I am currently experimenting with programming for my Nokia 5800 XpressMusic (running Symbian 9.4). Setting up the development environment (Carbide C++) was already a huge pain, but now that I am actually able to build something the pain doesn't stop! It seems there is an incredible overhead involved when you actually want to test an application on the phone. But I really hope somebody more experienced than me knows some easy way to do it.
If I understood right every application has to be signed. I can sign applications myself, so this is not a problem and it seems to work fairly well. But then it seems not all capabilities are available if I do this, and the one I need is amongst them. So now I have the option to buy a publisher ID to get a developer certificate (current cost: 200$ - no thanks) or I have to upload the application every time to symbiansigned! Every time I change the code and want to test on the phone I have to upload the thing using a stupid web form!
But now I was excited to find that you can do some remote debugging stuff with a thing called TRK (maybe this spares me the signing?). I hoped that I could use this to connect Carbide and my phone. But this doesn't quite work. My phone doesn't show the application required for this connection although it installed properly. I had a look at the supported Symbian version number and it seems to be 9.2, so not mine :( Stuck again?
And the emulator is no option because it doesn't support sensors and cameras :(
So what am I doing wrong (and sure there must be something)? Is the only way to test my app on the phone to actually upload it every time, wait for it to getting signed, download it again, install it and test - just to see it didn't work and that I have to repeat this process over and over again?? PLEASE no...
follow the instructions here http://www.forum.nokia.com/Distribute/Packaging_and_signing.xhtml to get yourself a free certificate for 5 testing devices, then you can use this certificate to sign your applications directly without using open sign.
When you use TRK, your application is still installed on the phone (in background, with so called silent installation API - by the way, you can use it too, but it's offtopic), because the only eligible way for a binary to get into the phone is the Installer Service. So you still need some certificate. All three options to get certificate mentioned here are ok, though the last, free one (from Mahdi Hijazi), I suppose, is the preferred. :)
Please go to
http://www.opda.net.cn/register.php
then apply for a OPDA Developer Certificate and download signer tool from the site and use it to sign your symbian applications.
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I have made a simple desktop app that I want to sell through the AppStore. Of course I want to be protected against piracy. Does AppStore give any protection? How does that process work?
For instance, what prevents a dishonest person from buying my app and then upload it on a torrent and share it with others. If these other people download my app, will they automatically be asked for their identity check (Apple ID and password), the first time they try to use my app, thus preventing them from using it if they have not bought it legally.
If this identity check does not happen automatically, then do I need to add some code in my app that will ask for the identity check. If so, where can I find info about how to do that?
I'm not entirely sure how this process works. Could somebody shed some light on it?
Mac App Store slips a receipt each time it is downloaded into the bundle. The receipt contains information about the computer used (the so called GUID) and the user logged into the App Store.
See here how you should validate the receipt:
https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/releasenotes/General/ValidateAppStoreReceipt/Introduction.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40010573
If you implement the GUID validation as described in the document, the app will not run on any other computer.
Also check the signature of your code to make sure it has not been tampered:
Verifying app's signature by code
Your application, when downloaded from the App Store, contains a receipt. The receipt contains proof that it was downloaded onto this computer from the App Store, and the ID of the application. There are instructions somewhere on Apple's website that tell you how to verify the receipt and what to do if the verification fails.
That said, you are much better off concentrating on writing an app that people actually want to buy. People who pirate your app wouldn't hand over money if it couldn't be pirated. They would do without it, pick some free app, or pick a different app that they can pirate.
And I'm quite sure that any copy protection you build into your app yourself will get it rejected from the App Store.
Even though the answers I've got were helpful, they didn't quite provide the answer I needed. Looking around I found a software called Receigen from Laurent Etiemble, and the FAQ on his site (http://receigen.etiemble.com/faq.html) gave many answers for what I was looking for. For instance
What is an App Store receipt validation ? Why is it needed ?
Basically, an App Store receipt is what an application must check to ensure that the copy is genuine and can be run.
What happens if I don't check the App Store receipt ?
Well, anybody with a copy of your application can run it, with or without proper authorization.
Is the code receipt validation easy to write?
No because it requires deep understanding of cryptography and secure coding techniques.
It didn't hurt either that Receigen generated code that freed me from dealing with receipt validation code. Receigen takes care of this part so I can focus on what is really important for me: my application.
Yes, it costs money but personally I am more than glad to pay it, because I find this part of the development tedious, boring and complex.
TPInAppReceipt is a great package for this.
I was able to easily add local receipt validation after trying many others solutions less successfully:
https://github.com/tikhop/TPInAppReceipt
Apple has a corporate developer program with an elevated licensing cost, does Microsoft provide such a service for Windows Phone 7 developers?
This was asked at a recent MS event. You can assign (I think 5) phones to developer unlock them, then load application directly/bypass the marketplace.
Also, there were talks that they are hoping to soon allow beta/redemption codes to allow limited deployment of your application to non-unlocked phones, bypassing testing/marketplace acceptance.... But I do not know the status of this.
The best thing you can do at the moment is develop your application as normal and have a password/login screen at startup. This is a horrible approach, but it does work.
At the moment, the phone is very much targeted towards consumers.
I'm not sure what is provided in the Apple Enterprise version, but so far Microsoft only has the one registration process and no private app distribution: you can distribute apps on the market to everyone, or by giving your xap file to people with dev-unlocked phones, nothing in between.
The official line is NO, not yet.
Windows Phone 7 was created, first and foremost, for consumers, not enterprise customers.
That being said, LOTS of people are asking for this and Microsoft have said they will address this in the future. No timescales or details have yet been announced yet.
This will likely be related to the way that beta testing and home brew distribution are implemented. (Just my assumption.)
