I Need Help Learning Objective-c!!

[Woodshark69]

Well the title says it all. I am trying to learn objective-c coding so that i can iPad/iPod/Mac apps but lack all knowledge of doing this. When I mean I lack the knowledge I mean that I have never coded anything before in my life. I know that a semi-colon ends a statement and some other basic tips but thats it. I am currently looking for a book/video thats is very detailed and very in depth and something that I can UNDERSTAND! I don't want anything that a normal person that has never couldn't understand. Also, I'm sure that someone else has probably posted something exactly like this but I have searched the forums and not found anything that really resembles as to what I am asking for. Thank You in advance.

[mfram]

You're going to have to learn to crawl (learn logic, write basic command-line C programs) before you are going to be able to run a marathon (submit an app to the AppStore). Make no mistake... if you are starting from ground zero having never programmed before it's going to take many months (and maybe over a year) to begin to get to the point where you can write real iPhone apps.

There are lots of threads in this forum from people asking the same question as you. Please feel free to read thorough them. There are no shortcuts to knowledge. It's going to take a lot of work.

[lee1210]

http://guides.macrumors.com/Cocoa_FAQ

Read this first. I would pick a book and read through it, and we can help along the way. The Stanford iTunes U courses also seem well liked, so check those out. Along the way, come ask questions, we'll be glad to help. Write as much code as you can, and ask for critiques. Don't just do the exercises, tweak things about them. Enhance them. Understand what each line is doing, then challenge your understanding through experimentation. If there are local community colleges, see what they have to offer. See if there are any local groups that gather to talk code.

Good luck. Expect frustration. Don't give up.

-Lee

[ArtOfWarfare]

Before you learn Objective-C, you need to learn C.

I advise reading (and doing the exercises contained within) the free ebook Learn C the Hard Way:

http://c.learncodethehardway.org/book/

Not every topic covered by that book is essential... the key things that you really should know before going any further are:

Variables
Operations
Functions
Control... the term escapes me right now... Control structures? The different loops and conditional stuff and whatnot...
Pointers
Arrays
Structures

... basically it's all covered in the first half of the book. Beyond that he gets into... well, algorithms and data structures like the title of the second half implies... it's not as important that you learn those because it seems like most of what he covers there you won't ever have to implement yourself because every API/SDK comes with them already...

[lee1210]

Originally Posted by ArtOfWarfare

well, algorithms and data structures like the title of the second half implies... it's not as important that you learn those because it seems like most of what he covers there you won't ever have to implement yourself because every API/SDK comes with them already...

I responded again to express how sad this makes me. Very sad. Understanding data structures is extremely important even if you never implement them yourself, because it's critical to know how to use them. And when. And why. And where. And a lot of what informs that is understanding algorithms.

Sorry, reading that put me into a mini-rage. It's over.

-Lee

[chown33]

Originally Posted by lee1210

I responded again to express how sad this makes me. Very sad. Understanding data structures is extremely important even if you never implement them yourself, because it's critical to know how to use them. And when. And why. And where. And a lot of what informs that is understanding algorithms.

Sorry, reading that put me into a mini-rage. It's over.

-Lee

It's not over until December 21st, right? Right? The ancient Mayan programmers computationists calendarists would be disappointed to learn their calculations were wrong.

[Sydde]

Originally Posted by chown33

It's not over until December 21st, right? Right? The ancient Mayan programmers computationists calendarists would be disappointed to learn their calculations were wrong.

This makes me sad. The Mayan calendar does not even end on the 21st, it is just a new baktun. Everyone we have known personally, so far, has been born and lived in the 12th baktun, 21 December only marks the beginning of baktun 13, which is in no way the end of the cycle, because Mayan cycles were based on 20s.

This baktun began two years after the death of Will Shakespeare and two years before the Mayflower landed on Cape Cod. A lot has transpired in this 396 year mini-epoch, we should celebrate (and fear) what number 13 will bring. Party down, folks.

(Yes, I know you were not serious, chown33.)

[larswik]

The Mayan's just ran out of stone