iOS Static vs Dynamic frameworks clarifications

Before iOS8, Xcode only allowed the option of creating static libraries for iOS. The common problem with that was we had to ship the binary and headers separately.

Later, some developers came with the idea of creating 'static frameworks'. [the .framework is just a folder with symbolic links to the lib and the headers]. One such example is https://github.com/jverkoey/iOS-Framework

This option will work for iOS 7 or 8 or before that. Because they are just static libraries with the convenience of bundling the headers files along.

As for your questions of the resources, we would need to bundle them in '.bundle'.. For shipping them i am not sure if we can enclose them in the .framework folder.. In the past i used to ship my libs as a static framework and bundle...

However the above option will not work for you if you use Swift. Xcode does not support building static libraries that include swift code.

You must go with Dynamic frameworks if there is swift usage. In theory, Dynamic frameworks work in iOS7.. But, i think iTunes Connect will reject if the app is targeting iOS7 and uses Dynamic frameworks :-).

Hope this helps

With Xcode 9 onwards you can create static frameworks for Swift as well. This is possible due to ABI source compatibility. All you need to do is just change the Mach-O type under build settings of the framework target.This technique is also applicable to Hybrid Frameworks(frameworks with Swift and Objective-C code).

Static vs Dynamic linking

static or dynamic in name usually points into a Linking^[About] type

Frameworks can be static or dynamic^{[Check static or dynamic]}

You can change the format of library that will have an impact on a Linker by changing Framework target -> Build Settings -> Mach-O Type^[About] to Static Library or Dynamic Library. By default Xcode has Dynamic Library value.

Depends on this setting different types of binary will be generated

After you successfully configure a consumer^{[Link vs Embed]}

Static Linker ld: at compile time will include all code from the static library into the executable object file.

Dynamic Linker dyld: at load/run time will try to find the embedded framework using @rpath^[About] and link it

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