iOS Beginning iPhone Programming

[balamw]

this big nerd ranch book is great, I went past a couple chapters, and its very easy to understand and basically explains everything.

I've been through the first two parts in Hillegass and find it to be quite "sketchy", i.e. a high level overview without the same level of detail as a more in-depth book like Kochan or even Hillegass' Cocoa or iOS books.

This may work very well for some, but not for others.

Personally, I prefer the learn C as you learn Objective C approach Kochan takes, but this approach: teach just the basics of C in ~70 pages is reasonable.

B

 

[loon3y]

I've been through the first two parts in Hillegass and find it to be quite "sketchy", i.e. a high level overview without the same level of detail as a more in-depth book like Kochan or even Hillegass' Cocoa or iOS books.

This may work very well for some, but not for others.

Personally, I prefer the learn C as you learn Objective C approach Kochan takes, but this approach: teach just the basics of C in ~70 pages is reasonable.

B

i don't entirely understand what you just said

 

[firewood]

Ok so I have learned Objective C and I understand how to use it and stuff, but I am still not as experienced as I would like. I was wondering if there was a way to "practice" I guess. Just some simple apps to create to learn and understand how to do different things. So if you have any suggestions then let me know! Thanks

The only way to learn to program is to write programs. Many.

If don't know what software to develop, look in the App store. There are half a million examples, from insanely complicated to stupidly trivial. Pick one that's simple enough that you say to yourself "I could write that!". Then do so. Make sure it works. Debug if necessary.

Then pick a more interesting and slightly more complicated example app. Rinse and repeat until you are quickly developing lots of non-trivial apps. As you code more complicated apps, you will have to read and thus learn more of the documentation.

Then figure out features that you think if added would make even better apps. Rinse and repeat until you've developed an app good enough to sell for $$$.

Reading will only get you so far. Actual coding is necessary if you really want to learn to develop software. All the good books and videos recommended above are useless past a certain point.

 

[balamw]

i don't entirely understand what you just said

Hillegass' new Objective-C book presents only a very high-level overview of C before going into Objective-C.

This leaves only about 250 pages dedicated to Objective-C. As such, he can't cover things in as much detail as Kochan does in > 500 pages all about Objective-C.

It is a good book as far as I've read into it, but isn't the same kind of reference as Kochan.

This is both good and bad. It offers an alternative to Kochan that might work better for some folks. That is definitely good!

As firewood said in the post above this one. Practice, practice, practice. Work on a program for something you know from OUTSIDE the computer arena. Program a card game, a simple checkbook ledger, etc... Something that keeps your attention.

B

 

[dryjoy]

I'm learning Objective-C at the moment (although I used to programme in BBC Basic and later Blitz Basic on an Amiga as a kid, and did some Pascal a few years ago, so wasn't necessarily starting totally from first principles). I am aiming to get into iOS coding, but currently I've just completed the Apress book 'Learn C on the Mac' and now I'm working through the sequel, 'Learn Objective-C on the Mac'. There is then a third book that takes you on to Cocoa and iOS development, building on what you learn in the first two.

That's the route I've chosen, and I have so far found these books really enjoyable and at exactly the right level for me, but you might need to look around to get the right ones for you.

What people are saying is right - time and patience are the most important things. I would add though - you should pick a book you like the look of, but as you go, just try and have fun with coding, messing about and trying different things as you go.

The 'Learn C on the Mac' book had exercises at the end of every chapter (usually write a programme or alter a programme type of exercise), and I always made sure I completed and understood those, but the follow up Objective-C book has no exercises at all.

Therefore, I always make sure I write a little programme or alter the one I did for the chapter before (if that's more appropriate) before I move on to the next chapter. I find this really fun, and it always makes sure that I have understood the concepts.

Practice makes perfect and that's what it's all about. Reading the right books AND messing about and enjoying coding just for the hell of it will make sure you make good progress. If you find you don't enjoy messing about with code, then it probably isn't for you.