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kolax

macrumors G3
Original poster
Mar 20, 2007
9,181
115
I did buy a book that was meant to be a good seller, but I didn't realise it was released before the official iPhone SDK was released.

What is the best book for learning to program for the iPhone? I have a basic understanding of object-oriented languages, and have coded in C and Java.
 

JLatte

macrumors 6502
Dec 2, 2005
336
0
San Diego
I did buy a book that was meant to be a good seller, but I didn't realise it was released before the official iPhone SDK was released.

What is the best book for learning to program for the iPhone? I have a basic understanding of object-oriented languages, and have coded in C and Java.

To be honest, there don't seem to be many (if any) books worthwhile for the newest SDK for iPhone programming. I would highly recommend Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X Third Edition by Aaron Hillegass. I've bought it myself and have been reading through it, as I also have C++/C# and Java programming experience, however Objective-C is a whole different syntax for me.
 

dejo

Moderator emeritus
Sep 2, 2004
15,982
452
The Centennial State
"Programming in Objective-C 2.0 (2nd Edition)" by Stephen Kochan

"The iPhone Developer's Cookbook: Building Applications with the iPhone SDK" by Erica Sadun
 

JLatte

macrumors 6502
Dec 2, 2005
336
0
San Diego
"Programming in Objective-C 2.0 (2nd Edition)" by Stephen Kochan

"The iPhone Developer's Cookbook: Building Applications with the iPhone SDK" by Erica Sadun

Kochan's book is also good, however Erica Sadun's book doesn't have the best reviews on Amazon... it seems to not be the best book if you don't already know a lot about XCode Programming which is what you seem to want to have more information about. If you're already proficient in Objective-C and Cocoa then you most likely wouldn't be asking your question (OP). I think Erica's book is best after you've already become proficient in Objective-C and Cocoa from Kochan or Hillegass' book.

Good luck!
 

danimal99

macrumors regular
Jul 21, 2008
219
0
http://www.apress.com/book/view/1430216263

That is the book you want, Beginning iPhone Development: Exploring the SDK. I'm halfway through it and it's fantastic. I had no previous Mac experience, just C, Java and Actionscript (Flash). It has been much better than trying to work through the various tutorials I have found online.

I bought it as an e-book and saved it in my My Dropbox folder (http://www.getdropbox.com), which automatically sync'd it to both of my Macs and my PC desktop, so I can read it pretty much anywhere. Great book.
 

Luke Redpath

macrumors 6502a
Nov 9, 2007
733
6
Colchester, UK
Hillegaas's Cocoa book is still the best starting point for Cocoa in general I think and much of it is applicable to iPhone development.

I'm not a big fan of Erica Sadun's cookbook; not keen on her writing style or her blatant disregard (and keen encouragement of using) for private APIs.

If you want a dedicated book, I'd suggest getting the Pragmatic Programmer's iPhone book (it may still be in beta); their books are generally very good and what I've read of the beta seems good so far.

Their Core Animation book is also good if you want to learn about that in more detail. Very clear and concise.
 

JLatte

macrumors 6502
Dec 2, 2005
336
0
San Diego
http://www.apress.com/book/view/1430216263

That is the book you want, Beginning iPhone Development: Exploring the SDK. I'm halfway through it and it's fantastic. I had no previous Mac experience, just C, Java and Actionscript (Flash). It has been much better than trying to work through the various tutorials I have found online.

I bought it as an e-book and saved it in my My Dropbox folder (http://www.getdropbox.com), which automatically sync'd it to both of my Macs and my PC desktop, so I can read it pretty much anywhere. Great book.

I just placed an order for the iPhone book on Amazon, should be interesting.
 

kolax

macrumors G3
Original poster
Mar 20, 2007
9,181
115
I bought "Programming in Objective-C 2.0 by Stephen Kochan".

Really good book so far.
 

adamk77

Suspended
Jan 6, 2008
566
211
Beginning iPhone Development is the best one out there right now.

Along with the one from Pragmatic Programmers iPhone SDK Development (I think this is the title?). You can download the beta version from their web site. They send you email notification whenever new version comes out. And you'll also get access to the final version once it's done.
 
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