Cupertino based Apple Inc., has decided to prevent developers from coding Flash applications for any of its products by legally making its iPhone OS 4.0 incompatible with Adobe’s Flash and other application development software.
According to the iPhone OS 4 SDK Developer Program License Agreement released by the company, developers will have to create applications using Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iPhone OS WebKit engine because applications which will be created using an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool will not be approved by the company.
With this not-so-surprising move, Steve Jobs, who has been actively campaigning against Adobe Flash, has ensured the exclusion of Adobe and its software from everything even remotely related to Apple, starting with the iPad and its blockbuster iPhone smartphone device.
The new iPhone OS 4.0 SDK licensing agreement will prohibit the use of Adobe’s upcoming Flash-to-iPhone compiler which has been touted as one of USPs of Flash CS5 which will be launched on April 12th.
When contacted, an Adobe spokesperson said in statement that “We are aware of the new SDK language and are looking into it.” while Apple refrained from making any comments regarding the new app development rules.
That was something unexpected and could have some devastating consequences for small developers. Apple seems to have changed its strategy from being neutral (towards the likes of Adobe or Google) and going outright on the offensive.
Resource:
http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2010/4/10/apple-iphone-os4-introduces-legal-adobe-flash-block/
