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Microsoft Open-Sources Windows Bridge For iOS

Posted by samzenpus on from the try-it-out dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Previously known as Project Islandwood, Microsoft today released an early version of Windows Bridge for iOS, a set of tools that will allow developers to port iOS apps to Windows. The announcement reads in part: "We're releasing the iOS bridge as an open-source project under the MIT license. Given the ambition of the project, making it easy for iOS developers to build and run apps on Windows, it is important to note that today's release is clearly a work-in-progress — some of the features demonstrated at Build are not yet ready or still in an early state. Regardless, we'd love for the interested and curious to look at the bridge, and compare what we're building with your app's requirements. And, for the really ambitious, we invite you to help us by contributing to the project, as community contributors — with source code, tests, bug reports, or comments. We welcome any and all participation in building this bridge." The source code is available now on Github.

48 comments

  1. Backfire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Someone might make a set of tools to port Win programs to Mac OS

    1. Re: Backfire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Microsoft have already done that themselves. It's one of the new features of Visual Studio 2015.

    2. Re:Backfire by MightyYar · · Score: 0

      Seems a lot like OS/2.

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    3. Re:Backfire by MightyMartian · · Score: 0

      I wasn't aware they were either.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    4. Re:Backfire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      MS already did. https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-...

    5. Re: Backfire by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 1

      I believe the OP was referring to Wine.

    6. Re:Backfire by qpqp · · Score: 1

      OS X != iOS.

    7. Re: Backfire by savuporo · · Score: 0

      Small correction, and I speak from first hand experience. The employees are not buying them, Msft keeps shoveling these at employees as Christmas gifts and so on.

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    8. Re: Backfire by arkane1234 · · Score: 1

      which works quite nicely.

      --
      -- This space for lease, low setup fee, inquire within!
    9. Re: Backfire by hairyfeet · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I really don't see why so many are ragging on the WinPhone. How many here have actually used one? The wife has one and its quite nice, the UI was easier for her to pick up than either my Android 4.4 or the iPhone 5 she had previously, its got good battery life, excellent speech to text (frankly more accurate than my Android), comfortable in the hand, decent screen, the only real complaint I could level at the thing is that they don't have a flagship that compares with the latest Galaxy or iPhone but if you compare like hardware to like hardware? they run very nicely.

      Oh and as an added bonus since MSFT handles all the updates we don't have to worry about the carrier abandoning her or having to find a hacked ROM as I did on my HTC because the phone had support end 3 minutes after it left the factory, in fact hers is on the first round release list so she should get Win10 on release. Previous updates have been as easy as "push button, let phone reboot" without having to actively hunt or did as I had to and look for ROMs with my previous phone. Hell I would have probably went with WinPhone but I like to get customized ROMs with speed tweaks and the like and that is the one place Android has a real leg up, at least for me, but then again I'm not the average phone user.

      My current phone (A BLU Studio Mini LTE) has gotten the 4.4.2 update, will it get 5 without me having to find a hacked ROM? Who knows, probably not if history is an indicator, and I've had Android phones that never got a single update from the carrier and were just left to rot. At least with the Lumia that gamble is gone and if they release a flagship phone I have zero doubt I'll be getting one for the wife, she just loves how easy and reliable her WinPhone is.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    10. Re: Backfire by davester666 · · Score: 1, Troll

      If you have actually used it to run a windows app, you would know IT TOTALLY SUCKS. Yes, the app may 'run', either partially or fully, but it's worse than even a Java app. It sure as hell ain't 'ported' to the OS.

      You only use Wine if you are too lazy to bother pirating Windows to run in a VM.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    11. Re:Backfire by davester666 · · Score: 0

      'buying' is an overstatement. More like "Given and ordered to use".

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    12. Re: Backfire by Billly+Gates · · Score: 0

      Here here

      I miss my Nokia greatly and my experience with my galaxy 5s has been awful! Unstable, slow, buggy, and needs restoring. Hmm isn't that the viewpoint of Windows phone here? I bet some have not used Windows since windows 98 and think it's still true today ... OK Windows 10 rivals Windows ME right in terms of bugs bUT that is the exception.

