OrchardNest

Xcode 13 brought a new notarization tool. What is it and how much better compared to the old one?

“I want a REST API for notarization since it’s impossible to parse text coming from the notarization tool reliably.” What if I say that the command line API is the best method for integration with build pipelines? Read on to find out more.

Distributing macOS apps as ZIP archives has been quaint since Sierra. Today’s macOS packaging requirements mandates notarization, otherwise it would say that your app is suspicious. This often means distributing apps within disk images...

The long-rumored ARM Mac is on the horizon. With this comes the big work of porting and re-compiling current applications. But many Mac App Store apps are dependent on OpenSSL, which doesn’t yet support ARM on the Mac. Here is how you can...

Testing network I/O code without accessing the backend is not easy. Here is how you can mock the backend by injecting code into the URL Loading System

“Do I need a Mac to program iOS?” – for a long time there is only one answer: “Yes”. But this is no longer true, as there are many ways to program iOS – including on itself. Yes, you can make apps on the device itself. Read this article to...

When a table view asks for a cell, often images in the cell isn’t yet available and needs to be fetched from a server – thus the cell gets a placeholder image. But static placeholders doesn’t look as good as animated ones. Unfortunately...

Architecting applications to meet today’s challenges and be ready for tomorrow’s problem is not an easy feat. The principles of clean architecture may be sound, but separating the signal from the noise is tough. Here is a sample VIPER...

Compartmentalizing functionalities within an app to improve its maintainability is difficult. More so when you’re not well versed with software architectures and other software engineering principles. What if you can confidently...

You try to reduce the application’s size by sharing resources in framework bundles and creating symbolic links so that other frameworks can find and use those resources. However this fell at odds with code signing (and probably...

When you’re just starting out in iOS development, there are so many options in which to place a button. There’s storyboard, auto layout, and even SwiftUI — that’s just scratching the surface. How should someone new to...

Do you distribute your macOS apps as .zip files? That has been quaint since Sierra. You should package your apps as signed and notarized disk images instead. Otherwise Catalina would say that your package is suspicious. However creating...

Writing a web app is one thing. Deploying it on the global Internet for millions of users is another thing. Keeping it secure from prying eyes, competitors, and general baddies is yet another challenge. How can you do all of this in a...

The data persistence stack that is an appropriate decision today may not be an optimal solution when your app has grown. You would need to design your app to withstand the test of time and be extensible for as it grows. Read more to learn...

Notarization requirements is just around the corner in the coming release of macOS. But the Sparkle updater framework is not yet ready for it. Here’s how you can fix that.

macOS Catalina is just around the corner and with it comes mandatory notarization and hardened runtime. If your mac app accepts plugins or otherwise loads 3rd party frameworks and libraries, there are a few caveats that you’ll need...

Choosing a database to use for your iOS app is no simple feat. But what if you have the tools to make an informed decision for your app? What if you can decide for today and design for tomorrow?

Were you passed on a job opportunity because you were blind on user experience topics? Do you feel challenged in educating clients, colleagues, or even managers on user interface topics? Here is a list of references that can help you.

Core ML’s tools to convert other framework’s machine learning models is a pretty awesome feat in itself. However it is by no means complete. I found some issues in converting models which outputs images. Issues which took me a...

I’ve been toying around with retraining machine learning models — one for generating prose and the other for processing photos and separate objects from its background. Here are some of the challenges I encounter as a total newbie...

Lighting talk on creating unique random identifiers yet stay within 63 bits of a long integer.