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iPhone Can Now Run Apache, Python, Vim

Posted by CmdrTaco on Wed Jul 25, 2007 08:44 AM
from the not-enough-memory-for-emacs dept.
Programming Hardware Hacking Apple
An anonymous reader writes "After the first Hello World application, hacker NerveGas and the people at #iphone-shell have built Apache, Python and other Open Source apps for the iPhone using NightWatch's toolchain. Yes, your iPhone can now be a Web Server and do all sort of 1337 things. This also means that third-party applications for iPhone will happen no matter what. People, iPhone Doom could be just around the corner." It's fairly thin on information but if true, this will lead to good things. Like hopefully permission from apple.
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  • Disappointing (Score:5, Funny)

    by niceone (992278) * on Wednesday July 25 2007, @08:45AM (#19981983) Journal
    Really disappointing, why couldn't we have had a link to the story on a server running on an iPhone? Then maybe a video of it catching fire.

    • Re:Disappointing (Score:4, Funny)

      by vivaoporto (1064484) on Wednesday July 25 2007, @08:58AM (#19982117) Homepage
      Actually, we could mimic the success of Will it blend [willitblend.com] and create its counterpart, Will it melt (tm), displaying different pieces of machinery running a webserver while being slashdotted. Guaranteed laughter for all family!
      [ Parent ]

    • Re:Disappointing (Score:5, Funny)

      by alienmole (15522) on Wednesday July 25 2007, @09:56AM (#19982715)
      That's what it used to be like, back in the good old days (i.e., 1999). We even had links to web servers running on PIC chips [slashdot.org], which makes an iPhone look like a ridiculously oversized muscle car by comparison. But for some reason people are less willing to roast their iPhones than a PIC chip and a couple of resistors.

      I put it down to the kids these days, they're just not as adventurous as when I was a lad (i.e., 1999) and used to walk to work in the snow, uphill, both ways, with only a roasting Slashdotted PIC-based webserver for warmth.
      [ Parent ]

      • Re:Disappointing (Score:5, Insightful)

        by phoenix321 (734987) * on Wednesday July 25 2007, @10:51AM (#19983291)
        Please don't confuse any "webserver" with a potentially full-blow apache. Answering GET requests by streaming out plaintext html files is accomplished by freshman's programming examples - having a real webserver is much much more.

        Given that the iPhone is running some variety of MacOS X, it's highly likely that we see the full potential of this thing unlocked pretty soon. Having a fairly standardized environment, a fairly powerful CPU and a sleek form factor is good.

        Being turing-complete isn't good enough for the real world of computing. Any PCL printer is, but do you see anyone here breaking out the champagne over that?
        [ Parent ]

  • How about Applescript or Fscript? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by argent (18001) <peter.slashdot@2006@taronga@com> on Wednesday July 25 2007, @08:50AM (#19982017) Homepage Journal
    Something that's got good Cocoa bindings, anyway, so you can write native apps in them...

  • my thoughts (Score:4, Insightful)

    by catwh0re (540371) on Wednesday July 25 2007, @08:50AM (#19982023)
    I think the demand for a SDK caught apple by surprise (possibly because the iPod didn't have many people hollering for a SDK, and since it's easy to see the iPhone as an iPod + phone functionality I can see how this was given a low priority.)

    I do however believe that apple will now release a SDK for the iPhone (apple pretty much do anything the consumers want these days, even managed some drm music, something i thought would never come while the RIAA existed.)

    I also believe apple stated ajax/web apps as the SDK because they didn't want to give people any reason to think the iPhone was incomplete (and hence to put off the purchase.)

    • Re:my thoughts (Score:5, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 25 2007, @09:18AM (#19982319)
      I think the demand for a SDK caught apple by surprise (possibly because the iPod didn't have many people hollering for a SDK, and since it's easy to see the iPhone as an iPod + phone functionality I can see how this was given a low priority.)

      There is plenty of demand for an iPod SDK, and has been since day 1:

      http://www.alteringtime.com/log/archives/96 [alteringtime.com]
      http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/09/21/macgamesip od/index.php [macworld.com]
      http://www.ipodhacks.com/modules.php?op=modload&na me=Forum&file=viewtopic&forum=2&topic=1806 [ipodhacks.com]
      http://lists.apple.com/archives/studentdev/2001/Oc t/msg00437.html [apple.com]
      ...and so on.

      Apple has their reasons for not releasing an iPhone SDK, same as they have their reasons for not releasing an iPod SDK. I assure you that not knowing the demand has nothing to do with it.

