question for all ios developers

[Dy7SLyTq]

so this isn't meant to start an android v ios v windows phone war and i dont want it to be either (at least until my question is answered at least). so i attempted to develop for ios about a year ago, and then realized i wasnt good at it. so in the spirit of open mindedness could someone explain the following:
why would one want to develop for ios when it requires the following (and if im wrong on any of these please let me know):
-a $100 yearly membership for access to the app store/xcode/the virtual iphone/obj-c compiler/dev suite when the android sdk is free and windows has a free release
-your sandboxed
-it takes i think two weeks per release
-your more than likely to lose money on it

also what is great about obj-c? it seems like the love child of java and c. it was very confusing. so what did you like about it and what advantages does it provide?

[Mats]

Because if you make decent ios stuff you can make serious amounts of money.

-Mats (who has several friends and acquaintances who develop apps)

[helios]

How is sandboxing a downside?

[Albatross]

The development suite (XCode) is actually free. This means that the Objective-C compiler, virtual iPhone, and all the development tools are free.
https://developer.apple.com/xcode/

As for Objective-C, I quietly suspect that Apple NeXT just wanted to pick a compiled language that wasn't as complex/difficult as C++, was closer to C-family languages than Smalltalk, and didn't want to go for Java for one reason or another (Sun Microsystems?).

EDIT @Grey Wolf from http://www.cplusplus.com/forum/lounge/115571/#msg631128
Oooh, you're right. Thanks for letting me know!

-Albatross

[Dy7SLyTq]

Because if you make decent ios stuff you can make serious amounts of money.

not neccesarily. i have seen several good apps that arent popular but are well coded.

How is sandboxing a downside?

it probably depends on your point of view. i dont like it because i want things like app locks and es file explorer

The development suite (XCode) is actually free. This means that the Objective-C compiler, virtual iPhone, and all the development tools are free.

my mistake. what does the $100 membership get you then?

[jwkNwA7f]

-a $100 yearly membership for access to the app store/xcode/the virtual iphone/obj-c compiler/dev suite when the android sdk is free and windows has a free release

the $100 is only for putting your app on the app store and testing it on a real iOS device.

also what is great about obj-c?

Nothing. But when it is all you have, you kinda have to.

I don't actually develop for iOS, but I started once and now develop for macs.

[z05DSL3A]

As for Objective-C, I quietly suspect that Apple just wanted to pick a compiled language that...

It would be NeXT that chose it for NeXTSTEP, the OS that Mac OS X and iOS are descended from.

[ResidentBiscuit]

not neccesarily. i have seen several good apps that arent popular but are well coded.

Well coded does not imply it should popular. I can program a pristine pile of crap, but nobody is going to buy my $.99 turd.

[Lachlan Easton]

I can't stand iOS development. At every corner Apple takes away another freedom. You're not allowed to use software that I developed how you wish, even if you pay Apple you can't distribute your own software in the manner you see fit.