      On your wife's Nokia try pinning inboxes and contacts? Notice how much easier it is to cut and paste for things like a bridge phone number and pin code together? On my Android I need to write down on a piece of paper the pin code as it halts and freezes and you go back and forth between email and the dialer. TouchWiz aka lagwhiz turned me off.

      I am a little prejudice as my galaxy s1 became unusable with a 30 second wait to open the contact list after a year had me laughed at work. I switched to Windows phone 8 and would still use it if I didn't drop it

      --
      http://saveie6.com/
    13. Re: Backfire by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      Check out the unlocked BLU WinPhones if the current Nokia phones don't do it for ya. I have the Android version and they are great phones, quad cores, a Gb of RAM, runs on nearly all carriers,good battery life with MicroSD slot, just great little phones IMHO. As soon as I get the move over I'll probably pick up one for the wife, one thing she dislikes about her Nokia is the camera and the camera on mine has been great. Oh and their prices kick ass, $130 for an unlocked 5in quad? You just can't beat that.

      And I agree on the UI, cut and paste works perfect, the UI is a hell of a lot more responsive, if there aren't some killer ROMs released for mine by the time it gets long in the tooth I'll probably join her in the WinPhone camp, I don't care for the latest Windows desktop, but the phones? Work great!

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    14. Re: Backfire by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      I really don't see why so many are ragging on the WinPhone. How many here have actually used one?

      Try getting a Lyft from a Windows Phone.
      Blackberry OS is really nice too. Can't get a Lyft from there, either (except you can, with the Android emulation).

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    15. Re: Backfire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Link worked fine for me. You must be the real fucking moron.

    16. Re: Backfire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I used a Windows Phone for a few months a year ago, while I was entertaining the naive notion that it might be time to give up my long history of iPhones. The OS? I agree with you, it has it's pro's. It lacked a lot of polish I was used to, but a lot of the concepts were clearly superior.

      In the end, the thing that made me switch back to iOS was the complete and total lack of quality apps. I purchased nearly every single Podcast app available in the store and every single one of them felt like a half-assed attempt done for college credit and abandoned at the end of the semester. This pattern was apparent across every category of apps. I suspect it's the lack of competition within app categories that allows one or two players to dominate with inferior products and no incentive to refine or improve. Here's hoping that this bridge will bring some of the top shelf iOS apps over into the Windows space.

    17. Re: Backfire by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      Surprise surprise the AC picked the pink one. Women nitpick the shit out of everything so is it any wonder the pink one is under review? the rest are for sale, in fact if you don't mind taking the neon yellow one? You can get an unlocked quad core winphone with a GB of RAM and a microSD slot for $85 shipped.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    18. Re: Backfire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The link works dipshit, the item is suspect so Amazon pulled it. Why would you recommend something like that you fucking twat-waffle?

    19. Re: Backfire by morgauxo · · Score: 1

      I haven't run anything that was built using Wine (as far as I know) since back in the day of WordPerfect.

      I have run many Windows applications in Wine though. many of them are quite usable. Not perfect.. but usable. Wine can be a useful tool as opposed to the kind of tool that posts "IT TOTALLY SUCKS" comments.

    20. Re: Backfire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's the link you supplied fuckface. Are you some kind of gay homo?

  2. Careful! Burning Bridges in Rear-View! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Bridge at Remagen anyone?

  3. Re:Careful! Burning Bridges in Rear-View! by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 2

    Shaka, when the walls fell.

  4. Islandwood? by TigerPlish · · Score: 1

    Wood gotten upon seeing the island's females?

    --
    The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
  5. We were almost overdue for another Microsoft artic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Was just thinking it has been 12 hours since the last one. Dicedot does not disappoint.

  6. Re:Careful! Burning Bridges in Rear-View! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1/04/2015

  7. API re-implementation (as in Oracle-vs-Google) ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    If I understand correctly,

    Isn't Microsoft re-implementing Apple's API ?
    In which case, based on Oracle vs Google final's ruling, Microsoft is infringing on Apple's copyrightable code?

  8. Re:API re-implementation (as in Oracle-vs-Google) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Christ what a terrible fucking decision that was...

    But it seems like it, doesn't it?

  9. Too little, too late. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It would normally be a good idea, but based on Microsoft's history, too little too late. Go ahead and down vote.

  10. Openwashing by MadMaverick9 · · Score: 0

    https://igurublog.wordpress.co...
    http://techrights.org/2015/06/...
    http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/...

