Sounds crazy? Cause it is – but it is possible to run iOS apps on Android.
Dubbed “Cider”, this amazing project is a work of few Columbia University students who created a “compatibility layer” that allows natively-coded Objective C apps to run on Android. In this case, they’re demoing it on the latest generation of Nexus 7.
Cider enhances the domestic operating system, Android, of a device with kernel-managed, per-thread personas to mimic the application binary interface of a foreign operating system, iOS, enabling it to run unmodified foreign binaries. This is accomplished using a novel combination of binary compatibility techniques including two new mechanisms: compile-time code adaptation, and diplomatic functions. Compile-time code adaptation enables existing unmodified foreign source code to be reused in the domestic kernel, reducing implementation effort required to support multiple binary interfaces for executing domestic and foreign applications. Diplomatic functions leverage per-thread personas, and allow foreign applications to use domestic libraries to access proprietary software and hardware interfaces.
This is still in the proof-of-concept phase but it shows a promising future. We’re not sure where this goes from here but I’m sure most developers love the idea of making only one app that works across platforms… Anyway, here’s that video…
[Via: AndroidCentral, 9to5Mac]