Passbook (application)
Pass Book is a program of the electronics manufacturer Apple, coupons, boarding passes and other virtual objects can be saved with the. Passbook was announced in June 2012 at the Worldwide Developers Conference ( WWDC ) and released on 12 September 2012. The application is an integral part of Apple iOS 6 and thus installed at the factory, but it only works on the iPhone and not on the iPad.
History
With the increasing spread of Near Field Communication ( NFC) in modern smartphones has been speculated that Apple could integrate a corresponding chip in his iPhone. The company has, however, decided, according to Phil Schiller against the technology, since the customer needs could be met without them. According to his testimony, the transfer of boarding cards and other items through the Internet is now more appropriate since it anywhere an update of the stored data is possible.
Apple has Passbook presented during the opening speech at his house exhibition WWDC. In addition to Apple Maps to the numerous details were known in advance, the program was presented as one of the most important new features of iOS 6. The first beta version was delivered to registered developers, the functions due to the lack of integration with other apps could not be actively used. Only with the official launch of iOS 6.0, on 12 September 2012, some vendors have begun to support Passbook. Among the pioneers of the platform was as Lufthansa.
Importance
Due to the high market share of iOS and the fact that Passbook is an integral part of the operating system, the app has quickly achieved a high degree of distribution. Unlike other mobile payment platforms in the field it is particularly well accepted by airlines: In addition to Lufthansa and Air Berlin, for example, Air China, Air Canada, American Airlines and United Airlines support the filing of a boarding pass in Passbook. In addition, the coffee house chain Starbucks has announced plans to port their loyalty cards on Passbook and to integrate a function to pay in the appropriate software.
Technology
Basically Passbook works like an ordinary application that is assigned to a particular file type - in this case pkpass. . Once iOS discovered a file and provides the operating system to open it in passbook and deposit. Such files themselves, despite the different ending in the core actually a ZIP archive, where all necessary objects are combined for a pass. In addition to graphics and texts, which are necessary for the presentation of an entry, two files are particularly important: first, a JSON definition of appearance and metadata that refer, for example, a Web service for the update. Second, a digital signature, which must be generated with the personal certificate of the developer and the manipulation of a pass by third parties intended to exclude.
An app is not necessary to provide a map for Passbook. Shortly after publication of Passbook can find numerous offers have developed that enable even novice users to create a card using a graphical interface or a simple wizard. For most of these services, it is not even necessary to be a member of the iOS Developer Program from Apple.