iOS Development

[Bane]

One of the things I want to jump into for 2013 is learning the world of iOS development.

Anyone have any recommendations on where to start - for one I'll pickup a macbook mini to develop.

Hey if anyone feels like talking the plunge - maybe the fold development team rides again

[ash007]

Interesting, I felt the urge to develop for IOS one year ago

Well, the first thing you already mentioned, you need a mac.

Then you need the Xcode IDE. There might be other options but the Xcode is quite nice and it has the IOS simulator for various devices.

The simulator is not enough of course and sooner or later you will need the IOS developer account. It is paid annually and it provides access to beta versions, gives access to the developer community, it allows you load you apps to real testing devices (important) and finally submit your apps to Apple for verification (the most important).

I also recommend you grab some book to learn the object-oriented C language which is used for the development. It is not very hard once you get used to the syntax.

I made a simple application, a catalog of houses for sale. Nothing spectacular and I actually never got to the point to transfer the app to the device itself.

Getting a partner might rekindle my interest

[Bane]

Good advice! Been doing the research and have a couple of books in the cart from amazon.

Just wish that the 2012 mac mini hmdi out didn't have have issues - they released a fix couple of weeks ago - just waiting to see if it's good to go.

There's a free iTunes university course from Standford - looks pretty good - watched the first lecture and found it very engaging

Kick ass!

[ash007]

Yup, I know the Stanford course but I never watched it. I sits there in itunes among my favorites

There is one thing I didin't like and which ultimately led to my IOS development demise. It's the "volatility" of the development environment. I used some materials, videos, courses, forums and coded the application in some way. Then came another IOS version and everything I got so far became obsolete. At least from my point of view.
For example, the garbage collector. There wasn't automatic collection and all object instances had to be released manually. In the new environment they introduced new automatic garbage collector and they said use it.
Now, all old howtos and documentation became obsolete and new information was hard to find. Probably not such a problem for experienced IOS devs but for me as a newbie it was a bummer.

Just wanted to say that all the internet stuff and books could be outdated, better watch out. Probably the most relevant material comes from Apple and its guidelines. But they are no good in teaching the basics. Kind of a loop here.

[Bane]

Thanks for the heads-up - amazon will be releasing a beginner book based on the iOS 6 environment mid January.

I agree - I'm looking at all the available literature and taking it with a grain of salt

[ash007]

That's interesting. They should have some insight how to do coding for IOS 6

I guess we can exchange info through email as nobody else seems to be interested.

[Bane]

I can always setup a forum for iOS discussions - just need to run it by the web admin - although I think he's pretty agreeable with it

[ash007]

Wouldn't that be a little over the top for two people?

But if you think it will be helpful, why not.

I'm curious why did you decide to start coding IOS apps?

[Bane]

Good question - I've got some ideas for a couple of apps - I haven't really seen @ itunes - let me setup the forum in order to bounce some ideas around

[The Dark Mike]

Super cool idea guys!! A forum for 3 guys is totally justified