Use third party framework which is embedded in dynamic framework

Question

As i understand the big change from ios dynamic framework and static is that static is linked statically to the code at link time (prior to launch) and dynamic is linked at laun

Answer 1

As you note, linking B.framework would lead to duplicate symbols. This is why A.framework should not embed B.framework. You must never embed a framework in another framework if there is any chance that the consuming application will care about the embedded framework (in practice, this means you really should just never do it).

A.framework was incorrectly packaged. If you packaged it, you should remove the embedded framework and link everything at the application layer. If someone else packaged it, you should open an issue with them to correct this error. This issue is not new to dynamic frameworks. It was equally a problem with static frameworks. The only appropriate time to link dependencies is at the application layer.

(There is an exception if you control the entire ecosystem (e.g. Apple). Then things like umbrella frameworks are acceptable. But you're not Apple.)

EDIT: It is ok to link, but not embed, a shared framework into another shared framework. The key is that the only copy of the shared framework needs to come from the top-level application. Since that final link step will happen at load, then you won't have duplicate symbols because there is only one copy of the shared framework. Just don't embed the sub-framework into yours.

For example:

• Create project with framework target
• Drag in GMA.framework to framework target (this will cause it to link but not embed)
• Create App target
• Have app link both GMA.framework and your test framework. This will work fine without collisions because there is only one GMA.framework, and it's only embedded in the app.