iOS simulator on mac is running i386 architecture, not armv7?

Question

I've got some static libraries I've built for use on armv7 architectures. When I try to use them in a iOS project which I testrun on the iphone 5.0 simulator, I get errors telling me about undefined symbols for architecture i386 in my static libraries.

So I guess this means the iphone simulator wants libraries compiled for i386? What is the point of the simulator then - why dosn't it emulate armv7 architecture as well?

So the only way I can test my static libraries is to connect a physical iOS device and run it?

Or did I get it wrong?

This problem is why the Android project uses QEMU, an emulator. It's much slower than the iOS simulator. — Kevin Vermeer, Oct 25 '11 at 13:25

score 29 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 24 '11 at 10:57

So I guess this means the iphone simulator wants libraries compiled for i386? What is the point of the simulator then - why dosn't it emulate armv7 architecture as well?

You've answered your own question. It's a simulator, not an emulator. Therefore it is a Mac OSX program, running on i386 architecture. If you compile your static libraries for i386 as well you will be able to use them on the simulator.

score 9 · Answer 2 · edited Jul 26 '16 at 11:50

9

I am not very sure but i386 is for Simulator and armv7 is for Devices that you have connected to your Machine.

edited Jul 26 '16 at 11:50

Rui Peres

25,741
9
87
137

answered Oct 24 '11 at 10:57

mAc

2,434
2
22
39

score 4 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 20 '13 at 01:08

You can actually compile the app through Xcode command line tool using i386 architecture (there is also a way to run it in Xcode UI by modifying the build settings).

xcodebuild -sdk iphonesimulator6.1 -arch i386 VALID_ARCHS="i386 armv7 armv7s" clean install

Run this command in the directory that you have the projectName.xcodeproj file.

Here's a break down of the script:

-sdk iphonesimulator6.1 // Build the app on iPhone simulator 6.1
-arch i386 // Build your app using i386 architecture
VALID_ARCHS="i386 armv7 armv7s" // Specify these architectures are valid
clean install // Clean all the builds then re-build and install

Thanks, this worked for me for the new requirements on Facebook's Open Graph when submitting objects for review — estemendoza, Apr 30 '14 at 20:58

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Sep 04 '17 at 07:22

0

If you want to try simulators with i386 just go for =< iPhone 5.

answered Sep 04 '17 at 07:22

Bruno Muniz

316
3
17

iOS simulator on mac is running i386 architecture, not armv7?

4 Answers4

Linked