

Ask HN: what options are there for iOS app development on Windows? - qquestion

As a recent purchaser of an iPad, I&#x27;d like to try my hand at developing apps for it, just on a personal basis. However, I don&#x27;t want to have to buy a Mac just for this. Are there any methods of app development available for the PC, particularly via Windows?
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notduncansmith
If you haven't tried using a Mac, I recommend buying one and seeing what the
experience is like (I believe you can also lease them if you'd prefer). I
found the productivity upgrade from Win/Linux to be massive. I also just enjoy
using my computer more than I used to. It's not for everyone, and maybe you're
just not into the look and feel, but I can't recommend the "give it 5 minutes"
advice (or in this case, maybe 5 weeks) enough. If you like it, then problem
solved :)

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icpmacdo
Also dont forget about the Mac Mini, its not as huge of an investment as a
macbook pro or iMac.

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akhilcacharya
Nonexistent if you don't have friends with Macs.

You can do most of the development using platform-agnostic, err, mobile
development platforms (Ionic, Cordova, etc) and then test in a non-iOS
emulator, but for everything else (publishing, emulator testing, device
testing) you'll need a Mac.

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fragmede
Welcome to Apple's walled garden!

As the saying goes, "if you have to ask..." There are some methods that exist,
but none that are blessed by Apple, which makes for a very frustrating setup
experience, which never works out well for me if I "just wanna try".

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mschuster91
Well, there's the pirate way of using a patched VMware workstation... you'll
need a legit OSX Yosemite on a Mac though to create a bootable USB stick (just
google for "yosemite createinstallmedia", this part is legit).

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doobiaus
There's "MacInCloud" [http://www.macincloud.com/](http://www.macincloud.com/)

You can rent time on a remote Mac, preinstalled with tools, on an hourly,
weekly or Monthly basis.

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kristianp
Is it possible to deploy to a local IOS device from one of those?

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Firegarden
xamarin is what you are looking for. I can't believe this answer hasn't been
posted. xamarin is supported by microsoft and targets both ios, andriod and
windows.

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amitabhsharma
If you are open to hybrid apps, you can do it with Phonegap. Use their online
build service to build your project, develop locally.

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Jeremy1026
Your only option is to hackintosh, if you don't want to buy a Mac.

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chygrynskiy
oracle ADF and MAF mobile application framework using jdeveloper.You can
deploy in both android and ios

