s website, e.g. «com.publisher»)
  • Bundle ID:
    • its organization identifier followed by product name
    • it uniquely identifies an app throughout Apple’s systems
    • you can’t change your app’s bundle identifier later on
  • Select Project File → Select Target → Select Signing and Capabilities:
    • Check Automatically manage signing (requires to sign in Xcode with the Apple ID)
    • Set Team in Signing section
  • Xcode → Preferences → Accounts:
    • Add Account (+) → Apple ID → Continue (sings Xcode in with Apple ID)
    • Manage Certificates → Add Certificate (+) → Apple Development (creates a development certificate)

Installing the app on a device

Notes:

  • Trust macOS when iPhone ask for it so iOS could give it required access
  • To change target to install your app from simulator to the connected iPhone, in Xcode select Toolbar → Scheme → (pop-up) → iOS Device → Connected iPhone Name
  • To build and install application, click Toolbar → Run (CMD+R)
  • To register device with your developer account, click Register Device (codesign adds a cryptographic signature to your app so Apple can make sure no one has tampered with it once a device wants to install it)

Creating a distribution certificate

Notes:

  • To make Xcode able to submit app to the App Store, distribution certificate must be created
  • To create distribution certificate, go to Xcode → Preferences → Accounts, select Manage Certificates → Add certificate (+ button) → Apple Distribution

Uploading an app with Xcode

Notes:

  • When you submit an app to the App Store, you're submitting an archive (a.k.a.build with additional debugging information) of the app
  • build is an executable program that contains everything your app needs to run on a device: the compiled source code, embedded artwork, even the app icon
  • Any iOS Device (arm 64) (special configuration that tells Xcode you just want to create a build for a special hardware configuration for further archiving)
  • To create an archive, click Xcode Menu → Product → Archive
  • Organizer (Xcode tool that manages archived builds of the different apps that you work on)
  • To begin uploading build, open Organizer (CMD + Option + Shift + O) then select app and its archive (build) and click Distribute App
  • App Store Connect (App Store’s admin interface for developers)
  • Methods of distribution:
    • App Store Connect (to distribute on TestFlight and the App Store)
    • Ad Hoc (to install on designated devices)
    • Enterprise (to internal distribute to organization)
    • Development (to distribute to members of team)
  • Destinations of distribution:
    • Upload (send app to App Store Connect)
    • Export (sign and export without uploading)
  • App Store Connect distribution options:
    • Include bitcode in iOS content (allows the App Store to build your app to take advantage of hardware, software or compiler changes; improves the performance of the app)
    • Upload your app's symbols to ceceive symbolicated reports from Apple (crash logs and other diagnostic information from your customers will be symbolicated and viewable within Xcode)
  • Signing options during distribution:
    • Automatically manage signing (Xcode will create and update profiles, app IDs, and certificates)
    • Manually manage signing (Select certificates and profiles from your team)

codesign might prompt you for a password in Keychain Access so it could sign the build

  • Reviewing content of distribution stage:
    • Verify all your selections on the review screen
      • If everything checks out, click Upload
      • Otherwise, click Previous and fix what you need
  • Errors that may occur during upload process:
    • «No suitable application records were found» (most likely you didn’t configure application record in App Store Connect)
    • etc.
  • Ways to upload a build to App Store:
    • Distribute App within Xcode's Organizer
    • Using xcodebuild CLI utility
    • Transporter (macOS application)