

Is MonoTouch now dead in the water? - rayvega
http://redth.info/2010/04/09/is-monotouch-now-dead-in-the-water-what-does-apples-new-iphone-developer-agreement-mean/

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SamAtt
I don't agree with the conclusion here. If you're using MonoTouch you should
panic. You should be looking at backup plans and asking yourself whether you
can use web apps.

Because even if Apple decides not to drop the bomb today they might tomorrow
or the next day. You're living on borrowed time if you use MonoTouch. It's not
fair but it's true.

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j_baker
Apple could drop the bomb on any language at any time (including Objective-C).
You're presuming that Apple wants to kill MonoTouch, which I don't think is a
foregone conclusion. I personally think that this is all about Flash and
MonoTouch has very little to do with it from Apple's standpoint.

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wvenable
That might be true, but is it worth the risk?

~~~
j_baker
If you've already got a MonoTouch app as SamAtt claims, then the risk is
already taken.

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yesimahuman
I can't believe we even have to have this conversation. It's absurd. There
really isn't any other way to put it.

I feel wrong about having an iPhone now. I feel dirty.

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btipling
" MonoTouch apps have very little evidence that they were created with
MonoTouch"

Maybe that's fine for a small independent developer to take that risk. Some
big organization with lawyers will not do this, and a startup probably will
not either.

"Applications must be originally written in Objective-C, C, C++"

I don't think Apple can get more clear than this. This is referring to your
application.

"Applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation
or compatibility layer or tool are prohibited"

Yes this bans MonoTouch.

~~~
city41
I'm a big MonoTouch fan. And even I can admit that MonoTouch apps have a lot
more startup time than native apps. The MT team has done a lot to relieve
this, but it's still there and still obvious. I think that alone makes Apple
not like MT :-/

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RyanMcGreal
And all this time everyone thought Microsoft was the big threat to Mono.

~~~
rayvega
Mono does not have a place/platform they can comfortably call home.
Marginalized by the Microsoft/Windows community, marginalized by the Linux &
Mac communities, and now banished from the IPhone/IPad platform.

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bretpiatt
Really good point mentioned by the author, "Apparently every game produced by
EA on the App Store would be in violation of the terms due to the fact they
use Lua for scripting."

Does Apple really expect EA to select a new scripting language for their games
or block scripting/add-ons on the iPhone/Pad versions?

~~~
pmjordan
EA being the size they are will presumably have some negotiating power to be
allowed to use Lua. More to the point, EA probably can check with Apple in
advance if they'd allow a particular game, just as it's done on other game
consoles. You don't have to worry about EA, you have to worry about the
thousands of little developers who _don't_ have the direct wire to Jobs's
desk. Developing for the iPhone is becoming a liability, not an investment.

