What's the difference between “Distribution” a

Question

They both sound like the same thing. Distribution == Release, somehow. Having a hard time figuring out what the difference is.

Answer 1

For iOS, the Distribution is usually identical to the Release build except for the code signing. The Distribution build is usually cloned from the final test Release build, but with the code signing changed to using the Distribution certificate instead of the Developer certificate. The reason one needs two different builds is that you can't run a App Store provisioned Distribution signed build for final testing on a developer's device.

Answer 2

In my projects they're the same thing, but it really depends on the programmer and the build settings they want to put into each target.

For one programmer, "Release" might be an ADHOC build meant for internal testing while "Distribution" means a Store build.

Or maybe a different programmer would do the opposite "Release" is for the Store build and "Distribution" is for ADHOC.

Another thing... I usually see both "Release" and "Distribution" choices when I create fresh apps from templates, but "Release" (as a target) was around long before "Distribution", which came in with iOS IIRC. Some apps I've worked on only have "Debug" and "Distribution", another project I have open right now only has "Debug" & "Release". So YMMV.

Oh, and here is a related question.

Answer 3

In my Project i use the term release. The release can be to the testers or they can be directly to the client side.