iOS old app with no Xib or storyboard help.

[SarnaTraders]

Hello. Iam new to forum and in need of help. So thought why not get help from fellow developers.
I have a app (Photo Sharing App) that was bought from a developer and now I want to make it ios9 compatible.
But a developer told me this about the app. — App Code is Static. (no xibs and no storyboard used).
All code written programatically. >> if we make compatible to iOS9 we may have to re-structure re-code all the structure to match with latest app requirement storyboard,auto layout etc… (current code is static for each devices need to make dynamic).
— App not working for new xcode 7.
— Application working in older version of Xcode 6.4. When we try to run on Xcode 7 it shows error not compiling at all. we have finally managed to apply fix and run on new Xcode. But it still hangs on iOS 9
— facebook invite friend not working >> current code has older implementation of Facebook to show just friend with invite list which is now not allow by Facebook. We have to now check for this invite feature how it is working now and what are the steps needed to implement if working.

The question: Is it any easy solution to make it work or do we need to make the app from scratch. Any one who can guide me to right direction. Where should I start and what can be done. Is it much work related to getting it IOS9 compatible? Any script/codes available on the net/github? iam just a amateur and on starting level so please consider it.
I also have heard it is possible to create a launch screen with storyboard and let it work with coded app for flexible layout . How is that possible?

Thanks a lot

 

[dejo]

How knowledgeable are you with the fundamentals of iOS development? What have you done to learn the basics? Please be as specific as possible.

 

[SarnaTraders]

Hello.
To be honest Iam just at beginner level.
But I have sort of now hired a developer.
But he is also recommending to make the app from scratch with storyboard, Xcode 7, iOS 9, autolayout etc.

But that will obviously be costly . I have this app and it is a good app with 4star review. And downloaded more then 16K and was hoping to now start earning from it by adding inn app purchases like effects, layers, stickers, frames , collages etc.
And also implement ads.
Also to let the users have masking option(photo in photo)

The main issue is that the developer says iOS 9 compatibility as the app hangs in ios9 .
And also that I want to give my user freedom to crop, rotate, resize the layers(effects on the picture) and photos.

I rather want to market the app for that money instead of making a app from scratch.

 

[*SteveB*]

I think that it would be highly unlikely that the crashes in the app can't be fixed for iOS 9. I've worked on many apps that have survived though multiple OS versions, usually just requiring a day or so to do any updates to get things working again.

It's quite usual for the app to not compile or to crash on a new OS. For example, your app app may not conform to app transport security standards on iOS 9, this is a 5 minute fix. Or you may be trying to mix bitcode and non-bitcode libraries, which is a new problem in iOS 9, which is also a quick fix.

As for developing the app from scratch, it depends on the quality of the source code. If there is a strict MVC pattern followed, then you should be able to re-write the view code without having to rewrite the underlying logic. If not, it could be trickier, but that's probably for your developer to advise on.

One more thing to bear in mind, storyboards themselves don't make an app any better or worse. In fact, plenty of professional applications are created without them, and some developers prefer to avoid them entirely.

The same could be argued about autolayout, if the developer has calculated the frames of the views in a dynamic way then that's kind of all that autolayout does. From what you're saying that's not the case though, and I would expect that most apps these days are using it.

I wouldn't rewrite the app just to fix the crashes, just pay a professional developer for a couple of days work to get it up and running again for you. If there are larger problems that need addressed then rewrite might be the best option though.

 

[SarnaTraders]

I think that it would be highly unlikely that the crashes in the app can't be fixed for iOS 9. I've worked on many apps that have survived though multiple OS versions, usually just requiring a day or so to do any updates to get things working again.

It's quite usual for the app to not compile or to crash on a new OS. For example, your app app may not conform to app transport security standards on iOS 9, this is a 5 minute fix. Or you may be trying to mix bitcode and non-bitcode libraries, which is a new problem in iOS 9, which is also a quick fix.

As for developing the app from scratch, it depends on the quality of the source code. If there is a strict MVC pattern followed, then you should be able to re-write the view code without having to rewrite the underlying logic. If not, it could be trickier, but that's probably for your developer to advise on.

One more thing to bear in mind, storyboards themselves don't make an app any better or worse. In fact, plenty of professional applications are created without them, and some developers prefer to avoid them entirely.

The same could be argued about autolayout, if the developer has calculated the frames of the views in a dynamic way then that's kind of all that autolayout does. From what you're saying that's not the case though, and I would expect that most apps these days are using it.

I wouldn't rewrite the app just to fix the crashes, just pay a professional developer for a couple of days work to get it up and running again for you. If there are larger problems that need addressed then rewrite might be the best option though.

Thanks for a quick reply.
I do also agree on not making the app from scratch that is why I wanted some advice from others and I will definitely bring your words forward to the developer.
He says he can work with codes but if in future there is mandatory storyboard requirement for app submission then I should be aware of it.
Do you think that can be a scenario in the near future?

 

[PhoneyDeveloper]

I think it's difficult to answer without seeing the source code, and of course we won't see the source code.

It is possible that what @steveb says is correct, that a modest amount of work would be required to make the app compatible with iOS 9. It is possible that your developer isn't familiar with the kind of code that was used to write to app so he might not be able to easily fix bugs or add new features in that existing code. IMO, it was never the correct way to build an iOS app by creating all the UI in code, but this is not universally agreed among developers. Even if the app was built using nibs, like Apple recommended, you would probably be in a similar situation though.

