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iOS & Swift

iOS App Distribution & Best Practices

Apr 21 2021 , Swift 5.3, iOS 14.4, Xcode 12.4 Swift 5.3, iOS 14.4, Xcode 12.4

Learn the best practices of the Apple Developer Program, generating the various certificates needed, configuring your app and submitting an app to the App Store for approval, both manually and through automated processes through automated pipelines. Learn to use Apple TestFlight to add internal and external testers and receive feedback and crash reports. By Pietro Rea & Keegan Rush.

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Who is this for?

This book is for beginner to experienced developers who want to know the best and most common workflow to releasing an app to the App store, as well as limiting frustration by troubleshooting and debugging common issues and problems associated with distributing apps.

Covered concepts

  • App Store quick start
  • Provisioning, code signing and entitlements
  • Distribution channels and TestFlight
  • App Store Connect
  • Build customizations
  • Build automation
  • Continuous integration

Learn how to sign up for Apple Developer Program, generate the various certificates needed, configure your app and submit an app to the App Store for approval, both manually and through automated processes through automated pipelines. You’ll learn how to use Apple TestFlight to add internal and external testers and...

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Before You Begin

This section tells you a few things you need to know before you get started, such as what you’ll need for hardware and software, where to find the project files for this book, and more.

i
What You Need
ii
Book Source Code & Forums
iii
About the Cover
iv
Dedications
v
About the Team
vi
Introduction

Section I: iOS App Distribution & Best Practices

Begin your journey into learning the best practices of the Apple Developer Program, generating the various certificates needed, configuring your app and submitting an app to the App Store for approval, both manually and through automated processes through pipelines. Learn to use Apple TestFlight to add internal and external testers and receive feedback and crash reports. And finally, review some real-world scenarios and learn how this book’s lessons apply to them.

1
The App Store
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Getting started with the App Store release, here's a recap of what the App Store does, and the role it plays in the distribution of apps. Review the lifecycle of an app from inception to production, and how various topics in this book tie together to help you navigate Apple's release process.
2
Your First App in the App Store
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Starting from a zero account to creating, building and archiving your first app! You'll wrap it up by code signing and uploading your first app to App Store Connect, all from within Xcode.
3
Submitting Your First App for Review
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Learn the intricacy of App Store Connect and how to prepare your App Store page.
4
Code Signing & Provisioning
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Deep dive into the intricacies of code signing, provisioning profiles and entitlements and learn how they work together.
5
Internal Distribution
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Learn how to distribute builds within your organization, either manually or wirelessly, using your own solution or a third-party service.
6
TestFlight
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Use TestFlight to send your production-ready app to up to 10,000 testers by either sharing a link or sending an email, and receive feedback and crash reports in one central place. There's no need to collect device information and it requires no ongoing maintenance on your part.
Preparing for App Review
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Learn about the App Review process, the principles behind it, the various stages your app goes through before it becomes available to the public and how to troubleshoot any issues.
App Approved! (Now What?)
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Learn about pre- and post-release checklists as well as the different ways you can monitor the performance of your app in production to be better prepared for upcoming maintenance.
Build Customizations
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Learn how to customize a build using targets, build settings and schemes. Understand how they work together, and the different levels of inheritance in build configurations.
Advanced Build Configurations
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Learn how to refactor build configurations out of the Xcode project to increase visibility and improve maintainability.
Managing Secrets
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Learn how to store secrets, such as API tokens in build configurations, swap them for different build types and use them in the code.
Build Automation
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Learn how to build, archive, export and upload your app to App Store Connect, all through the command line and automate this process using Xcode toolchain.
Introduction to Fastlane
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Learn how to use fastlane to build a fully automated pipeline that runs tests, creates certificates, provisioning profiles and push notification certificates, and goes as far as uploading builds to Test Flight and submitting to App Store review, along with screenshots and metadata.
Continuous Integration
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Use continuous integration to automatically run builds when new changes are introduced and to catch failing tests early before they become a problem.
Publishing in the Real World
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Review some real-world scenarios and learn how this book's lessons apply to them.
Where to Go From Here?
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You've come a long way! Now, it's time to wrap up.
Conclusion

Section II: Appendices

Appendix A: TestFlight
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This Appendix walks you through creating a distribution build and uploading it to App Store Connect.
Appendix B: Release Page & Checklist
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Appendix B has a sample release page and a release checklist.