alchemistmuffin -- I may be wrong but I sense that you've caught a glimmering of how cutting edge (and lucrative) iPhone apps can be and want to get in on the buzz -- but please be patient: you have a long journey ahead of you. If, as your handle suggests, you have some knowledge of alchemy, the dictum "Ora, lege, lege, lege, relege, labora et invenies" ("Pray, read, read, read, re-read, work and you will discover it") applies here in spades. There is much sulphur and salt to separate before you discover the mercury of the programmer's spirit.
All programming languages share essentially the same basic concepts:
* Storage and retrieval of variables. (e.g,, x=10)
* Branches based on logical tests. (e.g., if (x = 10) { do this } else { do that })
* Iterative looping until test conditions are met. (e.g., while(x<10) { do this and that; x=x+1; })
Most also have:
* Key words that act as the verbs and adjectives of the language.
* The ability to define constants and more complex data structures.
* Functions that accept variables (as arguments), perform specific transformations and return results. (e.g., function addUp (a, b) { return a + b })
In languages like C, you'll also have to deal with specific data types (e.g., integers, floating point, character, boolean, etc.) and pointers (memory address locations of variables, etc.). There's also the concept of declaring functions and initializing variables before you use them and the world of compiling source code into object code and linking the result into executable code.
Objective-C is an Object Oriented Programing (OOP) language, and for this you must understand the concept of encapsulation -- class structures that become objects containing methods (a specialized case of functions) and properties. There are also terms and concepts specific to Objective-C such as selectors (generally identical to "methods"), accessors, delegates, categories, etc.
All this may seem pretty daunting when you are starting out but the essential message here is get yourself a good grounding in programming first and the road will be much easier. As I say this, though, it's with the realization that even with more than 25 years of programming experience at the professional level, I still struggle to learn the basics with each new language I take up. Give yourself time and don't become attached to any outcomes for a while. If you stick with it, a passion for the discipline may grow within you and the discovery of new territory will become your guiding light.
-- Mark