    When we call software "free", we mean that it respects the users' essential freedoms: the freedom to run it, to study and change it, and to redistribute copies with or without changes. This is a matter of freedom, not price, so think of "free speech", not "free beer".

    1. Re:Openwashing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      https://igurublog.wordpress.co...

      It's funny that you can't see the satire there, a little too subtle for you I see.

      But there is a lot of fear from some elements of the free software community at the moment. With companies like Microsoft releasing open source (and indeed permissively licensed) they fear their enemy becoming their friend. What happens when Microsoft becomes an open source software company? If you look at the FSF's page it is mostly comprised of anti-proprietary propaganda, not pro-free. There's no "Hey you should use this Free Software product because it's great", it's all about how you shouldn't use proprietary software and that you should live with the limitations of the free software alternative. So while Microsoft isn't becoming a free software company its movement toward open source means free software has to actually compete with good products, not by spreading anti-proprietary fear and this is a good thing.

  11. Open source license and I'll go by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Cough up your software with an open source GPL license, and I'll go. Mickeysoft's crap licenses are shit. My time goes either to something that I can use as I like or share with others freely. I don't want something that I develop locked up in a vault in Redmond, and some ass hole tell me I can't use software or source code that I wrote. And that's it.

    1. Re:Open source license and I'll go by gnupun · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I don't want something that I develop locked up in a vault in Redmond, and some ass hole tell me I can't use software or source code that I wrote.

      That would happen only if Microsoft took your code, modified it and created closed source proprietary software with it. Your original code would still be available to you but not the closed source changes made by Microsoft. It seems you're more concerned that someone will profit off your work, while you won't see any money. So you prefer the GPL license so that developers don't make any money, only distributors/packagers, sysadmins and users profit.

    2. Re:Open source license and I'll go by oji-sama · · Score: 2

      Cough up your software with an open source GPL license, and I'll go. Mickeysoft's crap licenses are shit. My time goes either to something that I can use as I like or share with others freely. I don't want something that I develop locked up in a vault in Redmond, and some ass hole tell me I can't use software or source code that I wrote. And that's it.

      MIT is a GPL compatible license originating at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

      --
      It is what it is.
    3. Re:Open source license and I'll go by jonwil · · Score: 1

      It looks like the re-implementation of the Apple APIs is open source but their fork of the clang/llvm stack is not (although that makes sense since they are basically wiring their code generation backend into clang and publishing the source code for talking to c2.dll isn't exactly something Microsoft is going to do)

    4. Re:Open source license and I'll go by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So you prefer the GPL license so that developers don't make any money, only distributors/packagers, sysadmins and users profit.

      I was unaware that developers creating GPL software wasn't getting paid. Maybe you should tell them.

  12. Open Source predates Free Software by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

    Open Source protects users' rights. Free Software just protects them better. That doesn't mean Open Source is bad. It just means that you won't spring wood when you read the PR, like you would for Free Software.

    I, too, prefer Free Software. But don't shit on Open Source. That's stupid and rude.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  13. Re:Careful! Burning Bridges in Rear-View! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's Chaka KHAAAAAAAAN!

  14. Re:Careful! Burning Bridges in Rear-View! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ISO 8601. Look it up.

  15. Hypocrisy, thy name is Microsoft by damicatz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I find it funny that Microsoft basically just "stole" Apple's APIs, especially since Microsoft themselves were arguing that API's should be copyrightable in the Google v. Oracle case.

    1. Re:Hypocrisy, thy name is Microsoft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      From the announcement

      iOS API headers/libs: Building upon the Objective-C base APIs, we provide fairly broad iOS API compatibility. As you begin working with the bridge, and as you find an API that isn’t yet supported or could be improved, we welcome your contributions and comments.

      It's exactly the same thing

    2. Re:Hypocrisy, thy name is Microsoft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The funny thing is - they just ripped a bunch of Cocotron source files, and changed the headers on them... (See https://github.com/Microsoft/WinObjC/issues/36)

  16. Re:API re-implementation (as in Oracle-vs-Google) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is this decided yet? Isn't it referred back to the district court for a final decision right now? Either way, it seems highly relevant.

  17. Windows: A better iOS than iOS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just like...never mind.