How is application ID used by Xcode when building/signing the application?

Question

iOS Provisioning files make reference to the Apple application ID (of the form "A1A2A3A4A5"). Most often, the DNS form of the application is replaced with a star (*).

My understanding is that the provisioning profile is stored in the iOS development device and is not used by Xcode. Thus, when building/signing the application, how can Xcode include the app ID into the executable file ? The only information Xcode has is the "Bundle Identifier", which is of the form "com.mycompany.myapp" - but there is no App ID, thus there is no way to add the app ID at this stage.

Does anyone know how this works. I feel that many people use those tools (as I do) without really knowing how it's made inside.

Many Regards, Apple92

Answer 1

An iPhone application is not just an executable, it's a bundle (like a directory) that contains the executable, but also resources (like nibs or images) and in particular contains a small plist manifest file with details about your application - including the application ID. The provisioning profile is also included in this application bundle.

A device also maintains a list of provisioning profiles it has installed, but the profiles can be in the application as well and are checked against the application plist file to make sure everything matches.