Sandboxing and Clipstart
Maybe I could file bugs with Apple for exemptions, and reduce the functionality of my app to fit within the limits of the sandbox, but I’ve made the decision that it is just not worth it. I would much rather spend 100% of the time I have for Clipstart on new features only, not playing catch-up with Apple.
One problem is that you don’t know ahead of time what the costs will be. My apps required engineering work to comply with the original Mac App Store rules, then more work and some trickery to get around bugs in Apple’s verification tools that made them falsely think I was breaking the rules. There’s sandboxing in theory, with the promise of temporary entitlements to ease the transition. And then there’s the reality of the sandbox, which includes bugs in its implementation and guidance that even though the temporary exceptions exist you probably won’t be allowed to use them. At each step of the way, it looks like just a little more work to get into the Mac App Store, or to stay there. Until the next issue pops up. And then, if you’re successful, you’re sort of locked into it due to the reasonable expectations of your many customers.
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