B4i - working on refactoring the build chain

Erel

B4X founder
Staff member
Licensed User
Longtime User
Up until now, B4i mainly relied on static libraries (.a files). This was the standard packaging when B4i was first released. Since then, Apple has introduced frameworks and xcframeworks, which are more powerful and flexible. In the next version, all B4i native libraries, including libraries compiled by the IDE, will be packaged as xcframeworks. The immediate benefit is support for iOS 26 simulators running on Arm64 Macs.
After going through quite a few hurdles, the main functionallity works now. The next step is to improve support for Swift libraries.

 

LWGShane

Well-Known Member
Licensed User
Longtime User
Awesome to see not only continued updates but also modernizations as well. The support and updates is the biggest reason why I continue to use B4X.

Will there be any other benefits to refactoring the build chain? Or is that still classified?
 

Sandman

Expert
Licensed User
Longtime User
I'm curious, and clueless, when it comes to this. To me it sounds insanely complex, is it? Just how complex and big project is this?
 

Erel

B4X founder
Staff member
Licensed User
Longtime User
BTW, another important benefit is support for both Arm64 and x86 simulators. This is not possible with the current .a archives.

Sandman said:
Just how complex and big project is this?
Click to expand...
The Xcode build system is quite a mess and not something that you will be eager to dig into

But once inside things start to make sense. I think that a beta version will be available in about two weeks.
 

aaronk

Well-Known Member
Licensed User
Longtime User
If moving to xcframeworks, does that mean we will soon able to use Live Activities, Dynamic Island in our B4i apps?

Also would it mean we can soon create apps for WatchOS ?
 
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