iOS new to programming

If you're new to programming, you probably want to focus on learning the required languages first, rather than learning "how to do X". If you learn how to make one specific thing (such as a button that makes a sound) then you'll struggle to apply what you've learned to anything else and you'll probably end up more confused than if you set out to learn the language.

If you're looking at iPhone development, the language of choice is Objective-C. However, if you've got no programming experience then I'd strongly recommend learning the language C first, as Obj-C is a superset of C.

There are a couple of books in iBooks about programming in both C and Objective-C that are good on-the-go reads.

Here is a good link for some beginner tutorials for C:
http://www.cprogramming.com/tutorial.html

And MacRumors offers a nice Obj-C tutorial but, as I mentioned, you'll benefit from understanding C first:
http://guides.macrumors.com/Objective-C_Tutorial

Good luck!

macbook pro i5 said:

thank you i greatly appreciate your response i will look at learning c then but objective c but isn't objective c just c with some tweaks to make it easier

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Not exactly. C is procedural, and objective C is object oriented.

macbook pro i5 said:

so should i learn c first or c++

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C will be sufficient. C++ is almost a superset of C (I wouldn't actually consider it a superset because there are instances where C code would compile differently to C++ code in a C++ environment). I would consider it pretty essential to know C before tackling Objective-C. However, it wouldn't say it's essential to know C++ when having a go at Obj-C if you already know C - it would probably be advantageous, but not essential.

The difference between C and C++ is that C++ is an object-oriented language (i.e. - it makes use of features such as classes and promotes principles such as polymorphism and encapsulation) whereas C is, as dok24 said, procedural.

Obj-C is also an object-oriented language; it will follow many of the same principles of C++ but has a different approach.

Your best approach (I say "best" but everyone has preferences and learns things differently) is probably this:

Learn C --> Learn Obj-C --> Learn to use an iOS SDK (UI/Cocos etc).

It should work like a knock-on effect - learning C will make getting to grips with Obj-C easier and, in turn, knowing Obj-C will ease programming in an iOS environment.


I'm not saying that's the definite way to do things. As I mentioned, everyone learns differently and there are a lot of ways to get into app development. But if you follow the fundamentals thoroughly, it'll be of greater benefit in the long term.

This is a great book to follow that'll take you through the stages:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/iOS-SDK-Programming-Beginners-Guide/dp/0071759085

It has sections on C then Obj-C then UI. It also offers Xcode based tutorials that you can follow along the way. A great book for starting out.

macbook pro i5 said:

thank you for all responses its helped once again thanks

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Any time.

iHutch105 said:

This is a great book to follow that'll take you through the stages:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/iOS-SDK-Programming-Beginners-Guide/dp/0071759085

It has sections on C then Obj-C then UI. It also offers Xcode based tutorials that you can follow along the way. A great book for starting out.

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This book is not current to xCode4

ZipZap said:

This book is not current to xCode4

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Erm, yeah, it is. Every example in the book is using Xcode 4. If that's not enough, the front cover literally reads "Learn how to use Objective-C and Xcode 4 with integrated Interface Builder".