Thinking about developing apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad and not sure where to start? Tell me about it! Here is some advice from a programmer’s perspective.
Brief Overview
Apps for iOS are written in Objective-C which is the C programming language, but with extra stuff stuck onto it to make it an OOP (object oriented programming) language. Apple offers a free integrated development environment (IDE) called Xcode to help you build your programs. It is a great tool that will make developing those awesome apps much easier.
Things You Will Need
- Mac running a nice healthy version of OSX – Look at all the pretty Macs »
- Xcode (free) – Download Xcode »
- iOS Developer Program membership ($99/yr) – Enroll in the iOS Developer Program »
- This allows you to test your app on your device. Without membership you can still test your app using the iPhone Simulator on your Mac, but testing on your devices is an important step before submitting it for approval on the app store.
- Objective-C programming skills or the ability and desire to learn
Helpful Tutorials
- Your first iOS App: Getting Started by Apple
This is a great tutorial and the first place I went to for help after installing Xcode. - Making a Simple Twitter App by Code Project
Nice sample app for making an app that can be modified for a variety of purposes. - Learn C by Cocoa Dev Central
This gets your started with C. As a PHP Developer, I found it especially helpful. - Learn Objective-C by Cocoa Dev Central
This is the actual language used to program Mac/iOS software. Learn it… love it! - Learn Cocoa by Cocoa Dev Central
Cocoa is Apple’s API for iOS and Mac OS development - iOS SDK Essential Training (2012) video by Lynda.com
Fantastic video that walks you through everything you need to get started - App Store Submission by Apple
Step-by-step on how to submit your new app to the App Store
Tips
- How to pass data between views
- How to hide keyboard when clicking outside of textfield
- Background and Delegate Messaging
- Changing text on navigational “back” button
- Listening for applicationDidEnterBackground outside the AppDelegate
- Creating global variables and functions
- Customize UIButtons Programatically
- Checklist for Submitting an App to the App Store