      [ Parent ]

      • Re:my thoughts (Score:5, Informative)

        by tji (74570) on Wednesday July 25 2007, @10:17AM (#19982921)
        Sure, some were asking for an iPod SDK.. But, for something with a wheel as an input device, your development options are pretty limited.

        The iPhone is much different, because

        - It has full input capabilities -- pointer, selection, keyboard input and more.

        - It's a much more powerful device (cpu/ram) than the iPods

        - Apple positioned it as a "smart phone", directly comparing it to the competitive smartphones, which do offer SDKs.

        - Apple represented it as running "True OS X". They even mentioned it supporting Cocoa. Why the hell would you talk about the programming interface if you don't intend to give your developers access?

        After watching the initial iPhone introduction, I just assumed developers would have access (based on the OS X / Cocoa stuff). Just after that annoyance of finding they were NOT making an SDK wore off, Apple came back with the "you don't need an SDK, just write web pages" bullshit, which re-opened the wound. That episode was the farthest off I have seen Apple in understanding their developers/customers. Hopefully they remedy it soon.
        [ Parent ]

    • Re:my thoughts (Score:4, Insightful)

      by toleraen (831634) on Wednesday July 25 2007, @09:20AM (#19982351)
      How could they be caught off guard? 90%+ of the operating systems in the smartphone/pda phone market have SDKs. They obviously did a little poking around in the market before deciding to make the thing...and if it really is based on OSX, it shouldn't have been terribly difficult to provide one.
      [ Parent ]

        • Re:my thoughts (Score:5, Insightful)

          by phoenix321 (734987) * on Wednesday July 25 2007, @11:09AM (#19983585)
          Apples claims of only wanting to "ensure the best possible user experience" by locking out SDK and user created software, they're no more credible than HP when they say the same about the chips and DMCA-spiked firmware in their ink cartridges.

          This is because foreign code may not only affect stability and "user experience" but the monopoly you have on that hardware. And reducing the monopoly means commodization of some sort and that's what Apple hates more than anything: fixed, exclusive, expensive 2-year contracts, secrecy around new products, higher-than-expected prices, strict limits on the user (changing the battery? a memory card?) - it's all oriented around their central marketing aim of being in THE special position among all hard- and software manufacturers.

          People are buying it, Apple is profitable like nothing and has a crowd of fans silencing all critics - it seems to work, I admit.

          I have quite some respect for their marketing and product strategy - they are doing everything right from a shareholder's perspective. (Stock inflation for unreal expectations is not that important)

          But don't make the mistake to consider Apple a corporation totally different from its arch rival Microsoft. They're following a different path, but their goal is comparable. If Apple's and MSFT's market shares were reversed, we had the same problems with Mac OS than we have with Windows right now, except their design and safety record wouldn't suck half as bad. But concerning anti-competitive maneuvers, vendor lock-in amd user restrictions, they'd be just the same.
          [ Parent ]

  • First Application . . (Score:5, Insightful)

    by donaggie03 (769758) <d_osmeyer@hotm a i l.com> on Wednesday July 25 2007, @08:51AM (#19982029)
    Instant Messaging!

  • s/permission/official blessing/ (Score:4, Insightful)

    by ajlitt (19055) on Wednesday July 25 2007, @08:52AM (#19982043) Homepage
    Since when do we ask permission to bend our gadgets to our will?

    • Re:s/permission/official blessing/ (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Klaidas (981300) on Wednesday July 25 2007, @08:54AM (#19982067) Homepage
      When we still want to be able to use the warranty.
      [ Parent ]

      • Re:s/permission/official blessing/ (Score:4, Informative)

        by Lumpy (12016) on Wednesday July 25 2007, @09:14AM (#19982277) Homepage
        Fools ask for warranty work when the phone is modded. Simply reinstall the OS and play stupid. works great, they have no idea, and you get that critical flaw that everyone discovers in two weeks fixed for free.

        Did it with many electronic items in the past. reload stock firmware and play stupid. works great, get replacement reload custom setup/firmware/unlock/etc and life is good again.

        I though all geeks knew that simple tidbit.
        [ Parent ]

  • No way Apple will go for it (Score:5, Insightful)

    by JeremyGNJ (1102465) on Wednesday July 25 2007, @08:56AM (#19982101)
    I see voided warranties in people's futures! There's no way Apple (or AT&T for that matter) is going to give the "OK" on 3rd party applications. Apache web servers and python scripts? If people really wanted to try to get acceptance they would have started with a diet-calculator or bowling-score manager. Forget it now, I can see AT&T and Apply's lawyers scrambling for ways to avoid the maelstorm of hacks and scripts that could threaten their good name. Windows based phones have allowed 3rd part apps since their inception, but somehow it seems much less ominous. Perhaps because they're mostly used in corporate deployments, and pure geek-types?

