[MonoTouch] Please advise wrt two apps with same source files

Mon Oct 24 13:01:15 EDT 2011

Hi,

Starting with MD 2.8, the application ID and other iOS application
settings are only stored in Info.plist.

Changing the application ID (and maybe the app name at
your choice) in this file is enough to create a lite (or pro)
version of your app, because your app can query the application
ID[1] and branch accordingly at run-time.

When I'm about to build the lite version, I'm temporarily
overwriting Info.plist with InfoLite.plist and I'm done.
(It's actually scripted, but it really doesn't matter).

With MD 2.4/MT 3, I had this layout:

Project/
Project/AppName.sln
Project/AppNameLite.sln
Project/AppName/AppName.csproj
Project/AppName/AppNameLite.csproj

AppNameLite.sln was a copy of AppName.sln in which the
string AppName.csproj was replaced with AppNameLite.csproj.

AppNameLite.csproj was a copy AppName.csproj with
a different <BundleIdentifier> element.

Whenever AppName.csproj has been changed, I've merged the
changes into AppNameLite.csproj using the merge facility of
my version control system.

Robert

[1]
string appId = (string) NSBundle.MainBundle.
     InfoDictionary[new NSString("CFBundleIdentifier")];

On 24.10.2011 18:09, Guido Van Hoecke wrote:
> Hi Michael,
>
> I did not try it for the data files, but my experience with hard links for the
> shared sources wasn't that good. Whenever a source get's rewritten, a new file
> is created, breaking the hardlink and ending up with two separate non-linked and
> out-of-sync files.
>
> Guido.
>
> On Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 17:15, Michael S. Muegel<mike at muegel.org>  wrote:
>> iOS is not my day job so I won't be able to look @ this until later in the
>> evening. You mentioned linking directories. Did you try a "hard link"
>> between directories? "ln source alias" I can't see how MonoDevelop would
>> know that these are different. Not sure how this would impact source code
>> management, however.
>>
>> -Mike
>>
>> On Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 9:44 AM, Guido Van Hoecke<guivho at gmail.com>  wrote:
>>> The symlink approach does not work. Monodevelop does not allow to assign
>>> icons
>>> if they are included in the project as symlinks. So I duplicated the image
>>> and
>>> data dirs in the two app project dirs. However the apps still don't build.
>>>
>>> Anyone?
>>>
>>> TIA, Guido
>>>
>>> On Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 14:15, Guido Van Hoecke<guivho at gmail.com>  wrote:
>>>> Gents,
>>>>
>>>> (Same message, minor corrections)
>>>>
>>>> Using your fine ideas (thanx) I now
>>>> - created a Library project within the Solution,
>>>> - referenced it from both apps
>>>> - moved all common sources to the Library project
>>>> - moved common images and app data directories to the Library project
>>>> - symlinked to these directories from the app project directories
>>>> - included these (symlink) data and image directories and files in the
>>>> projects
>>>> - set the build action for these image and data files to nothing in
>>>> the Library project
>>>> - set it to content in the app projects
>>>>
>>>> Ready to build:
>>>>
>>>> - library project compiles without probs
>>>> - the app projects main compilation: build complete: -- 0 errors, 0
>>>> warnings
>>>> - compiling to native code fails for both apps with:
>>>> - "Error: root assembly does not exist
>>>>     /Users/guivho/solution/App1/bin/$(Target)/$(Configuration)/App1.exe"
>>>>     or
>>>> /Users/guivho/solution/App2/bin/$(Target)/$(Configuration)/App2.exe"
>>>>
>>>> Any idea why mtouch fails? This is the build output (using -v -v -v)
>>>> (target iPhone/release, App1):
>>>>
>>>> /Developer/MonoTouch/usr/bin/mtouch -v --nomanifest --nosign
>>>> -dev "/Users/guivho/Mono/Solution/App1/bin/$(Target)/Release/App1.app"
>>>> -r "/Users/guivho/Mono/Solution/Library/bin/Release/Library.dll"
>>>> -r "/Developer/MonoTouch/usr/lib/mono/2.1/System.dll"
>>>> -r "/Developer/MonoTouch/usr/lib/mono/2.1/System.Xml.dll"
