iOS otool to detect private apis

Question

I am a first time ios developer and cannot find any documentation on private apis. So I have been searching for some type of tutorial on how to use otool. The only certain thing that I can find is that I had to download the command line tools through xcode preferences. I also keep seeing references to linking it to the .app file, but I don't know where I can find this and how to use it in tool. Any links or suggestions?

Solution

Otool usage

Here is official documentation

Here is the question about otool usage: how to use otool

Detect private api usage

How does Apple know you are using private API?

Detecting Private APIs

Here I have a question. Why do you want to detect private apis? Usually, this question happens when you plan to send your app to AppStore. If so, probably iphone-privateapi tag isn't good fit for the question. Since, this tag is more about how to use private api (and implication that the app won't be send to Appstore)

Documentation on private API

This one is tough. There is no good documentation. Information is scattered and becoming outdate as soon as new version of iOS are released.

Look at these questions to find some interesting links:

iOS Private API Documentation

How to use iPhone SDK Private APIs

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/12734960/some-structured-information-on-ios-internals

Comments

[Hot Licks]

Note that if you have any intention to write an app for the App Store you should not use undocumented Apple APIs.

[user1803649]

Thanks, this was really helpful

[Stefan Kendall]

Linking to the docs is the kind of nonsense StackOverflow was built to stop. "RTFM" is not a good answer, even with a link to "M".

[Victor Ronin]

@StefanKendall: I disagree. First of all, my answer contained not only links to documentation, but other suggestions. Secondly, StackOverflow stops RTFM (when you need to read 30 pages to get information which can be conveyed in 10 lines). And there is no way to conway ALL information about "any documentation on private apis" in 10 lines. So, I would say my answer was good one for quite vague question.