Chapter 11. MacRuby and the Mac App Store

Creating MacRuby apps to solve your problems can be both fun and rewarding. But let’s face it: most of us want others to enjoy the fruits of our labor. For a long time, there wasn’t a standardized way to distribute desktop applications. You had to create a product web page and distribute the app via a link, which required users to figure out how to install it themselves. Luckily, most people who knew their way around a Mac knew how to install an application.

Many developers struggled with spreading the word about their apps. Even with the many social media outlets today, letting people know about your application and getting them to your website to download the app can be difficult.

There’s now a new way to distribute Mac OS X MacRuby applications: Apple’s Mac App Store. You can list your application in a centralized location that allows for easy discovery and installation. Throughout this chapter, you’ll learn about the Mac App Store, its benefits and limitations, and the steps to list your application.

11.1. Introducing the Mac App Store

The Mac App Store was announced as a distribution platform for Mac OS X applications. Apple had tremendous success with the iOS App Store and wanted to bring the same method of distribution to Mac OS X. The Mac App Store was released in early 2011 as part of the Snow Leopard 10.6.6 update.

11.2. Knowing the App Store rules

11.3. Submitting a MacRuby application

11.4. Summary