Shipping high-quality apps is a complex process that requires efficient configuration and setup of Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines. As a developer, you often need to fine-tune these configurations on the fly before or after the build starts or succeeds/fails. In this article, we'll explore how App Center helps streamline your Mobile DevOps journey.

Pre-requisites for Swift App Development

To get started with App Center and swift app development, you'll need:

  • An App Center account (sign up for a free account at https://appcenter.ms)
  • Visual Studio 2017 or higher with Xamarin SDK and related components installed
  • Visual Studio for Mac with Xamarin SDK and related components installed
  • Installation guide: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/mac/installation?view=vsmac-2019

The Power of App Center

Think of the options in the market like choosing between a BMW or a Mercedes – both are performance vehicles with equal commitment to quality and luxury. However, there are subtle differences that make them unique and a strong contender in their own segment.

App Center is one such tool that helps you navigate the complexities of Mobile DevOps. By signing up for a free account at https://appcenter.ms, you can start building your pipeline. You may choose to upgrade to a paid plan for more build time or additional services. Explore pricing and plans at https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/app-center/pricing/.

Configuring Your App

Once logged in, define an app by clicking the "Add app" button. For this example, let's configure it as an iOS app developed using Xamarin (as illustrated in Figure 2). Notice that you can pick any other flavor of OS and platform.

[Figure 2: App Center Add new app options]

Connecting Your Repository

Next, click the build menu (the play icon) to configure your repository. At the time of writing this post, App Center supports Azure DevOps, GitHub, and BitBucket as repository providers. In my case, I'll connect using GitHub by clicking the GitHub button.

[Figure 3: Connect Repository Source]

Custom Build Scripts

To update the version number, we need to wire the build with some custom build scripts. Build scripts are bash scripts that you can execute post-clone, pre-build, or post-build in App Center. Name the file appropriately for App Center to recognize your code includes a build script as well.

[Figure 7: iOS workspace directory]

Tips and Tricks

Remember to keep .sh script files at the same directory level as where you have the .xcworkspace file (for native iOS apps) or in the /app directory (for native Android apps).

Conclusion

In this article, we've explored how App Center helps streamline your Mobile DevOps journey. With its configuration-driven approach, you can efficiently build and deploy your swift app development projects. Whether you're building native iOS or Android apps, App Center provides a seamless integration experience.