I have seen a lot of discussions about difficulties to finalize a project via xcode export. Although it is certainly great to be able to create an xcode project, because it gives you access to more functionnalities, why not Also provide the option to just embed Codea in a runtime to execute a lua project as Codea does? It could then be much easier to create an app on the appstore from a Codea program? (of course it wont remove the Bannana obstacles: having a mac, a developper licence etc…). Please let me know your opinion.
I don’t like this idea personally. It would bloat the final executable with a lot of stuff that isn’t necessary.
It is a good point. Any other opinion?
what would be really excellent is posting direct to App Store from the app itself as i have turned most of my development to codea now due to ease of use and capabilities, unfortunately I have no intention in buying a fully fledged mac which leaves me in a catch 22 when it comes to publishing my apps. This is just a novice talking but this sort of functionality would be a god send, I am sure there are countless obstacles in this sort of feature as in code signing and the likes.
What is a catch 22?
@michaelmaguin: It is not possible for Codea to post an app directly to the App Store, due to Apple’s policies. The only way to get an app on the App Store is to pay the license fee, build your app in xcode, and go through the review process.
@Jmv38: catch 22 → “between a rock and a hard place”, “in a tight spot”, etc.
a sticky spot without buying a full mac i am only able to code share my apps. Even if TLL was to develop an xcode and app suite, offering them as an in app purchase its well work the extra plus it would keep the initial pricing down to attract fresh faces into the codea enviroment
@michaelmaguin: yeah 
Unfortunately, that’s just the way it is. People have long complained about being required to use a Mac to publish to the App Store, but that’s Apple’s policy, and there’s really no way to get around it.
My advice is to just enjoy working in Codea for now. It’s quite awesome, and there’s a lot to play with. Try to make something amazing. Chances are by the time you are able to, you’ll probably have been able to save enough money to buy a Mac and a dev license, and have something worth actually putting on the App Store 
Or, if you absolutely can’t wait, there are services that let you “rent a mac” for an amount of time. You could always go that route.
I am aware of apples developer licence and how does the app get posted to apple is it sent in a zip form or what medium. Really all I am saying is if codea could handle the post to review and pre review procedures it would point codea in the direction of complete ide. I had read a bit on the review process but what are the full procedures
@michaelmaguin: I understand. Unfortunately this would be a very huge task for a team of 3 developers working part time, and really, I don’t even know if it’s possible, even with a team of 20 guys working full time. It takes special attention by each developer to get an app approved. What if Apple rejects the app? How then would TLL be able to handle that? They can’t (at least, not easily, or inexpensively). This is just a necessary evil if you want an app on the app store, and we all have to deal with it (believe me, I hate it too)
Alternatively what you can do is fork out your annual $99 for your own Apple developer account and then use online services like MacInCloud (http://www.macincloud.com/) to “rent” some virtual space that you can use to make your final app store build and submit.
I can imagine it’s a bit of a ballache to use BUT it will allow you to dip your toe in the app store for a lot less than shelling out $500+ dollars on a min spec MacMini
Thanks for providing this link. I think i am going to give it a try. Anyone else already done it?
One thing we talked about back in the early days of the forum was creating a ‘co-op’ which could compile and push up apps for those Mac-less among us. The co-op would appear as the developer for Apple purposes.
For free apps, I don’t think this would cause an issue. Paid apps would obviously require some bookkeeping.
@Mark: That’s an interesting idea. Another thing to consider is that apps that receive any income (IAP, ads) would need bookkeeping too, so this really isn’t very practical unless your app is truly free. If I personally were to do this, I would set up a sort of account management service. I would charge the license fee, plus 50$ for every hour I spent managing the account. For basic apps, initial setup and submission would probably cost around $200 dollars (license fee + 2 hours), assuming the initial submission was not rejected.
If the mac-in-cloud really works, the fee is 7$ per week or 20$ per month => worth a try.
Oh, and it seems i can do it all from the ipad => great!
But: to be confirmed in real practice.
@Jmv38 - ill be surprised if the Mac-in-Cloud option is practical in the long-run unless your happy to test your app in the simulator with a lag (even locally on a Mac, the simulator tends not to run at full pelt).
I guess it depends how fast your connection is. I believe it tests your connection speed before you sign up so you can gauge performance (mine was woefully slow!) but certainly an option if performance isn’t an issue. Anyone else tried it?
Good point. But when it comes to performance the recommand testflight to test on my ipad. Then it should be ok?
I had in mind to buy a mac mini, as Bortels covinced me to, which is more close 600€ here, but i am a bit afraid of ‘what else?’ will i have to buy to have it really work!.. Connectors? Softwares? Etc…
The macincloud service looks to be my ticket its not a money issue that is a concern, I simply do not wish to buy another box of swiches to sit in a corner gathering dust and its only use is to publish apps. Anyone trying this setup let me know how it works out for you.
I think MacInCloud works well to test a first app, if it turns out not to be worth it then you haven’t wasted too much.
However IF your in the market for a new PC then I’d counsel anyone to seriously look into a Mac Mini or an iMac, they’re very stable, stylish looking, solid workhorses and running bootcamp to do a dual install of OSX and Windows is breeze - then you get the best of both worlds.
I have a MacMini simply because at the time I needed a new PC, it looked a lot better, was a lot smaller than my previous desktop mini tower AND I wanted to get into iOS development, but I still love Windows 7 - so I’ve got the best of both worlds.
Just my $0.02
@toadkick True enough. When I’m talking free apps, I mean plain old free.
My thought was to prepare a sheet that touched on all the required files and collected the settings. If all the images are in place, and I know the values to go in all the IDs, the time from export to X-Code to submission is really not that great. I’d do it for free apps just because it’s nice to see folks getting things cranked out.