Stacks and livecode server?

[Richard Gaskin]

jbv wrote:

 >> Richard Gaskin wrote:
 >> A majority of the projects I'm working on at the moment are
 >> standalones that download stacks - depending on what your app
 >> does and the needs of its audience, it can be an excellent
 >> delivery solution.
 >
 > Same here.
 > But there's a question in my mind for quite a while : as I'm about
 > to develop apps for some professionals who will use them on iPads
 > and iPhones, I was wondering how this follows Apple's rules ?
 > After all, what prevents to submit a first version of the app, and
 > once it's available on the Appstore, to switch to different
 > downloaded stacks, with different functions and content ?
 > Am I missing something ?

I wish Apple's rules were clearer on this so we could end the confusion 
without our community.

I haven't read Apple's TOS in a while, and no matter what the rules are 
today as we learned in 2010 Apple has demonstrated a willingness to 
change them drastically without warning, so there's no way to know what 
they'll be tomorrow.

So while I can't speak for Apple, that won't stop me from random conjecture:

Any script engine can download files containing scripts from a server, 
thereby enhancing or even altering the behavior of the app.

I believe Apple's concern here is merely to make sure the user 
experience they approve is what end-users get.

AFAIK they have no prohibition on downloading binary files, so stack 
files that contain media but no code, or even behavior-driven stack 
files that contain no code themselves, would reasonably seem to fit the 
narrowest definition of their TOS.

But they might even allow stack files that contain code, providing the 
code doesn't substantially alter the features of the app.

That is, if you get approval for an app that claims to track football 
scores, but once it's released it suddenly morphs into a root kit. Apple 
would probably not want to see that.

But if the app merely downloads stack files containing data and UI 
elements for new teams or other things that don't fundamentally alter 
the app's purpose or behavior, it would be hard to believe they'd ban it 
from the app store.

Has anyone here had a discussion with Apple on this?  Anyone using 
downloaded stack files as data containers in a way that would seem 
consistent with Apple's TOS?

I'm not sure this issue is as murky as it seems, and may be quite simple.

-- 
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World Systems
  Software Design and Development for the Desktop, Mobile, and the Web
  ____________________________________________________________________
  Ambassador at FourthWorld.com                http://www.FourthWorld.com