Essential iOS Build and Release

Preface

I wrote this book for the people beating their heads against their desks, late at night, wondering why on earth Xcode will not code sign their apps, or install onto their iPhones. These people have probably visited 100 different websites hoping for that magic glimmer of tribal knowledge that will make everything work so that their app will suddenly load onto their iOS device. This book is an attempt to explain the nuances of the iOS build and release process with the hope of alleviating some of the pain that may come along with it. If you’re a developer, this book will allow you to spend more time focusing on development, and less time focusing on the build and release process. If you’re a release engineer managing iOS applications for a corporation, the material presented here will help you facilitate the build process, manage multiple iOS devices, and make the distribution process for an iOS app much easier.

Anyone who has dived into the development or building of an iOS app is familiar with the amount of time you can spend trying to figure out how the build and distribution of an app actually works. As someone who has managed the build and release process for multiple iOS apps, I can attest to the lack of clear, concise documentation for the build and deployment processes that are an essential part of the development cycle. For something that can take a tremendous amount of time, I was surprised how many iOS programming books barely address (or avoid) this topic altogether. ...