Is anyone working on an iOS app?

[Dirk Hohndel]

On Mon, Oct 12, 2015 at 07:32:19PM +0200, Guido Lerch wrote:
> Hi Dirk
> 
> I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

You didn't hurt anyone's feelings. At least you didn't hurt mine.

> I just asked and volunteered to spend time on this.

Yay :-)

> > Am 12.10.2015 um 19:05 schrieb Dirk Hohndel <dirk at hohndel.org>:
> > 
> > For Android we have a build script that allows you to build all the
> > dependencies using the android tool chain. My guess is we need this as
> > well as the "wrapper" or "glue" around Subsurface to make it launch on
> > IOS.
> > 
> > I'd start reading here: http://doc.qt.io/qt-5/ios-support.html
> > 
> > Did this make more sense and explain the direction I think this should be
> > going in? If not, keep asking... I'd hate for you to waste time staring at
> > the companion app and trying to figure out how to extend that to be what
> > you want it to be and I'd hate for you to waste time developing a new UI
> > when we already are working on a mobile UI in a framework that should
> > allow us to reuse the vast majority of that work on IOS as well.
>
> All makes sense. I would not have used the companion app btw, I would have started something from scratch.

Which is a TON of work. This should be WAY easier and, as added benefit,
should give us two consistent mobile apps that will benefit from any work
done on the UI for one as it should cleanly translate to the other. That's
the whole idea behind doing a QML UI instead of a native UI for Android
(or IOS)

> Now as I got all this useful replies I am glad I had asked and not started already.

Asking on the mailing list is always a good idea. Really. We rarely bite.

> Using the android ground and the glue layer, would that not conflict with GPL?

Complicated question. And a question that doesn't have a universally
agreed upon answer.

The quick summary is that I believe that you are not in violation because
you continue to make the sources available and since all the tools needed
for someone to make changes and build their own app will also be made
available.

There are people who state with very strong arguments that the way apps
are distributed in the iTunes store is in violation of the GPL because the
store language says that people aren't allowed to modify the the app.

I believe that the fact that we will not just publish the app in the store
but ALSO make it easy for people to modify and rebuild the app starting
from our source distribution solves that problem with the terms of the
store.

And since at this point I believe I am the majority copyright holder and
since in previous conversations the other people with significant stake in
Subsurface (as GPL software) have all shown little or no concern about
this issue... I am quite comfortable that this is the direction we should
go in.

Basically the only people who really could complain and say "Hey, this
violates the GPL" is us, the developers. :-)

/D