Although apple’s app store is certainly the easiest out-of-the-box way to get new applications, things weren’t always this easy. in the beginning, there were no third-party applications. Then there were ways to copy applications manually to the iphone over ssh/scp, sMB, or appleTalk. a format called “pXL” (package and eXtension Library) for downloading applications through web downloads briely appeared and then fell into disuse. But then the company nullRiver brought out installer.app.

This application which set an example for apple to follow allowed for incredibly easy discovery and instant installation of new programs. The best part about it is that it runs directly from your iphone and downloads new applications over Wi-Fi or eDGe, which is great for people who are always on the go and don’t always have access to a computer. ipod touch owners could use installer.app as well via Wi-Fi.

Enter installer.app

since its introduction shortly after the iphone’s initial release, installer.app has become the most popular way to install third-party apps and utilities. Thousands of third-party applications existed before apple had even announced their app store efforts. and for those original iphone users still running a pre-2.0 irmware, installer.app is still their only source of applications. When apple’s 2.0 irmware came out in conjunction with the app store and around the time of the iphone 3G most of the third-party “toolchain” applications would not work on the new irmware.

This was not so much an intentional result from apple, but simply the side effect of apple completely revising its sDk. (The same thing happens with new versions of Mac os X or Windows; the tools to develop software changes frequently.) But none of the applications on installer.app had a polite “sorry, i don’t support the 2.0 irmware” message and thus there was general confusion.

The install tab takes lists of apps from various privately operated sources and sorts them into a list that you can choose from. From the install screen, tap an app to get a basic description of the app. on this page there is also an install button, which will download and install this package on your iphone, and a More info button, which sends you to a website with more information on the app. after you install a package, if it’s an application, it will simply appear on your home screen, and if it’s something else, like a skin pack or theme or ringtone, it should appear in the appropriate place. if not, try restarting your iphone.

The Update tab shows whether there are any newer versions of apps that you have already installed through installer.app. if there are, you can read about them and install them through the same procedure for installing apps.

The Uninstall tab shows all of the packages that you’ve installed through installer.app. selecting one and tapping “Uninstall” will get rid of it.

The sources tab shows where your list of packages is coming from. You can tap any of the sources to get more information about them, including contact information for the maintainer. You can get additional sources through packages in the install tab.

Nonetheless, when the 2.0 irmware was released, and people started to port their 1.x toolchain applications to the 2.0 sDk, nullRiver came out with a new version of installer and that version remains the de facto installer solution for third-party application installation on jailbroken phones.

Enter cydia

There were several major critiques of the nullRiver installer application. First and foremost was that it was closed source and operated by a private company thus, whenever it had trouble there was little recourse (of course apple’s app store is also closed source and proprietary, but they also happen to make the iphone, so there’s some chance that they’ll be responsive to change requests). and one of the noted problems was the immature installer/uninstaller management provided in nullRiver’s installer.

Thus, Jay Freeman (known online as saurik) ported apT, the extremely wellsupported open source package manager from Debian Linux.

The project is here: www.telesphoreo. org. cydia is a GUi front end for the Telesphoreo port of apT created by saurik.

To quote the author: “in order to provide some relief for these issues, i have decided to start a project called Telesphoreo with the goal of creating a distribution of GnU and BsD’s userspace for the iphone as a collaborative, open source project. The name is an ancient Greek word meaning “to bring fruit to perfection or maturity,” which i feel is what needs to be done to apple’s product: it’s passable as a phone, but as a portable workstation it is almost unmatched...with the right software.”

The cydia application, accesses these new, well-documented installation sources, and has become the alternative to installer.app for application installation; many of the same applications are available from both cydia and installer.app

Both installer.app and cydia share the concept of repositories, which are additional sources of programs. apple’s app store can be considered one large repository there’s only the app store, and only apple can decide whether a program goes on the list. in contrast, installer and cydia allow you to add any sources you want. some companies that provide a number of iphone applications maintain their own sources. More often, developers submit their applications to another popular repository. if you develop your own iphone applications, you may want to create your own source repository.