Distribution
By distribution is meant providing your app to others who are not developers on your team. There are two kinds of distribution:
- Ad Hoc distribution
- You are providing a copy of your app to a limited set of known users so that they can try it on their devices and report bugs, make suggestions, and so forth.
- App Store distribution
- You are providing the app to the App Store so that anyone can download it (possibly for a fee) and run it.
Warning
The Portal imposes a registration limit of 100 devices per year per developer (not per app), which limits your number of Ad Hoc testers. Your own devices used for development are counted against this limit.
To perform any kind of distribution, you will need a distribution certificate, which is different from the development certificate discussed earlier in this chapter. Like the development certificate, you need only one distribution certificate; it identifies you as you. Obtaining a distribution certificate is exactly like obtaining a development certificate, except that, at the iOS Provisioning Portal, under Certificates, you use the Distribution tab instead of the Development tab.
You will also need a distribution profile specifically for this app, which is different from the development profile you obtained earlier. You can’t obtain a distribution profile from within Xcode; you must get it at the Portal in your browser. You might need two distribution profiles, because the profile for an Ad Hoc distribution is different from ...
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