Can I write iOS apps in Linux?

Question

I don't have a Mac nor the money to buy one but I know I need one to publish the app. My question is this: Is it possible to get Objective C, UI Kit, and SpriteKit on Linux, write the code and compile it on Linux, and test it on a mobile iOS device through Linux?

If testing on mobile iOS device is not possible on Linux, can I still write and compile the code and then send it to Mac computer (and the code would still work)?

@MichaelT I'm not interested in using a VM. I doubt my laptop can handle a VM for Mac OS. — grim_v3.0, Dec 04 '13 at 18:44

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 04 '13 at 18:43

1

No, it is not possible. The compilers, tools, and libraries required to develop iOS applications are only available as part of Xcode, on Mac OS X.

answered Dec 04 '13 at 18:43

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 04 '13 at 18:45

1

You can use Tigger.io software

http://forge.readthedocs.org/en/v1.4/tools/ios-linux.html

or GNU toolchain

http://xsellize.com/topic/111034-toolchain-for-ios-42/

answered Dec 04 '13 at 18:45

vs06

212
2
4
18

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 04 '13 at 18:44

I don't want to say it's impossible, but it's not going to be easy. Let's assume that you can get the SDK and compiler working on Linux. You'd still be crippled because Apple's proprietary tools for creating interfaces graphically is built into Xcode. You can define all of your interfaces in code, but it will be unnecessarily time consuming and much less maintainable.

Can I write iOS apps in Linux?

3 Answers3