New member here, please be gentle :) I am getting ready for App Review for my first iOS app, and I am curious if ANY level of obfuscation is allowed? Say I had a drone controller App, I might have something like this:
struct Drone{
var name : String
var forwardVelocity : Double
var lateralVelocity : Double
var verticalVelocity : Double
var receivedSignalStrength : Int
var rssThreshhold : Int
var gpsCoordinates : Data
func reverseCourse(){
//do a 180
//...
}
}
func onUpdateReceivedSignalStength(drone:Drone){
if drone.receivedSignalStrength < drone.rssThreshhold{
drone.reverseCourse()
}
}
But I don't really want to make it easy for someone to pull the strings from the binaries and try and copy my work. I realize it's pretty much inevitable, but it seems sensible to protect my IP as much as I can. Is something like this acceptable?
struct D{ //obfuscated Drone
var parameter1 : String //name
var parameter2 : Double //forwardVelocity
var parameter3 : Double //lateralVelocity
var parameter4 : Double //verticalVelocity
var parameter5 : Int //receivedSignalStength
var parameter6 : Int //rssThreshhold
var parameter7 : Data //gpsCoordinates
func funcSeven(){
//do a 180
//...
}
}
func funcSix(d:D){ //check if signal strength requires a course reversal
if d.parameter5 < d.parameter6{ // signal strength less than threshhold
d.funcSeven() //reverse course
}
}
The comments make it clear what the similarly-named parameters are doing, and what the functions do. I fully understand that something like the below is a no-no, just writing it made my eyes bleed:
struct DDF{
var SXR : String
var KYV : Double
var GTC : Double
var DKY : Double
var ENY : Int
var WKN : Int
var DJV : Data
func BDO(){
//do a 180
//...
}
}
func PUL(KHY:DDF){
if KHY.ENY < KHY.WKN{
KHY.BDO()
}
}
Is there any level of IP protection through obscurity that is acceptable? I realize that the more genericized the variable and function names are, the harder it is to debug, but that might be an acceptable trade-off against IP protection.
To be clear, my app isn't anything to do with drones, this was just a vehicle to ask the question with. My code isn't currently at all obfuscated, everything is in clear terms, but I am wondering if I could/should obfuscate the critical parts before App Review and release?
The reason for my concern is that a key feature of the app is something very novel, and I have filed a patent application for it. The patent (if granted) won't be granted for 18-24 months, so anything I can do to protect the IP seems like the right thing to do.
As a complete newcomer to releasing Apps, I have no experience at all, so I would be grateful for any help/steers from those that do have experience in trying to protect their IP while not making life difficult for the App Review team.
Thanks in advance!
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