Does Apple allow Qt on iOS as dynamic library?

Question

With the technology preview of Android/iOS support in Qt 5.1, are there any news on deploying to Apple's app store yet? Since the non-commercial version of Qt is LGPL-licensed, and dylibs are usually not permitted by the app store rules, there would not to be an exception either on Digia's or Apple's side, however the Licensing talk doesn't provide any up-to-date information on the matter.

So, did anyone try to push a dynamically linked Qt app to the store, or have an official statement of either party?

This question appears to be off-topic because it is about license agreements. — Robert Harvey, Sep 09 '13 at 21:47

László Papp · Accepted Answer · 2014-02-17T10:45:24.580

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So, did anyone try to push a Qt app to the store, or have an official statement of either party?

Yes, there are qt demo applications in there. See the following examples:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/subattack/id659283830

and

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/qtquicksand/id666273528

This answers your question and concern I believe. As for further information, Qt 5.2 will even come with more support for this mobile platform. Although, I am not working on this port in the Qt Project, but I see that as a developer that 5.2 seems to support a lot more.

For instance, v8 has just got replaced by the new shiny v4 engine which will allow the proper QtQuick2 delivery for this platform.

That being said, the Apple Store will not allow dynamic libraries for runtime loading, so you will need to link statically.

edited Feb 17 '14 at 10:45

answered Sep 07 '13 at 07:26

László Papp

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Those example apps are from Digia, so I doubt they are dynamically linked. – AndiDog Feb 17 '14 at 07:35
@AndiDog: well, you have just modified your question! Moreover, it has nothing to do with Qt. It is a general Apple statement. – László Papp Feb 17 '14 at 07:37
Yes sorry if the question wasn't clear. LGPL enforces copyleft if you statically link. – AndiDog Feb 17 '14 at 10:14
@AndiDog: except if there are exceptions which are possible to be added. By the way, this is not possible and I updated my reply. You can also read details in here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4733847/can-you-build-dynamic-libraries-for-ios-and-load-them-at-runtime/4733885#4733885 – László Papp Feb 17 '14 at 10:43
Alright let's close this for the moment. – AndiDog Feb 17 '14 at 19:20
Link _dynamic_ libraries _statically_? – Ivan Perevezentsev May 07 '16 at 03:58

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited Sep 07 '13 at 07:28

I don't know of a Qt iOS app that has been published, but I have been looking into this myself. One good thing I found was an iOS preview that was published by Qt which states the following:

"We are very excited to be able to bring Qt to a new platform. Qt for iOS is planned to be a supported part of Qt 5.2, scheduled for release late 2013. The scope of that release is not completely determined: available resources, platform/app store restrictions and Qt legacy set constraints on the project."

The rest of the blog can be found on the Qt site.

That's an official statement, although it's stating that they don't know yet.

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 09 '13 at 16:52

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I have been looking into the same situation and as of now it seems that you need to have a commercial license to deploy Qt on iOS.

answered Sep 09 '13 at 16:52

steno

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Any reference or proof for your statement? – AndiDog Sep 09 '13 at 18:24

Does Apple allow Qt on iOS as dynamic library?

3 Answers3

Linked