I think it's unlikely that Apple will ever explicitly require use of storyboards for all UIs but there may be UI features that can only be made available from storyboards. It might be required that the UI starts with a storyboard but all subsequent views could be built in code.

Having said all that, one of the most time consuming parts of building an app is deciding what the UI looks like, what all the screens are, how the app moves from one screen to another. All of that part of the app design already exists for your app. You should be able to take screen shots of every screen and explain in great detail how everything fits together. It might not take very long to build a new UI using storyboards that matches the existing UI completely.

I understand the desire not to rebuild the app completely but your app wasn't designed to be flexible and easily improved in the future. You might want to build a pdf file with the screen shots and app description like I mentioned and get a few quotes for how much to build this app from scratch from more than one developer.

 

[dejo]

Also, being critical, do we really need another photo-sharing app? What does your app do that all the other ones out there don't already do? And what is your goal in creating this app? What I'm asking may sound harsh but you need to consider the answers to these questions before you pursue this development. If it does something unique or you're just doing this for the experience (and don't mind spending the money), I'm certainly not trying to discourage you from proceeding. And, then, good luck!

 

[SarnaTraders]

Also, being critical, do we really need another photo-sharing app? What does your app do that all the other ones out there don't already do? And what is your goal in creating this app? What I'm asking may sound harsh but you need to consider the answers to these questions before you pursue this development. If it does something unique or you're just doing this for the experience (and don't mind spending the money), I'm certainly not trying to discourage you from proceeding. And, then, good luck!

Hello.
Thanks for the reply.
Regarding if do need another photo app.
As I mentioned this app is already been in the market for 2 years and I have people using it daily and have good reviews.
That is the reason I want to develop further as new apps is coming with a lot of features the loyalty amongst user is as everyone knows changing.
It is getting tougher for old apps to survive so we need to implement changes to have them survive.

Basically that's why I want to add more features in the app. My app is very user friendly and simple to use that is why people love it to use.
I won't commercial the app but it is called Momently if you wanna check it out.

What the developer are saying also make sense, he says in case in future we have to implement storyboards etc. then we again have to do a lot of rewriting with new feature we now are implementing instead he wants me to have it done now as the app is simple written now with only capture and filters and sharing option in it.

 

[1458279]

Hello.

What the developer are saying also make sense, he says in case in future we have to implement storyboards etc. then we again have to do a lot of rewriting with new feature we now are implementing instead he wants me to have it done now as the app is simple written now with only capture and filters and sharing option in it.

There has been 2 schools of thought on this issue. What has been taught in the past is that everything that can be done in storyboards can be done in code. I don't know if this is still true with the latest options that include split screen stuff.
Others talk about the ease of use with storyboards and how updates can be made without digging into code.

IMO, storyboards are just another tool to help a developer. If you expect to make a bunch of apps and changes to those apps, it might be the best path. If the app is done and just needs a few changes, it might not be worth it. Developers have many choices of tools, it's not so easy to determine what is worth using and what isn't.

A person skilled in storyboards should be able to prototype an app quickly and import the special app logic. It seems that Apple is bought in with storyboards as a corner stone of their dev platform.

 

[*SteveB*]

I agree that storyboards are the great, and I use them for almost all of my views. Whilst they are usually the best choice, I disagree, that they are the 'right' way to create a UI. They can be a poor choice for highly dynamic UIs, so there are circumstances when you might not want to use them. I can't see any scenario in which Apple would enforce the use of storyboards, as it would make some complex UIs almost impossible to create.

Also, storyboards still rely on the code implementation, they're not a separate thing. The current way that I envisage storyboards work is that the XML is parsed, which creates the UI objects, and then sets the properties/constraints/relationships of those objects. I guess this may be done at runtime, or those objects could be serialised at compile time and then deserialised at runtime (that sounds faster). Either way, it still essentially just building the UI in code, it's just automated for you from your storyboard settings.

It sounds like you might need a rewrite for other reasons, but don't do it because you fear that storyboards will become mandatory, because that won't happen!

 

[VPrime]

You really don't need to worry about apple forcing storyboards. That's not going to happen.
Games typically don't use any of the ui stuff, and any of ui tools. So if apple forces this rule, then they basically kill off the entire games category... Which is the most popular app category.

They may encourage users to use it, but they won't force.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Why did you buy an app that didn't work?

I would demand that the original author fix it or a refund if it wasn't made clear that the code wouldn't work on the current iOS and Xcode when you bought it.

Then you're just paying the new developer for new features, not to fix code which isn't theirs.

Although even then, it might be a better idea to hire the person who wrote the original code, particularly if the new guy wants to rewrite it from scratch. The original author is already proven plus already understands all the code they wrote. The new guy will be lost in the woods and isn't proven.

Also, 16K downloads sounds laughably low to me for a free app. Do you know how many people are even still using it on a regular basis? Take the number that are still regularly using and divide it by 100. You're in the rough range of how many people will pay for in app purchases. Might still be off by a factor of ten either way.

Marketing this to get new users will be brutally hard and expensive. You'll spend much more trying to get new users than you'll actually make from having them.

Edit: Looked up the app. 25 five star reviews in 2.5 years. Not even one per month. This isn't a loyal user or fan base worth having. This is less than worthless. You'd have to pay me several hundred dollars for me to become the owner of it. I'd just take it off the App Store and save myself the $100/year fee to distribute it on the App Store.