The iOS setup

In order to be able to run the application being developed in an iOS simulator or on an iOS device connected to our computer, we need the following components:

The only disappointment when developing for iOS with the ability to debug on your computer is a limitation of the operating system by Apple. Unfortunately, it must only be Mac OS X operating system that does this. If you do not want the ability to run applications on your computer, you can simply use the service PhoneGap Build. However, as we try to better understand the features of PhoneGap, we should look deeper into platform-specific aspects.

We can test many of the Cordova features using the iOS emulator installed with the iOS SDK and Xcode, but we need an actual device to fully test all of the app's device features before submitting it to the App Store. To install apps onto a device, we should be a member of Apple's iOS Developer Program, which costs $ 99 per year. Next, we will describe how to run our application in an iOS emulator, which does not require the acquisition of the program.

So, let's say, we already have Mac OS X installed. The next thing we need to do is install Xcode. It is very simple. Follow these steps:

Now, with the help of the Cordova CLI, we can add our future version of iOS applications:

$ cd travelly
$ cordova platform add ios
Creating ios project...

Now, in the platform folder, the ios subfolder appeared, and in the plugins folder, the ios.json file appeared. Let's open travelly/platforms/ios/Travelly.xcodeproj in Xcode.

The Xcode window should look as follows:

$ cordova build ios

 $ cordova prepare ios
 $ cordova compile ios

$ cordova emulate ios