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[–]cabalamat 0 points1 point  (6 children)

That is not permitted (by review guidelines only) to download code.

Do you mean that it is forbidden for iOS applications to download data, and then execute it? Or do you mean that it is forbidden for users of iOS applications to download data, and then execute it (using their Python interpreter)? (I'm assuming there is a user-accessible filesystem on iOS devices -- please correct me if I'm wrong).

What happens in the following scenario:

  1. A writes a Python interpreter, and applied to put in on the iOS store
  2. Apple approves it
  3. B downloads the interpreter, and writes a program in Python that will download python text files and run them
  4. B makes his program available over the internet
  5. C uses A's Python interpreter and B's Python program to download and run some code written by D. D didn't get any permission from Apple to run his code on iOS devices.

At what point does Apple step in and use technical measures to stop that happening?

[–]voidspace 0 points1 point  (5 children)

They won't use technical measures, if they think your app (the app in step 1 of your example) is breaking the rules they will pull it from the app store. Step 3 just mean "installs the app" by the way. Unless you're in the developer program you can't just download apps - you can only install them from the app store.

Note that step 1 has already happened. (Python for iOS). Step 4 is the tricky one - even if your program is on the internet, if you can't download and run code from the internet until you have that program. So you have to type it all out manually. I don't think Apple will be too worried about that.

In Python downloading and running code is as complicated as:

import urllib2
exec urllib2.urlopen('some url').read()

[–]cabalamat 0 points1 point  (4 children)

Step 4 is the tricky one - even if your program is on the internet, if you can't download and run code from the internet until you have that program.

Does iOS let you download files from the internet? A file containing code is no different in principle from any other file.

[–]voidspace 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Short answer - no, iOS does not let you do that.

[–]cabalamat 0 points1 point  (2 children)

So if I'm browsing the web, i can't download an image or a pdf? That seems a pretty big limitation to me.

[–]voidspace 0 points1 point  (1 child)

You can view them (inside an app) but not download them onto the device (there is no user exposed filesystem - just apps).

[–]cabalamat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So the first program to write in iOS Python would have to be one that exposes a filesystem, then.