Building a distributable static library that uses cocoapods

Question

I'm building a static library to be distributed to other iOS developers and having some trouble configuring the linker to allow the static library to be used in another app. I have used this guide to create a MyStaticLibrary.framework bundle containing the lib itself, and other assets such as images. This builds successfully and uses cocoapods to source the required dependencies (AFNetworking, etc.). So far, so good.

But when I import MyStaticLibrary.framework into a new Xcode project to test build an app with the library, I get tons of linker errors (Undefined symbols for architecture i386, _OBJC_CLASS_$_CLASSNAME) indicating that I'm doing something very wrong here.

So my question is, how can I build MyStaticLibrary.framework with the dependencies sourced from cocoapods, such that I can provide a 3rd party with just my framework file and allow them access to all functions specified in the public headers?

Answer 1

Any libraries you include using CocoaPods will not be compiled into your framework by default - they're meant to be external dependencies that are not part of your actual product. However, according to their FAQ, they support a mode where you can download pods and not have them linked to your project. From their FAQ:

Note that CocoaPods itself does not require the use of a workspace. If you prefer to use sub-projects, you can do so by running pod install --no-integrate, which will leave integration into your project up to you as you see fit.

To include external dependencies in your compiled binary:

• For code: Instead of using cocoapods, check out the repositories you want to include and copy the source files into your project -- this will ensure they are compiled with the rest of your code

• For static libraries (i.e. .a files), in your framework's Link Binary With Libraries build phase, make sure to include all the ones you would like to compile. You should also make sure the associated header files are included in Copy Headers build phase, with the appropriate visibility.

Note When bundling third party libraries in this way, you run the risk of conflicting with the projects that are integrating your framework. For example, let's say you are using a lib called SOSomeView, and you choose to compile that in with your framework. Now, if the app you are integrating with also includes SOSomeView, you will get a compile-time error that the class is declared twice. To fix this issue, you should re-namespace any external dependencies you want to hardcode into your framework (i.e. rename the class to XXSOSomeView).

I don't know how to solve that problem if you are compiling static libraries in with your framework.