IOS 8 provides TestFlight for developers to test software.

Address: http://tech2ipo.com/66893

 

TestFlight/via iMore

Author:Nick shortttTranslator: Ling's original article:IMore 

Testing iOS apps has always been a headache for iOS developers. So Apple announced with great fanfare that TestFlight will be part of iOS 8 at WWDC 2014, which is not surprising at all. Since Apple acquired Burstly, the maker of TestFlight, many have hoped that Apple will eventually release a developer-friendly solution. Adding TestFlight to iOS 8 has become a very important improvement in this field. This statement is naturally welcomed by developers.

TestFlight vs. Ad Hoc released

Most people only download and install applications on their terminals through the App Store. However, for those mainly engaged in application development, they often use another method: Ad Hoc release. Each iOS device has a unique device identifier (UDID ). This device identifier can help developers Add the device under their account, so that the device can accept Ad Hoc Publishing. Through this step, developers can put the program on the device without publishing a program for testing. Managing and running Ad Hoc publishing is also easy. Developers only need to create and maintain a release log to indicate which specific devices can run specific applications, so that the devices can get the operation permissions of beta applications. However, for most developers, an account is limited to 100 devices. In addition, this process is very easy to screw up and can easily cause confusing errors. Therefore, Ad Hoc release is not a very good tool for developers. TestFlight seems to change everything.

The first important change is that TestFlight no longer requires developers or testers to provide your device identification code or corresponding identity information. To add a new device, follow these steps:

1. Developers need to ask testers to provide their device Identifiers (if testers do not know how to see their device identifiers, they also need to tell testers how to find their device identifiers ).

2. The Tester Used a software to retrieve their device identifier.

3. The tester sends the device identifier to the developer.

4. Log on to the Apple developer portal.

5. The developer adds the device of the tester to their account.

6. The developer puts the device into an appropriate application account.

7. The developer adds information about the tester and updates the application.

8. The developer releases the application to the tester.

The above steps differ slightly based on the tools used by developers, but this step at least describes the entire process. The steps of TestFlight are basically as follows:

1. The tester told the developer about their apple account.

2. Log on to iTunes Connect.

3. The developer sends an email invitation to the tester.

4. The tester accepts the invitation.

5. The tester downloaded the installation program through the TestFlight software.

If TestFlight can achieve all the effects it promises, the complicated steps for handling device identifiers and accounts will pass.

1000 Apple accounts vs. 100 device identification codes

Second, developers have long complained about the limit of 100 devices. However, developers can now add 1000 Apple accounts under their beta applications. However, adding an apple account will cause TestFlight to send an alert to developers and require applications to send a review to Apple. However, we do not know the specific criteria for passing the review. Similarly, we do not know whether developers will be required to send a review if some minor updates are made to the application after the review is passed. However, this is a new hurdle that developers must overcome.

In addition to 1000 testers, developers can add 25 international testers. However, international testers cannot only invite by email. They must have an account created by the developer in iTunes Connect. The advantage of this new rule is that international testers no longer need to wait for application release to participate in the testing process.

A new version of the application will be valid for 30 days after it is uploaded and approved. If a new version is not released 30 days later, the tester will not be able to run the test application on the device. It is not until the developer releases a new version that the tester can run the program again. In addition to uploading applications, developers must also submit program metadata. The description of the application and the information that the tester needs to test should also be uploaded.

Testers will be able to manage and install beta programs that invite them to test through TestFlight. TestFlight will be released along with iOS 8, so developers cannot use TestFlight on the old iOS version or android. TestFlight allows you to browse the program description and test remarks. The test remarks will let developers know where to improve and where to improve. Testers can also send feedback to developers through the TestFlight software.

Only the latest version can be downloaded.

Another thing worth mentioning for all developers is: Domestic testers and international testers can only download and install the latest version of the test software. Only the latest version of Apple's new iTunes Connect video can be downloaded, and all previous versions are displayed as "inactive 」. After the new version is submitted, a checked version that is available for download will be displayed as "inactive 」. On that day, developers may be able to bring testers to the previous versions in some ways. However, we can be sure of this only when Apple releases the new official iTunes Connect file in the fall. However, downloading the latest version may become unacceptable to many developers.

Crash report ...... Later next year

The last feature worth mentioning by TestFlight is the crash report. An error log is generated when the software on your device crashes. ITunes Connect has always been able to browse crash logs, but few have succeeded. Another forgotten part is the lack of symbolic representation. This means that the crash log that developers see will not be part of the code that causes the application to crash, but is like the endless address of the Code that causes the application to crash in hexadecimal notation. That is to say, if the application crashes, developers will not see a specific error message similar to "[OMGASIHTTPRequest reportFinished]", but something similar to "0x9b000 + 23698. Third-party services such as the HockeyApp have provided the error log symbolic service for a period of time, but now iTunes Connect will finally have this function. Unfortunately, this feature will be released in the second half of next year, so developers who want to see useful crash logs still need to use some other tools.

TestFlight for iOS 8: bottom line

TestFlight in iOS 8 means that developers and testers will have more options to test the beta program. Developers will be able to publish beta applications to more users, and testers will get an officially recognized method to install third-party programs outside of the apple app marketplace. We hope that this improvement will reduce the number of program errors that will be logged into the Apple App Store in the future, and allow users who finally download the software to get a good application that has been tested and processed by more people.