  • no complaints (Score:4, Interesting)

    by toQDuj (806112) on Wednesday July 25 2007, @08:58AM (#19982113) Homepage Journal
    They didn't complain about the hacks of the iTV, so I haardly expect them to throw a tantrum over these few geeks willing to turn their iPhone into a webserver...

    B.

  • Jamie Zawinski said... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by simong (32944) on Wednesday July 25 2007, @08:58AM (#19982121) Homepage
    'Every program attempts to expand until it can read mail'. In that case every platform evolves until it can run Doom...

  • AIM instead of SMS? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Oink (33510) on Wednesday July 25 2007, @09:00AM (#19982135)
    I think AT&T is going to force Apple to lock this down. From what I hear (maybe I'm mistaken, I don't have one yet), the only texting available on the iPhone is SMS, and not iChat. If you were free to install AIM on your phone, there goes a large portion of AT&T's income from text messages. Again, I don't know the details of the forced AT&T plans . . . are unlimited text messages forced on you? If not then I suspect I'm right. =)

    Is this something that can be patched in a forced software update?

  • Apple be praised! (Score:5, Funny)

    by 0xdeadbeef (28836) on Wednesday July 25 2007, @09:01AM (#19982143) Homepage Journal
    It's fairly thin on information but if true, this will lead to good things. Like hopefully permission from Apple.

    Ah, the blind faith of a True Believer. I suppose the crippled nature of the device is a test, and by defeating it you are found worthy in Jobs' eyes? And the next time you plug it into iTunes, instead of silently patching these "flaws", it will release everyone's phone from bondage!

  • First cool app for apache (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Lumpy (12016) on Wednesday July 25 2007, @09:03AM (#19982159) Homepage
    iphone webcam. See the world from someone's hip or side of their head.

    honestly though, how long before AT&T starts deactivating phone accounts for "data plan abuse" because people are actually using their data plan with these hacks and apps? they already try their hardest to scam their customers into buying the full data plan for their smartphone instead of the cheaper smartphone plan.

    I had a AT&T rep threaten me that if I dont change my plan he will have my service shut off.

    cingular and now AT&T pride themselves in the absolute crappiest customer service they can give. Threaten customers, scamming them into getting service plans they do not need (All I want is email, websurfing on a phone sucks and who cares about MTV videos on a phone)

  • Vim? Phhtttt (Score:4, Funny)

    by $RANDOMLUSER (804576) on Wednesday July 25 2007, @09:05AM (#19982175)
    Call me when it can run Emacs.

    Oh... Only 8Gb RAM. Never mind.

  • Just what I needed! (Score:5, Funny)

    by oneandoneis2 (777721) * on Wednesday July 25 2007, @09:32AM (#19982475) Homepage
    My all-time favourite text editor, with its plethora of keyboard shortcuts, on a device with no keyboard!

    How have I lived so long without one?

    When they come out in the UK, I'll buy an iPhone for sure now!

  • Not Quite There (Score:5, Informative)

    by DylanQ (1132855) on Wednesday July 25 2007, @10:08AM (#19982837)
    People are completely misunderstanding what's going on with iPhone development. We have no means of writing apps for the iPhone with a GUI, or even apps that handle user input. We CAN access the iPhone via SSH and run things remotely; that's about it. Some people are working hard on reverse-engineering current apps and frameworks (myself included) so that we may be able to compile a GUI app, but at this point, there is no Doom "just around the corner". For a while, the main focus of the iPhone hacking efforts has been unlocking. Hopefully this will change, but while people are focused on unlocking, not much else is getting accomplished (aside from what Nightwatch is doing with his toolchain).

  • The toolchain means nothing... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Chief Typist (110285) on Wednesday July 25 2007, @11:20AM (#19983745) Homepage
    The hard part about developing apps for the iPhone is working with a completely new environment.

    For example, here are some of the problems with building a SSH client for the iPhone:

    http://furbo.org/2007/07/02/beyond-sweet/ [furbo.org]

    -ch

    • Re:iPhone as a server (Score:5, Interesting)

      by *weasel (174362) on Wednesday July 25 2007, @09:30AM (#19982443)
      Put the wifi in a peering mode and suddenly it makes a lot more sense.

      Simple mobile myspace-type sites would be pretty huge for a mososo.
      Particularly if it's integrated with file/stream sharing and a decent discovery app.
      [ Parent ]
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