đź“– IT Bible

Mobile App Packages

Software for mobile OS’s is distributed as mobile applications or apps. Mobile applications: Software that is distributed on mobile OS devices ​Apps have to come from a source that the mobile device has been configured ​to trust. ​On most OS’s, you can’t just download an app from a random website and install it. ​Instead, mobile operating systems use app stores.

App stores: A central managed marketplace for app developers to publish and sell mobile apps

App Store apps: A Package Manager that acts as a repository

App store repository: A app store service that also acts as a repository

 ​Centralized App Stores work great for apps that are available to the public. ​But what if your organization needs to run some type of custom app?  -  ​You’ll need to use Enterprise app management: A management system that allows an organization to distribute custom mobile apps  - These apps were developed by or for the organization and ​aren’t available to the general public

As an IT support specialist, you might help manage enterprise ​app installation through a mobile device management or MDM service

There’s one other way to install an app into a mobile OS and ​that’s called side-loading. Side-loading: A process of installing mobile apps directly without using an app store

  •  ​Side-loading packages is riskier than installing through an app store and ​you would generally only do this if you’re an app developer.
  • Mobile apps are standalone software packages, so ​they contain all their dependencies.

As they use a mobile app, anything that’s changed or ​created with that app will end up in that apps assigned storage location or cache. ​ So resetting a mobile app to how it was when it was first installed is as ​simple as deleting or clearing the cache