Xcode on PC?

[Aiden Roberts]

OK so I want to learn how to build apps for iPhone, I haven't got a Mac so is there a way to use xcode on pc?

I've looked at a couple of ways online but has anyone got any experience of actually doing it?

Cheers

Rob

 

[monaghan]

I run a Mac Mini - works very well on a KVM with my Linux machines, supports multiple monitors so you can hook into a HDMI and a VGA to give dual screen (you need to buy a small converter for the VGA, but they are quite cheap if you don't buy the Apple one!) If you can reclaim the VAT, I found it works out cheaper to buy one from the Apple store than it does to buy on ebay as they seem to hold their value

Not tried iPhone development though.

 

[PaulGregory]

There are sites that show how to run Xcode on a PC. Usually these involve running MacOS in a virtual machine or on the PC itself. I agree that these are too much faff. A lot of the bits involved in getting an app onto phones and the store is fiddly enough on a real Mac.

There are however other ways of developing an iOS app, such as Unity3D (for games) and PhoneGap (for apps) which you can use on a PC.

Even then, you probably would still benefit from having a Mac, but it would be at a much later stage in the development. A major advantage of using these frameworks is that it's then quicker to create an Android version, which will shut moaners up.

 

[Aiden Roberts]

Thanks all for your replies, appreciate them.

I've looked into hackintosh, partitions and god knows how many ways of doing it on the cheap, it boils down to I need to buy a mac....., like the mac mini idea though so more research.

@PaulGregory thanks I'll look into them.

Started on Android but need to do both, I know I can buy the skills in but want to do it myself.

Cheers

rob

 

[AssetDomains]

If your happy building and installing systems have a play with a hackintosh I built one for my nephew at Christmas final cost was around £300 much cheaper than a mini.
Graphics were a bit of a pain to setup if I was doing it again I'd spend a bit more on the processor that had native onboard graphics support

Its a little old now but have a look at the hardware here
http://legacy.tonymacx86.com/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=49797

 

[Aiden Roberts]

If your happy building and installing systems have a play with a hackintosh I built one for my nephew at Christmas final cost was around £300 much cheaper than a mini.
Graphics were a bit of a pain to setup if I was doing it again I'd spend a bit more on the processor that had native onboard graphics support

Its a little old now but have a look at the hardware here
http://legacy.tonymacx86.com/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=49797

Cheers will take a look

 

[jimm]

If your happy building and installing systems have a play with a hackintosh I built one for my nephew at Christmas final cost was around £300 much cheaper than a mini.
Graphics were a bit of a pain to setup if I was doing it again I'd spend a bit more on the processor that had native onboard graphics support

Its a little old now but have a look at the hardware here
http://legacy.tonymacx86.com/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=49797

But for £450 you can get an apple certified refurb mini and have no hassle at any time (doesnt take much time to waste £150 worth of time between the scoping out the project, build and troubleshooting later) and get full apple support. Would be a no brainer to get the mini in my eyes...

 

[AssetDomains]

But for £450 you can get an apple certified refurb mini and have no hassle at any time (doesnt take much time to waste £150 worth of time between the scoping out the project, build and troubleshooting later) and get full apple support. Would be a no brainer to get the mini in my eyes...

Thinking about it that 300 included a monitor so actual computer hardware was just north 200 I get what your saying about time but if you like tinkering around with computers not a bad little project to do

 

[jimm]

if you like tinkering around with computers not a bad little project to do

That bit i certainly get

 

[Aiden Roberts]

Thanks for all the tips, It's clear the best route is buying a mac product be it macbook or mini. One last question can ios apps be built on an iPad and keyboard?

 

[PaulGregory]

One last question can ios apps be built on an iPad and keyboard?

Not directly, no. You can do *some* bits of development on one, and it's worth having one for testing, but, leaving aside the web-based "app builders" that might possibly function via Safari, it's..

Well, you know how you can "build a website" at 1&1 with a few clicks at one end of the scale, or at the other you could have a whole team of people develop something custom in a few years? It's like that. Define "app". Some heavily templated iOS apps (insert company name, youtube link, RSS feed) are probably possible to create on a Kindle. But if you're interested at the Xcode level, then no, an iPad is not an iOS development environment.

But..

If you have a friend with a Mac who doesn't use it at certain times of the week, you could stick LogMeIn on it (or similar) so you could operate it remotely. That you *could* do on an iPad with keyboard. Although it would be tortuous.