I don't know why I can't just comment on another answer in this thread, so my apologies for placing these remarks in an answer.
I think MS needs to really make this happen since it could be the saving grace for WP7. While I personally feel that my experience with WP7 and my Samsung Focus have been just as good or better than that with the second-gen iPod Touch that I have, there are a lot of people who aren't convinced. For better or worse, it really is the ecosystem that matters and MS has that within the corporate world.
I have an application for Windows Phone 7 that I need to bundle up and send to several doctors for a content review. Ideas on how this might be done? I can't expect the docs to install the full SDK, but if I could bundle the emulator with it that might work, or if there's an easy way to convert the app to a Windows EXE that would as well. All suggestions welcomed!
While the theory is that since it's SIlverlight it should just run on the desktop. Years of Compact Framework development have taught me that this theory is almost never correct and getting it to work is often a real chore.
Microsoft has not yet delivered a stand-along WinPhone emulator (no idea if they will, but they did for WinMo) so for now that option is off the table. Getting your end user to install the stand-alone emulator is a fair bit of work anyway.
To be honest, my experience has been that just doing a Camtasia capture of the developer screen while you step through the app is one of the easiest ways to get ideas across to these types of groups. No, the end result isn't interactive, so they can't clock on buttons themselves, but if you walk through the feature they want to see, you can usually answer 95% of the questions this way.
When you need to address that other 5%, my experience has been that it's easiest to just send them a physical device with the app installed.
If they are (or have ready access to someone who is) fairly tech-savvy, shipping a Virtual PC image of a PC with the emulator installed and the app installed on it sometimes works.
Dot NET code using MS libraries is partially upwards compatible and most runtime classes present on a mobile device are also available on desktop Windows (see MSDN docs for details). So create a copy of your source code, ask visual studio to create a desktop .exe from it, it'll tell you it can't for several reasons, and you will need to recode some sections of it, resize the frame window etc. to make it work.
If one is careful about what methods one uses, I have managed to actually use the exact same .EXE file on the desktop without problems!
You simply cannot present the application without the SDK, since Windows Phone 7 applications rely on a completely different subset of .NET Framework and require an emulator to run XAP packages. Although you might say that it's the same Silverlight, don't forget about Microsoft.Phone and derivatives - you need the SDK in order for those libraries to be properly handled.
Also, you cannot convert a WP7 application to a Windows executable due to difference in platform architectures.
What you could do is simply allow the doctors to test your application through TeamViewer or similar products.
i think a "killer app" for winphone7+silverlight would be a desktop browser based emulator. want to try the app? just have the store run the emulator in the browser. (yeah, lots of technical hurdles, limited multitouch etc, but it would be pretty slick!)
In developing a number of WP7 apps, I have a need to show clients how the app will be when deployed. The clients are a) not in the same location as I am, b) not technical at all, and c) may not even be using a PC. The purpose is to demo, get feedback and make any needed changes.
I'm not finding any realistic options to just simply show them what it would look, feel and run on a Windows Phone 7 (using the ApplicationBar, etc.). I found this link - http://www.redmondpie.com/standalone-windows-phone-7-series-emulator-9140536/ - but it's rather hacky for me to ask someone to do to set up an emulator on their machine without also installing VS Express, etc.
Does anyone know of any links to an official emulator that can be run on a PC, has a simple install and can load WP7 apps?
Have you considered using a product such as Citrix GoTo. Clients do not need to be particularly technical to join such a meeting, you can then take them through a demo. This will cost you though.
A free alternative would be to set aside a PC running the emulator with your software loaded. Create a VPN for you clients to connect to and let them use Remote Desktop Connection to connect to the PC. They can then play around with it remotely.
Have you considered using SketchFlow? Although by default the UI is "sketchy" (sorry), you can apply styles to the controls you drop on your pages, including the very same styles that are used by Windows Phone controls.
If you use a Silverlight SketchFlow project, you can deploy the content to a web server and provide a link that can be consumed on any machine that will render Silverlight content...they can go through the navigation, provide feedback, etc.
Christian Schormann has a writeup on what is required to use it in the pre-release tools... http://electricbeach.org/?p=573
You should take a look at this: http://justinangel.net/WindowsPhone7EmulatorAutomation. I believe it will answer your question exactly.
Is there any Remote wipe application which will be working on deleting the data in Emulator by sending an SMS from other emulator?? I found some of the free applications in android market on Remote Wipe.. But they are not working..
Please let me know if any of the application is working on Emulator
Thanks in advance
Uday
There is just one remote wipe application I have come across.
I have been trying to write one such application myself but I believe the permissions required are 2nd level and 3rd level permissions (check this link and this link). Thats is the reason I am unsuccessful as yet. I believe that you basically need to sign the package with the same signature as the OEM manufacturer to be able to grant those packages to your device.
If by an stroke of luck you do happen to make one successfully, please let us know the permission you have used to make such a thing possible! =)
Regards
Shouvik
EDIT: Okay I supposed I am wrong. I believe in android 2.2 it is possible to remote wipe your. I have not completely understood how to implement the function or the class yet, I plan to work on it as soon as I can spare some time. :)
Reply:
Well I have been looking at the SDK for some time now, and I can confidently tell you below 2.2, I am pretty sure there is no way I know of to remote wipe your data. I have although read on the mailers list that there is a function that enables a third party client to create a remote wipe application as you may have seen in my post above. I have actually use my own port of android on a device and have just used the brick, but if I do come across any reference that can show how you could achieve what you desire, I would be happy to leave a post here. Regards Shouvik.
Links
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager.html#wipeData%28int%
also for formatting the SD card I came across a permission that you can request, I guess you follow that you end up at the method.
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/Manifest.permission.html#MOUNT_FORMAT_FILESYSTEMS