iOS Want to learn Objective-C & Cocoa Touch

[hudsonr]

Hello All:

I am interested in learning Objective-C and Cocoa Touch. There are currently no Universities that offer classes in Objective-C for beginners. Even the Stanford class (iTunes) presumes that you have a working knowledge of C, Java, C++ or like.

There are very expensive class that range in price from 1500 - 5000 for 2- 7 days (boot camps) and they also presume the you have a working knowledge of some other programming language.

Resources that I have found and interested in more.

1. thenewboston.com (the basics) see Objective - C // Bucky ****

2. Kochan Programming in Objective - C 2.0 video/book (unfortunately he uses a lot of fractions) still studying ***

3. http://ideveloper.tv/ (met this guy at i360Dev in Austin, but have not purchased in video) He say's it is for beginners. ?

4. http://pragprog.com/screencasts // (limited) videos **

5. http://stores.lulu.com/timlaytonllc ***

6. http://forum.xcelme.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=132 (I could not get off the ground with this guy) He starts out with Alice a Carnagie Melon program. *

I have taken one Java Fundamental class at a local community college (awful teacher) and I am still struggling to learn this language. I wish I could find a good class or a tutor.

Thanks,

Hudson Reed
Houston, Texas
hudsonr007@mac.com

 

[MacAndMic]

Below is a link to a pretty good tutorial on Youtube. He assumes NO knowledge of programming and it is a great intro.

http://www.youtube.com/user/macandcomputerhelp#p/c/54515103C712A53D/0/ORyDm7J71Co

I personally watched all of them and then went out and bought C++ All-in-one for dummies, which also assumes no knowledge. I never thought I would buy a "dummies" book but I have to admit, it is very good.

troutspinner

 

[Aaaron]

I have the Objective-C for Dummies book and like the above poster I didn't think I would ever get one but it is well written. There are also a lot of online resources and tutorials to get you going for example:

http://developer.apple.com/devcenter/ios/index.action
http://www.cocoalab.com/?q=becomeanxcoder
http://www.macdevforum.com/viewforum.php?f=21

Look for beginner guides to object oriented programming to learn the fundamentals first.

If you are looking for courses I saw some cheap ones at edumobile.org however I cannot vouch for them as I don't know much about them. The cheapest ones are probably the ones at xcelme which you mentioned. I have taken a few of those and they were helpful to me however I skipped the first course (beginning OOP).

 

[flummoxed]

I researched this very question about a year ago. I am doing the same thing as you - I am learning it from the ground up.
It is a daunting task, but it can be done with time and devotion. I recommend 2 books below that I am using.
Also look at all the online tutorials you can, read everything online that looks useful. Bottom line is you just have to do it and expect it to take time.

The most important rule in learning anything I have found is repetition.
If you don't understand something go back and review it again. If you still don't get it. Move on to something else, sometimes the answers will appear in a different form. Also, find the topic you are having trouble with in a tutorial or article - usually a different perspective will offer enlightenment.

The Apple docs are a huge resource but mainly written for programmers.
I tend to read over them quickly just to get orientation, and then find a more accessible source of information on the same topic. Then once I think I understand it I go back to the Apple docs for a more thorough explanation.

I found the most recommended Cocoa book was Cocoa Programming for Mac OSX 3rd Edition by Aaron Hillegass.
He worked for NeXT before Apple bought it and then worked for Apple, so he knows the subject well. I bought the book and have not finished it yet but it seems pretty thorough.

Also if you do not have a solid grounding in basic C programming I would highly recommend learning this first. That is what I am doing. I discovered that I could not get very far understanding Objective C unless I understood the underlying C foundation and syntax.

The best book I can recommend for C is C Programming: A Modern Approach 2nd Edition by K.N. King This is an awesome textbook. It is used by many colleges and Universities to teach C. It is thorough and easy to follow. Lots of good examples and exercises.

 

[bniu]

The most important rule in learning anything I have found is repetition.

yup, it took me over a year to finally grasp the difference between the .h and .m file I am a bit of a slow learner, but once I gain momentum, I roll really fast.
There's a book by Wei-Meng Lee that does a pretty good job of teaching the basics, just by working his examples, I was able to learn what each function's job was and I was able to experiment and combine some of his examples together to make my own app.
Since we're not in school, plagiarize to your heart's content! Copy it word for word, change a few things, add a few blocks here, take away a few items here, and soon, you'll have something that is your own. Programming is supposed to be fun and relaxing, it's a great way for me to relieve stress. It's all about trying something here, something there, you learn best in the lab, not in the classroom. You can even live out some of your fantasies through programming. It was working through the HelloWorld app 10 times before I figured out what some of the conventions were in objective C.