Mixed reactions to iPhone SDK
After the first weekend of testing out Apple's beta iPhone SDK, reactions have been mixed.
It's clear that a number of developers were pleasantly surprised at the level of freedom Apple now seems to be giving. However, it's far from complete, and therein lies the criticisms.
One hacker who creates applications for jailbroken iPhones claims that the SDK is "crippled" and predicts that there will still be a market for apps that rely on a hacked iPhone.
Jonathan "NerveGas" Zdziarski told The iPhone Atlas: "The Apple SDK, as many have come to find, has arguably crippled much of the functionality that set the iPhone apart when first released. Even simple features like the ability to run a program in the background have been crippled in the Apple SDK."
He voices concerns that applications can't run in the background (that is, continue to do processing even when they're not actively being used). It's something that a number of Apple's own applications -- most notably Mail -- do, and something that he'd like to see third-party applications do, too.
The reasoning is most likely stability and speed. Imagine if everyone was free to develop applications that can run unattended in the background. Without some serious processor management, battery life could drain extremely quickly, and the active application could slow to a crawl.
Having said that, Zdziarski believes that Apple will sign "sweetheart deals" with some developers, giving them greater access and freedom to the iPhone's functionality.
There's speculation that the lack of background applications and multitasking will mean that data could be lost from an application if a phone call is received. Presumably (hopefully) Apple has a solution for this.
Perhaps surprisingly, some games developers are enthusiastic about the SDK. An article at Macworld says that Pangea's Brian Greenstone has had his interest in developing for Apple platforms revitalised. "This is the best thing I've seen Apple do in recent history," said Greenstone. "I'm elated that they're actually doing it right."
"This is the coolest thing I've seen in game development in 15 years, except maybe for the Nintendo Wii," said Aspyr's Glenda Adams.
It's unlikely that the iPhone will ever compete with dedicated portable gaming devices, but it is encouraging that there's a fair amount of support.
It is worth bearing in mind that we're only in the beta phase of the SDK at present. Hopefully the next few months (particularly for those on the paid-for developer programme) will help to iron out the current issues.
Via Information Week and Macworld
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