![]() This might lead you to believe that no matter how you create an NSString representation of “Hello”, the resulting objects will be identical both in value and in behavior. All lengths, character indexes, and ranges are expressed in terms of 16-bit platform-endian values, with index values starting at 0. The documentation for NSString encourages developer to view it as a kind of encoding-agnostic repository of characters, which can be used to manipulate arbitrary strings, converting a specific encoding only as needed:Īn NSString object encodes a Unicode-compliant text string, represented as a sequence of UTF-16 code units. For example, with a string of Japanese characaters, the fastestEncoding tends to be NSUnicodeStringEncoding.īut why did the bug continue to occur even after I replaced the text with plain English? Well… The bug occurs when fastestEncoding returns something other than ASCII or UTF8. It turns out there’s a bug in my app where I erroneously ask for a string’s “fastestEncoding” in the process of converting it. What the heck? Two windows with identical editors, containing identical text, exhibiting varying behavior? I knew this was going to be good. I copied and pasted back into the problematic editor, and the bug returned. I opened a new editor window, copied and pasted the English text in, and the bug disappeared. What really confused me, though was that the bug persisted even after I replaced the Japanese text with very straight-forward ASCII-compatible English. ![]() I pasted some Japanese text into the app and was able to reproduce the bug easily. And users would automatically get access to all the features of an app during the trial.I was baffled today while investigating a bug in MarsEdit, which a customer reported as only seeming to affect the app when writing in Japanese. Developers would simply choose the duration of a free trial, and Apple would handle the business of allowing full access to the app and then blocking it when the trial expires. In essence, they would be listed as paid apps, with a free trial. He goes on to outline how a ‘real’ free trial system would work in the App Store. With ersatz free trials a customer must first authorize Apple to allow the download of the free app, and then they must commence a confusing in-app purchase process during which they will be asked again whether they want to start a free trial. Other issues include no option for family sharing or bulk purchases of apps which operate in this way.Ībove all, he writes, it’s confusing to users. With ersatz free trials, almost every aspect of this complexity is pushed into the app, where developers have to laboriously devise a mechanism for conveying app limitations to users, blocking pertinent functionality, transacting an in-app purchase, facilitating the unlock of app functionality, and so on. In exchange for taking on this work, Apple is rewarded with a 30% cut. With the paid-up-front approach, users browse the store, conduct a transaction with Apple, and download the app. One of the primary advantages of the App Store to developers is being able to get out of the business of managing direct sale transactions. MarsEdit is $50, so some users who download the “free app” are understandably annoyed when the first thing they learn is that it will cost a significant amount to unlock it.Īnother issue is that it puts the onus on the developer to do the job which should be done by the App Store. This is particularly problematic with apps whose price points make them most suitable to free trials. This is confusing to many users and leads some to a feeling of bait-and-switch, and that they’ve been betrayed by the developer. That doubt has now been removed, but he argues that it’s a far from satisfactory solution.įor example, he writes, paid apps are listed as free, even though payment is required to unlock core functionality. Jalkut says that some developers have been doing this since 2016, never sure whether or not Apple was happy with the approach. One of those IAPs can be a free 14-day ‘subscription’ which unlocks full functionality. Developers create a free app, with in-app purchases. MarsEdit developer Daniel Jalkut has written a blog post in which he lists no fewer than eight problems with Apple’s current approach … Apple does provide a mechanism for doing this with subscription apps, and this week clarified that the same approach can be used for any paid app, but many developers remain unhappy with the method. Developers have long wanted Apple to allow them to offer free trials of iOS apps.
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