Question

I would like to write some Objective-C code for distribution. What is the best way to package up the output. In Java you can package up your code in a JAR file and distribute that. What would be the equivalent in Objective-C?

The following link is close, but seems to address more of the namespace issues which I am not concerned about. I am mostly concerned about setting the code up for easy distribution.

Objective-C equivalent of Java packages?

Answer 1

A framework is almost certainly the way to go. One of the really nice things about Frameworks on OS X is that they can bundle the executable code, headers, metadata, images, icons, etc. in a single package. Further, frameworks can be included in */Library/Frameworks/ or even inside your app bundle to completely decouple from any other app’s dependency on a given version of the framework.

Apple’s Framework Programming Guide is the best place to get started with frameworks.

Creating a framework is simple. Basically, in Xcode you choose File > New Project… and select Framework, then Cocoa Framework. This will set up a new project with framework target and automatically package everything up for you when you build.

Don’t forget that documentation and unit tests are a Good Thing™, especially for frameworks, which are inherently more likely to be used by multiple clients than most end-user code. You can add more targets to your framework Xcode project to document and test it.

Since you’re looking for examples, check out CHDataStructures.framework (a project which I develop) and PSMTabBarControl.framework (which includes lots of extra resources in the framework). Both are open-source, and should provide adequate examples for rolling your own.

One word of advice to save you some head-scratching: your header files will not be copied to the built framework unless you click on the framework target and change the Role to “Public” (or “Private”).