Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

RunToTheHills

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 9, 2009
31
0
Say I wanted to make something simple like that "Pocket Arnold" app. What language is that written in? And if it's something simple like "C++" or something (please pardon my non-knowledge in this area), could I just have someone familiar with said language do it for me, and then they could test it out on the SDK thing?

Ultimately, I'm just trying to figure out if the programming is something common, or if it's something specific to the iPhone/touch.

Thanks and again, sorry for my cloudiness.
 

HyperSnake

macrumors member
Jan 5, 2009
74
0
Switzerland
All iPhone apps are written in objective-C, a superset of C, using the Cocoa Touch API, consisting of the Foundation Framework and the UIKit. The foundation framework is all the "under the hood" stuff like arrays, dictionaries, strings etc. the foundation framework is almost the same on Mac Os X and the iPhone. The UIKit is used for showing all the stuff on the screen like buttons, textfields, labels etc.

If you want to learn objective-C and Cocoa Touch, I can tell you it's not difficult and it's almost the same as writting applications for the mac. If you know nothing about either, read Stephen Kochan's book "Programming in Objective-C 2.0(2nd Edition)" and after that read Dave Mark and Jeff LaMarche's book "Beginning iPhone Development: Exploring the SDK". After having read those two books, even a person who has never programmed before should be able to write applications for the iPhone.

To get started you could also check out Jeff LaMarche's iphone blog: iphonedevelopment.blogspot.com
And
Download the iPhone SDK(you have to sign up as an Apple developer but it's free), then download some of the source code available at the iphone dev center, and also you should read some of Apple's documentation, just to get the feel of it(if you are new to programming you shouldnt be able to get a **** out of the documentation since it's for already experienced developers). It all starts at http://developer.apple.com/iphone

Ohh and by the way, if you buy a book DO NOT buy Erica Sadun's book, it is terrible for starting iPhone development, but a good reference once you've learned it.

- BEN.

EDIT: Just re-read your post: I ain't gonna write no iPhone apps for you for you, nor are anyone else. It seems almost like you pretend to want to start iPhone programming but in fact just want somebody to write it for you for free.
 

iHateMacs

macrumors 6502a
Aug 13, 2008
654
24
Coventry, UK
I want to get into APP writing, mainly for my own enjoyment, but I don't want to pay our for the SDK etc if it's beyond me.

I have dabbled in C since the mid 80's but never got much further than writing utilities for my own use. I currently "dabble" in javascript and PHP so I've not lost touch with programming.

I'd love to try a demo of the SKD or something first to see if it scares me or if I think it's something I might really get into.

I guess this sub forum is a good place to start reading :)
 

robbieduncan

Moderator emeritus
Jul 24, 2002
25,611
893
Harrogate
I want to get into APP writing, mainly for my own enjoyment, but I don't want to pay our for the SDK etc if it's beyond me.

You can download the entire SDK and all the tools for free. It's not a demo: it's the whole thing which you can use forever. You only need to pay if you want to put your code on a real device and/or sell on the app store.

Go to developer.apple.com, create a free account and download the SDK.
 

iHateMacs

macrumors 6502a
Aug 13, 2008
654
24
Coventry, UK
You can download the entire SDK and all the tools for free. It's not a demo: it's the whole thing which you can use forever. You only need to pay if you want to put your code on a real device and/or sell on the app store.

Go to developer.apple.com, create a free account and download the SDK.

Oh. Well that's ideal then. I will go and look for it.

Thanks
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.