I was bracing myself for a long wait. On September 17, 2009, I submitted my first iPhone Application to the app store. I was restraining my enthusiasm, figuring that some small technicality would blight my success. I read some discouraging stories online. It seemed that it might be weeks before Apple approved my app. I was even planning to blog about the long waiting. Instead, I was surprised. Apple approved my app! I nailed it on the first shot!
Less than nine days after submitting Photics: Revisions to the app store, my app was published.
Now don’t get me wrong. After experiencing Android development, I’m accustomed to instant publishing. It doesn’t work that way with Apple. It’s almost like hazing for developers…
You need a 57×57 pixels icon, and then you need a larger version of that icon – precisely 512×512 pixels. You’ll need a screenshot. Your app needs to adhere to Apple’s design guidelines. Digitally signing my application was also a little tricky. You’ll need to fill out the online forms. You’ll need to determine OS version compatibility. You’ll need to get a contract if you want to sell your app. There were lots of license agreements to read. Death by a thousand cuts… the process is so tedious, so grinding, so slow, that I often felt the urge to give up.
This is tremendously difficult for one person to master. You’ll need to a graphic designer and a code warrior. I was working on my app for one week straight, with only minimal breaks to eat, sleep and play some PS3 games. I’m not here to brag. I’m surprised that I got it done in one try.
Working with Android helped a lot. Even though they’re two different programming languages, they’re more similar than different. Sticking with a Webview app helped. There are still lots of things that I have to understand, on the Apple side of things. I wasted a lot of time trying to figure out reachability, orientation, external links and loading local files. I’m still stuck with a lot of the same problems. Yet, somehow, I managed to forge my first app.
Basically, I published a book for the iPhone / iPod Touch
awesome. what does it do??
It’s my book. I wrote a science fiction novel and I converted it to work on the iPhone. The technology might have changed, but that’s basically what this is all about… telling a good story!
oh, well, congratulations! excellent work