MonoTouch and iPhone OS 4 Update
MonoTouch 3.0.0
On Friday, we released
MonoTouch 3.0.0,
which includes our support for the new APIs in iPhoneOS 4.
We are excited about this release, and look forward to hearing
feedback from MonoTouch developers as they explore all the new
features that Apple unveiled at last week's iPhoneOS 4
announcement. This release is only available to developers that
have access to Apple's iPhoneOS 4, as the API is currently
confidential.
The support for iPhone OS 4 that we are now shipping is a
testament of our approach to support native iPhone application
development: Offering developers their preferred language to
leverage the exact same APIs that Objective-C developers would
use.
iPhone Developer Agreement
While, we have heard little direct feedback from Apple
regarding recently reported changes to the iPhone Developer
Program Agreement, we have heard consistent feedback that Apple
is concerned about inefficient apps created using abstraction
layers that hide native APIs.
We believe that several bloggers and journalists have misjudged MonoTouch by
characterizing it as an abstraction with disregard for its actual
features. As MonoTouch does not hide native APIs and is not an
abstraction layer, we continue to believe that MonoTouch conforms
to the spirit and intent of the terms spelled out in the developer
agreement.
MonoTouch brings the best of multiple worlds: The C# language
and the iPhone OS frameworks. And it does this without abstraction
layers, inefficient libraries, glue or exposing a different set of
APIs than those of the native iPhone OS. When developers create
iPhone and iPad applications using MonoTouch, they use the C#
language to take advantage of the features found in .NET like
garbage collection, full type safety, and Language Integrated
Query while interfacing directly with iPhone OS libraries,
including UIKIt, CoreGraphics, CoreAnimation, GameKit,
AudioToolbox, AVFoundation and
many more.
We have also heard many positive updates from middleware
vendors within the iPhone ecosystem. Some have already reported
direct approval of their platforms, and Unity (a Mono licensee on
iPhone) have reported that they will be meeting with Apple this
week to discuss the matter.
New Apps Since iPhone OS 4 Announcement
We are also pleased to announce that since the iPhone OS 4
announcement, several MonoTouch users have received App Store
approval for listing their iPhone and iPad applications, including
Touch Playbook,
Really Simple, and
LCARS Reader.
Readers interested in seeing a more general listing of
MonoTouch applications in Apple's App Store can look to the
Apps page at MonoTouch.info.
Enterprise MonoTouch
It is important to point out that the new iPhone Developer
Agreement terms are for AppStore deployment and not the Enterprise
program that allows deployment of in-house application to users in
the enterprise (using the Enterprise Deployment program).
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