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MacNoobGuy

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 18, 2012
497
0
hey guys, i just started coding in XCode and am a general rookie in coding. i had hoped to have an app out in 6 weeks, but it's looking like it'll be closer to 6 months. i don't know why, but i'm just not enjoying it as much as i thought i would.

i'm fresh out of college and i bought a mac mini and iPod Touch and decided to not get a job just for the purpose of building an app so i really don't want to give up yet.

i was hoping someone could post an inspirational quote from bill gates, steve jobs or wozniak to help me persevere. i dunno, i think it'd help me a lot if i could somehow 'demonstrate' my work to friends and family like a painter or musician could. is there any way i could do this? i want to make something that they and people would be genuinely interested in.

i was a history major so maybe my mind needs time to adjust.

thanks guys, i'd appreciate any help.
 

jnoxx

macrumors 65816
Dec 29, 2010
1,343
0
Aartselaar // Antwerp // Belgium
my real interest only started when I actually putted something in the screen, the first half year of programming (without ANY prior programming experience), was a hell for me too. Having no idea what to do, coming to forums like these where people said what to do, but i had no idea to actually do it ^_-
After I started getting into it, and started putting some stuff on the screen, I REALLY enjoyed my job, and here I am, 2 years later, still doing it as a full time iOS developer :)
I think your best call is to follow some books and learn how to build on your device (costs ya 99$ though), when you do that, the fun begins, to build what you want. for more specific questions you can head back to our forums :)

I'm not good with quotes but i can try to use some others
"Just do it" (c) Nike (amirite?)
"I liek turtles" (c) random kid on youtube
"LEEEROOOOY JENKIIIINS" (c) Leroy Jenkins

:)
 

Tander

macrumors 6502a
Oct 21, 2011
676
1
Johannesburg, South Africa
Like you, I have just started programming, too.

At the moment, I am reading a book called, "Learn C on Mac". It's brilliant and a good starter.

The first half of the book, I really struggled and began wondering if iOS development / programming is really where I want to go. Then, after a few chapters it's getting better and better.

I think once I start making an actual app and putting it onto a iDevice, then fun will really start.

Keep at it!

My favorite quote from Mr. Jobs: "If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on."
 

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,544
6,042
You don't enjoy it? Madness! I've never known anyone who could program and didn't enjoy it! (I have known people who could copy down someone else's program, not understand it at all, and not enjoy it.)

Anyways... I learned programming on my parent's dime (and, TBH, I still loan a few K from them every few months as I pursue a Computer Engineering degree.) You're going to need a few years of experience programming before anyone is going to hire you and pay you enough to live off of, so you need a day job if you're not living with your parents. (And if you are living with your parents, grow up and get out.)

For quotes... Well, I don't have anything that can help. Although I get the idea you don't actually know much about Steve Jobs or Bill Gates.

Steve Jobs was a leader with vision. Reading his bio, I don't think it ever mentioned him programming or building anything himself. He knew what he wanted and what his people were able to do, and he made them build and program the devices.

Bill Gates was a businessman. Although he wrote much of the early versions of Windows himself, and continued to review every line of code of Windows XP(?) himself, he was actually a buisnessman at heart. He made the deals with PC manufactures that led to Windows/PC becoming the dominant computing platform.

Quotes I know for various reasons but probably won't help you:
Ford: If I'd asked people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.
Gates: My only regret in life is that I'm but a Life Scout.

Oh, and I feel like you're clueless about what you should be learning. First, learn C. I suggest the free ebook Learn C The Hard Way (google it.)

Once you learn the first 14 exercises worth of material, you can move onto Obj-C*. I suggest Stanford's free online iOS SDK programming course (lectures available on iTunes Connect.)

*Learning the rest is good, too, but that's all I needed to know to make my first few apps that made money.
 

MacNoobGuy

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 18, 2012
497
0
thanks a lot guys.

i dunno, i really like the idea of writing software for hardware other than things like personal computers.

other than iOS devices, is there any other hardware out there i could write code for?

i might need to make a new thread.
 

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,544
6,042
i dunno, i really like the idea of writing software for hardware other than things like personal computers.

I felt the same way initially... I learned the extreme basics on my computer, then moved to the iPhone for several years, and then just moved back to the computer at the start of this year. I think the issue was that programming for the computer was too daunting when I was starting out.

Anyways... you need to learn some C on the Mac before you can move onto the iPhone. In my prior post, I suggested googling Learn C The Hard Way and doing the first 14 exercises from the free online ebook so you could learn the essentials that you need. Then feel free to start watching Stanford's iOS lectures and programming for your iPhone instead.

As far as other hardware you can program... most hardware lacks an inexpensive software development kit. For example, developing for the PlayStation 3 costs $30K per person per computer per year (I think, don't quote me on that.) Lots of TI's higher end calculators are programmable out of the box... doesn't strike me as terribly fun to program for though... nor do circuit boards... there's always Android, but I don't know anything about how to program for them.
 
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