Building a mobile app with PhoneGap and Dreamweaver – Part 6: Creating a release build for iOS

This is Part 6 of my seven-part series of tutorials in which you will learn how to rapidly create mobile applications for Android and iOS using Adobe Dreamweaver CS5.5, which comes with built-in support for PhoneGap. Part 1 provides an introduction to PhoneGap, and Part 2 focuses on using Dreamweaver, some common PhoneGap APIs, and the jQuery mobile framework to build a simple mobile application. Part 3 highlights tools and techniques for debugging. Parts 4 and 5 cover creating a release build for Android and submitting it to Android Market. It's OK to skip those parts of this series if you're not developing for Android.

In this part you'll learn how to create a release build of your application for iOS, with your own private signing key. You can use the sample app included with the sample files for this article as an example, or you can follow the steps outlined here using your own app.

If you've followed the steps in this tutorial series thus far, you should already have registered for a free Apple developer account and downloaded the iOS SDK. If you haven't done that yet, see Part 2 for more details.

Note: To complete this tutorial you will need to enroll in the iOS Developer Program. This program has a $99 yearly fee. The enrollment process can take a few hours or up to a few days.

You'll also need to download and install Xcode on a system running Mac OS X 10.6 or later.

After installing Xcode, the first step is to import the project you built with Dreamweaver into Xcode.

1. In Finder, open the directory in which Dreamweaver stored the build of your iOS project. In the sample files for this tutorial, this folder is named com.companyname.testapp_iOS.
2. Double-click the Xcode project file in this directory to launch the project in Xcode. For example, double-click the testapp.xcodeproj sample file.
3. In the top bar beside the Stop button, select an appropriate simulator and click the Run button to make sure the project was imported and that the app works. Your application should open in the iOS simulator.

You'll need to create a provisioning profile to get your application onto your device. This section will guide you through setting up the necessary certificates and getting your iOS device and Mac provisioned properly.

1. After your enrollment in the iOS Developer Program is confirmed by Apple, log into https://developer.apple.com/devcenter/ios/index.action.
2. On the right side of the page, locate the iOS Developer Program panel and click iOS Provisioning Portal (see Figure 1).

3. On the iOS Provisioning Portal welcome page, click the Launch Assistant button.
4. In the next steps, you'll follow the on-screen instructions provided by the Development Provisioning Assistant (see Figure 2).

5. Click Continue.
6. Type an App ID description. Make it something descriptive about your app. The description you enter will be used throughout the provisioning process to identify your App ID. For my example, I typed dwtest. Click Continue.
7. Next, you need to specify the Apple device that you are using for development and testing. If you've already set one up, simply select Use An Existing Apple Device and then select it. Otherwise, select Assign A New Apple Device and click Continue.
8. Type a description of your device. For example, I typed Steves iPhone 4. (Special characters, including the apostrophe, are not permitted.)
9. Type your Unique Device ID (UDID). To find it, connect your device to your Mac, choose Window > Organizer in Xcode, and select your device. Copy the 40-character string in the identifier field and paste it as the Device ID in the Development Provisioning Assistant.
10. Click Continue.

Next, you need to request a development certificate.

11. In the Applications folder on your Mac, open the Utilities folder and double-click Keychain Access.
12. After Keychain Access launches, choose Keychain Access > Certificate Assistant > Request a Certificate from a Certificate Authority.
13. In the Certificate Information dialog box, type the email address you used to register with the iOS Developer Program. In the Common Name field, type your name or your organization's name. Select Saved To Disk (see Figure 3) and click Continue.

14. Note where the certificate signing request (CSR) is saved.
15. Return to the Development Provisioning Assistant in your browser.
16. Upload your CSR in the Development Provisioning Assistant and click Continue.
17. Type a description for your provisioning profile and click Generate. Click Continue once it completes.
18. Follow the on-screen instructions to download and install your provisioning profile. Click Continue.
19. Follow the on-screen instructions to download and install your development certificate. Click Continue.
20. Finish the instructions but don't install your application on your device yet. You will do that in the following section.

1. Before you create a release build, it's a good idea to install your application on your device.
2. Go to your project in Xcode and in the jump bar at the top, switch from the simulator you chose earlier to your device (see Figure 4).

3. Select the summary tab for your project in Xcode and set the Identifier to include the App ID you set up in the previous section (see Figure 5). For example, if you typed dwtest as the App ID earlier, you might set the identifier to com.yourcompany.dwtest.

3. Select the orientations you want your application to support and add images for the app icons and splash screen.
4. Click the Run button to build the application and install it on your device.

Switching from a debug version of your application to a release version is straightforward.

1. Click in the top bar beside the Stop button and choose Edit Scheme (see Figure 6).

2. In the Edit Scheme dialog box, make sure Run is selected in the left side panel and select the Info tab in the main panel.
3. Change the Build Configuration setting from Debug to Release (see Figure 7).
4. Click OK.

5. Make sure your device is connected to your Mac and selected in the jump bar beside the Stop button.
6. Click the Run button.

You have just created a release build of your application and installed it onto your device.

In this tutorial, you learned how to create a provisioning profile and a certificate used to build and install a release build of your application on your device. In Part 7 you'll learn how to distribute your application in the Apple App Store.

For information on setting up your provisioning profile, see the iOS Provisioning Portal website.