iOS SDK and Xcode

The iOS software development kit provides resources, technologies, and tools to developers that can help them make better choices about how to design and implement apps. Developed and supported by Apple Inc. and released in February 2008 to develop native apps for devices, it was previously called the iPhone SDK.

The iOS SDK itself is a free download, but beta-version SDKs a are paid service for developers. One must enroll in the Apple Developer Program (https://developer.apple.com/programs/).

Xcode is the integrated development environment (IDE) suite developed by Apple for the development of iOS apps (https://developer.apple.com/xcode/).

The latest version of the iOS SDK is iOS 9.3 beta 4, released on February 22, 2016 (https://developer.apple.com/ios/download/).

The following restrictions apply:

• These SDKs can only be installed on Mac OS X
• Apple does not impose a license on computers that are not running Mac OS X or are not Apple branded

There are alternatives available. The tech community has come out with alternatives such as installing a virtualized (VMware) version of OS X in Windows and Ubuntu.