Need to run Iphone app on simulator without using xcode.

Question

I need to distribute my app to be tested using iphone simulators. So I built the binary and whenever i try to run the app by double clicking on it, The app crashes with the error

Dyld Error Message: Library not loaded: /System/Library/Frameworks/UIKit.framework/UIKit Referenced from: /Users//dev/iphone_workspace/MD2final/build/Analyzer-iphonesimulator/MD2final.app/MD2final Reason: image not found

But I have added the UIKit to the project and am Able to run the same application from Xcode by using "Build and go".

Is there a way I can build the binary in my Xcode and distribute only the binary to others for testing.

Answer 1

Why don't you want your testers to just install Xcode?

Answer 2

1. You can get the testers' devices' UDIDs and create a new provisioning profile from your developer account which includes the UDIDs of all those testers.

2. Then you download the provisioning profile, double click it to install, and use the identifier in your Xcode project which you used when creating the new provisioning profile.

3. In your Xcode project, you then need to clean build by pressing cmd + shift + K and the .app file in Xcode project will turn red as it gets deleted when you clean the build.

4. You then need to choose "Device 3.1.2 | Debug" from the drop down menu and press cmd + B to build again. This will rebuild the .app file. You need to right click on it and choose "Reveal in Finder".

5. You can then give the provisioning profile and the .app file just built by the above step to the testers. They can copy the provisioning profile and .app file to their iTunes and then sync their library which will copy the app on their device.

They can only test it on their device and there is no way to make it work on the simulator but that is good. :)

Answer 3

You may be able to build for the simulator in RELEASE mode, then zip the file out of the application directory on the Mac and then have your testers unzip it back into their own application directory for the simulator on their machine.

I've read that this works - though I have not tried it myself.

I'll leave it to you as an exercise to locate the files in the right directory.

-t

Answer 4

Take a look at iPhoneSimulatorExchange. It does require an Xcode installation. Be sure that your target audience has the same version of Xcode installed as you.

Answer 5

I want to distribute my app for testing in an iPhone simulator without using Xcode. This binary distribution process works fine for English language version of my app, but doesn't appear to work for International Languages. Any tips? On the destination Mac, the phone language has been set correctly, but the app still default back to English.