Build and Run an xcode project via AppleScript

Question

I'm trying to build an xcode project and run it through the iPhone Simulator via applescript. I'm aware of xcodebuild but it doesn't let you run the app in the simulator. I've gotten pretty close with the script below...

tell application "Xcode"
  set targetProject to project of active project document

  tell targetProject
    set active build configuration type to build configuration type "Debug"
    set active SDK to "iphonesimulator3.0"
  end tell

  if (build targetProject) is equal to "Build succeeded" then
    launch targetProject
  end if
end tell

... but the build command doesn't seem to obey the active SDK property, it always defaults to the project's base SDK setting (such as the iPhoneOS3.0 instead of iPhonesimulator3.0)

Is there a way to tell the build command to use a specific SDK? I'm using xcode 3.2 on snow leopard.

Answer 1

Here is the trick... you have to set the SDKROOT build setting. Here is a zsh script I use to find the xcode project within the current hierarchy, build it, and run it via xcode.

#!/bin/zsh

BUILD_PATH=$(dirname $0)

while [[ -z $BUILD_FILE && $BUILD_PATH != "/" ]]; do
    BUILD_FILE=$(find $BUILD_PATH -name '*.xcodeproj' -maxdepth 1)
    BUILD_PATH=$(dirname $BUILD_PATH)
done

if [[ -z $BUILD_FILE ]]; then
    echo "Couldn't find an xcode project file in directory"
    exit 1
fi

# Applescript likes's : instead of / (because it's insane)
BUILD_FILE=${BUILD_FILE//\//:}

# Find the latest Simulator SDK
SIMULATOR_SDKS=( /Developer/Platforms/iPhoneSimulator.platform/Developer/SDKs/*.sdk )

SIMULATOR_SDK=${SIMULATOR_SDKS[-1]} 
SIMULATOR_SDK_STRING=$(basename ${(L)SIMULATOR_SDK%.[a-z]*})

if [[ -z $SIMULATOR_SDK ]]; then
    echo "Couldn't find a simulator SDK"
    exit 1
fi


osascript <<SCRIPT
application "iPhone Simulator" quit
application "iPhone Simulator" activate

tell application "Xcode"
    open "$BUILD_FILE"
    set targetProject to project of active project document

    tell targetProject
        set active build configuration type to build configuration type "Debug"
        set active SDK to "$SIMULATOR_SDK_STRING"
        set value of build setting "SDKROOT" of build configuration "Debug" of active target to "$SIMULATOR_SDK"

        if (build targetProject) is equal to "Build succeeded" then
            launch targetProject
        else
            application "iPhone Simulator" quit
        end if
    end tell
end tell
SCRIPT

Answer 2

Another option to consider is to use Applescript to launch a shell script that executes the xcodebuild program. xcodebuild allows you to specify things like a specific target, configuration, sdk, etc. I use this all the time when I have to SSH into a build server and rebuild a project.