Apple's App Store API screening flawed, says developer
updated 04:20 pm EST, Fri November 20, 2009
Coders must be careful to avoid tripping flags
A new automatic screening technique Apple is using for the App Store appears to be backfiring, claims developer Rogue Sheep. The screening is believed to be aimed at catching unauthorized APIs, blocked under Apple's submission rules. A number of the apps trapped so far are allegedly ones using Three20, an Objective-C library. Rogue Sheep's Postage has in the past relied on some Three20 code, and so private API calls were removed from the software before submitting a recent update.
The update was nevertheless rejected because of a supposed private API call, which Rogue Sheep claims it "did not explicity use" anywhere. Apple's screening is instead thought to have been alerted by a mere reference to the API call in Three20, one not actually employed in Postage. Rogue Sheep thus cautions other developers to avoid using category names similar to those for private APIs. The company says it would also like Apple to fix its use of the screening tool, and possibly release it, giving people the chance to perform tests before submissions.
Or...
11/20, 05:21pm (1 reply) reply
Don't use third-party libraries that reference forbidden APIs.
njfuzzy
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Apr 2001
Or...
11/20, 05:41pm reply
Use the correct version of the 3rd party library that does not have this problem and has been out for some time.
HowardG
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Mar 2001
Or
11/20, 05:51pm reply
Maybe three20 is still using some private APIs, regardless of whether you call them or not.
testudo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
So, he's telling screening doesn't work?
11/21, 06:18am reply
Every programmer familiar with objective-c knows that the only way to get caught with your pants down by Apple's screening is to actually have private method call in your code. Yes, it can be isolated under impossible condition, but it is still there, and it wasn't removed by the compiler which tosses away the dead code.
3rd party library, that's what backfiring, not Apple's automated screening.
So, either Rogue Sheep is aiming its comment at technically illiterate public or the company representative is technically illiterate himself. In any cases he's a worthy candidate to stir the masses into "Apple not playing fair with devs, soon they all leave to Android, webOS, Maemo, whatever" kind of outcry.
ViktorCode
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jan 2006