>>>> -r "/Developer/MonoTouch/usr/lib/mono/2.1/System.Core.dll"
>>>> -r "/Developer/MonoTouch/usr/lib/mono/2.1/monotouch.dll"
>>>> -linksdkonly
>>>> -sdk "4.3"
>>>> -targetver "3.0"
>>>> -v -v -v -gcc_flags  "-framework MediaPlayer -framework AudioToolbox
>>>> -framework CoreGraphics
>>>> -framework QuartzCore -framework MessageUI -framework SystemConfiguration
>>>> -L/Users/guivho/Mono/Solution/App1
>>>> -lGoogleAdMobAds
>>>> -force_load /Users/guivho/Mono/Solution/App1/libGoogleAdMobAds.a"
>>>> "/Users/guivho/Mono/Solution/App1/bin/$(Target)/Release/App1.exe"
>>>>
>>>> Framework is:
>>>> /Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/SDKs/iPhoneOS4.3.sdk
>>>>
>>>> Error: root assembly does not exist
>>>> /Users/guivho/Mono/solution/App1/bin/iPhone/Release/App1.exe
>>>>
>>>> mtouch exited with code 1
>>>>
>>>> I get the same error for both the iPhone and iPhoneSimulator target and
>>>> Debug,
>>>> Release, Distribution configurations.
>>>>
>>>> Any ideas or suggestions? I'd like to stick to this setup, but it's
>>>> got to work off course...
>>>>
>>>> TIA, Guido.
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 09:40, David Black<David.Black at casewise.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi Michael
>>>>>
>>>>> It's also worth noting that the required bootstrap files include
>>>>>         Appstore images (logo_XX, Default-XXX.png etc)
>>>>>         Localization files (en.lproj, fr.lproj etc)
>>>>>         Any images / content files that you load that are loaded from
>>>>> file not from resource
>>>>>
>>>>> D
>>>>>
>>>>> I raised an enhancment request a while ago to ask that content files in
>>>>> assemblies marked as copy alwas be added to the output bundle. This would
>>>>> help..
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> David Black
>>>>> Technical Manager (Web projects)
>>>>> Casewise Systems Ltd |  www.casewise.com
>>>>> +44 1923 830300 office
>>>>> +44 1923 830270 direct
>>>>> 64 Clarendon Road, Watford WD17 1DA
>>>>>
>>>>> "When You Can See More, You Can Do More!"
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: monotouch-bounces at lists.ximian.com
>>>>> [mailto:monotouch-bounces at lists.ximian.com] On Behalf Of Guido Van Hoecke
>>>>> Sent: 24 October 2011 08:07
>>>>> To: Michael Muegel
>>>>> Cc: monotouch at lists.ximian.com
>>>>> Subject: Re: [MonoTouch] Please advise wrt two apps with same source
>>>>> files
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi Michael,
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sun, Oct 23, 2011 at 23:14, Michael Muegel<mike.muegel at gmail.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>> In situations like this for Windows development I have created an
>>>>>> application library. You would have two MonoTouch app projects that
>>>>>> reference this library, which in turn reference all your other support
>>>>>> libraries. Each app project just has a few files to bootstrap things
>>>>>> and
>>>>>> invoke the common app library with a flag for the mode/etc.
>>>>>
>>>>> That seems a very interesting approach!
>>>>>
>>>>> Currently I have two separate projects within one solution, and both
>>>>> projects
>>>>> have a 'Common' subdirectory with all common sources. I use a little
>>>>> perl script
>>>>> to synchronize the sources. But I'll now move these common sources to a
>>>>> new
>>>>> library project within this solution and go for your approach.
>>>>> Definitely
>>>>> cleaner!
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanx for the idea.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Guido
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> When does summertime come to Minnesota, you ask?
>>>>> Well, last year, I think it was a Tuesday.
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> MonoTouch mailing list
>>>>> MonoTouch at lists.ximian.com
>>>>> http://lists.ximian.com/mailman/listinfo/monotouch
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Michael S. Muegel
>> 972-413-6378
>>
>>
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