iOS Wanting to learn Obj-C and finding a good tutorial

[alvysyngr]

I know this has been asked over and over but I just don't see anything that fits my needs, so I thought I would ask. For someone with little coding experience but tons of design experience what is the best route to learn Obj-C to create some apps that are stuck in my noggin? Initially i turned to Lynda.com and followed the intro to programming and went on to Objective-C Essential Training but I feel this is really just a course in learning THEORY about the features instead of teaching to DO them. Discouraged I found iPad and iphone apps for Absolute beginners iOS5 ed by Rory Lewis which I really loved and am currently digging through but there are so many typos and syntax mistakes that I feel the time I am spending troubleshooting is taking away from the precious time I have allocated to learning. I know how to code a hello world, attach a simple output or action to a button but it falls apart after that. Can someone give me advice on a Book or tutorial series (it seems all Lynda's obj-c tutorials are theory based, but if you know of one that is great please let me know)

I really appreciate any information you can offer.

 

[Ides]

Learning ObjC

In my opinion, a good way to learn any programming language is to first understand all of the concepts and syntax, then follow tutorials for specific parts. Do you understand the concept of object oriented programming? Do you know the syntax of objective c (sending messages, etc...)? Do you understand memory management? All of these things should be dealt with before following tutorials that teach you specific features of the language.

For the basics, here's a decent site:
http://www.otierney.net/objective-c.html

Once you understand this, then you can really learn how to do anything you want with the language. Also, look through apple's documentation of ObjC. Some of it is pretty complex but for the most part it's useful. And practice, practice, practice! You can end up teaching yourself a lot just by messing around with some code and trying to get it to work. Best of luck

 

[dejo]

If you're already comfortable with Objective-C and don't mind learning from books, I recommend "Beginning iOS 5 Development: Exploring the iOS SDK" by Mark/LaMarche/Nutting. Very much hands-on. If you still need some more Obj-C education first, I'd suggest "Programming in Objective-C (4th Edition)" by Stephen Kochan. Also very hands-on. Both books also have good backing websites with errata, etc.

 

[PriapusZA]

In my opinion, a good way to learn any programming language is to first understand all of the concepts and syntax, then follow tutorials for specific parts. Do you understand the concept of object oriented programming? Do you know the syntax of objective c (sending messages, etc...)? Do you understand memory management? All of these things should be dealt with before following tutorials that teach you specific features of the language.

For the basics, here's a decent site:
http://www.otierney.net/objective-c.html

Once you understand this, then you can really learn how to do anything you want with the language. Also, look through apple's documentation of ObjC. Some of it is pretty complex but for the most part it's useful. And practice, practice, practice! You can end up teaching yourself a lot just by messing around with some code and trying to get it to work. Best of luck

I have to agree with this.

I have been learning C and Object C for the last few months.

I started a book by The Big nerd Ranch - Learn Objective -C 2.0

Excellent book!

In one of the chapters - they get you to build a program that would get your Body Mass Index, based on your height and weight.

I went through the code and understood it for the most part. I then decided to build a power converter program ( kilowatts into Horsepower and visa versa )

Now that I messed with the code and build my own program, using what I had learnt from the BMI project, I now FULLY understand the code and I fully understand Getters, Setters - also, message sends etc I get 100%

I helps to practice, practice oh and i forgot - practice!

 

[littfam]

Currently I am in the process of learning Objective-C and the compiler. The books that the Moderator suggested are good ones indeed, and the last one mentioned is the one I am using along with "ios development by the Big Nerd Ranch". Just work through these books, and you should be good to go. Keep it fun, and write a lot of code. You don't have to completely understand it, Just keep typing and reading. You could almost compare it to learning a foreign "spoken" language. The more you hear it and immerse yourself in it, the better you will get. Hope this helps you.

 

[larswik]

If you are struggling I would start at the basics. I would learn C first since everything else seems to build on top of that. I enjoyed the book :Learn C on the Mac"

I have been at it for 2 years now and first tried Object - C and then went to C to firmly understand programming. It is difficult learning from books and tutorials much of the time. If you finish a Hello World tutorial do you really get it, or is it a monkey see monkey do approach? You can replicate it but you don't really understand what it is that you are doing. What happens when you put down the book, can you still write the program?

Now days I am meeting more and more so called "App Developers" out and about, and as we talk code I am discovering that I am talking to "Monkey's" and not programmers. Even after 2 years here I ask lots of stupid question to better help me understand things as I learn.

So know days as I talk to people I ask do you want to make an app, or do you want to be a programmer?

 

[alvysyngr]

wow - great advice everyone! thank you!

I am going to order The Big nerd Ranch - Learn Objective -C 2.0 from amazon tonight - I think I'll order the the hard copy since I like something I can bookmark and read, underline, etc.

I'll update my progress in the near future