Hobbyist Developer

Question

JRD20 OP

Created Oct ’23

Replies 3

Boosts 0

Participants 4

Hi all:

I am a retired engineer who spent many years developing software for various non-real time applications. I am interested in continuing to develop software in a MacOS/iOS environment, primarily to support some of my hobbies, but do not know the best approach for doing so.

At least initially, I would like to develop a few small applications that could run on a Mac or iPad for personal use (i.e., I am not interested in releasing the applications on the Apple Store - I only want to install the applications on my own devices). Does Xcode make sense as a development environment for me? Would I need to become a member of the Apple Developer Program?

Answered by Claude31 in 767859022

Does Xcode make sense as a development environment for me?

Definitely YES

Would I need to become a member of the Apple Developer Program?

No. You can have a free developer accvount.

It has some limitations:

You cannot publish on appStore, but you said you did'nt care
App downloaded on device can run only a short time (1 week I think). After this, you have to reload from Xcode. https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/669516
You can download only 3 apps on device: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/61953293/the-maximum-number-of-apps-for-free-development-profiles-has-been-reached-xcode

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Answer 1

Claude31 OP

Oct ’23

Accepted Answer

Does Xcode make sense as a development environment for me?

Definitely YES

Would I need to become a member of the Apple Developer Program?

No. You can have a free developer accvount.

It has some limitations:

You cannot publish on appStore, but you said you did'nt care
App downloaded on device can run only a short time (1 week I think). After this, you have to reload from Xcode. https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/669516
You can download only 3 apps on device: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/61953293/the-maximum-number-of-apps-for-free-development-profiles-has-been-reached-xcode

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Answer 2

JRD20 OP

Oct ’23

Thank you both for your responses.

Claude31, the only concern I have in your answer is that as a non-Developer my applications would apparently have to be reinstalled after a week, if I want to continue using them. If I become a developer, I understand that the cost is $99 annually. As a developer, would I be able to write apps, install them on my MacBook Pro and iPad, and have the apps available for the duration of my paid developer membership?

1

Answer 3

Developer Tools Engineer OP

Apple

Nov ’23

It is worth noting that there are other limitations to free developer accounts, beyond the length of time for which the app's provisioning profile is valid. For example, you cannot use Siri functionality with a free developer account. You can see the full list here: https://developer.apple.com/help/account/reference/supported-capabilities-ios

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