I know that apple doesn't allow apps to run in the background but since the timesheets are simply timers, can they run in the background with other programs running in the foreground? If yes, can the timesheet apps have multiple timers running in the background for multiple projects/clients?
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Can timesheet tracking type apps run in the background?
- Thread starter diesel
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No, any app approved for sale in the App Store must quit completely and leave no background process running. So no timers, no IM notifications (at least until the push service arrives in September), no listening to Simplify Media while browsing the web with Safari, and so on. Apple's very strict about this right now, someday that may change...
This would make timesheet/timer type apps pretty much useless. but i've been doing a bit of digging around and found this iphone billing/timing app and they claim that the timers will continue to run even after you've exited the program:
http://inertron.com/mobile/inertrak/
is that in violation of apple's policies or would timer type apps be allowed to run in the background?
it probably either runs on a server, OR it logs the time to first opened the app, then when you open the app again to tell it your are done, and figures out how long between the two...
I'd of thought the latter is the simplest way of doing it. Unless there is some way for them to make use of the stopwatch app which does keep running in the back ground - maybe an app can kick off its own stopwatch timer which wouldn't break the Apple background running rules as it would be one of their own apps running it. If that makes sense.
Yeah, there's really no reason to keep an app running for something like this.
Openit to start the task. then reopen it and tell it you're done. It can check the time of the start and end.
I wonder if the user could play around with the iPhone's clock to fool it though. Only way to solve that would be to log to a server and use the server time to verify.