iOS What do I need to get started writing iOS apps?

[AxoNeuron]

I've developed some fairly massive enterprise apps on an older Mac Pro with only 4 GB of memory. So 8 GB should be just fine for Xcode. Macs with Core i5's are also plenty fast compared to that older Mac Pro. All the people who say you need something faster or with more DRAM are either also doing other more demanding stuff, or trying to justify overspending for app development.

People who build hackintoshes spend a lot more of their valuable development time playing with the hardware and configuring things, especially if it's their first time, and especially when Apple updates their Xcode and supporting OS X requirements for app submission. Only consider doing this if you have lots of time to waste on stuff other than development or getting work done.

It's very rare for iOS developers to only have Xcode open. When I'm developing I often have 10 different applications open, safari tabs for research, photoshop/illustrator for graphical assets, etc. and it is very slow on 8GB of RAM. I'd bet most iOS developers are in a similar situation.

It's doable but it's not pleasant. It's much better to just go with 16GB RAM.

 

[AxoNeuron]

Once again, thank you all for keeping the conversation going.

For the moment, here's where I'm leaning: Macbook Air i5, 8GB RAM, with as much drive/ssd space as I can possibly get. I think it comes with Garageband and maybe Logic will run on it too, and I could possibly use it to play some MIDI instruments for longer periods on battery power.

Even the bigger MBA would still be thinner than some tablets, so I could always slip it into even an already-full backpack, and it might be fun to try that for simple musical composing tasks that don't need a full-blown DAW. But I'll always have my big Windows laptop for more strenuous lifting.

I am no longer considering the Hackintosh solution. Thank you for the exchange on that topic. Someday, I might try it on a laptop just to see if I can make it work, but definitely not for this project. If I proceed with this project, (probably wouldn't be for another couple months) I'd want to avoid too many distractions, and there are no distractions more annoying than realizing that no work got done because you spent the whole day/weekend/month tweaking.

You will deeply regret going with 8GB of RAM if you do that. You can plug in a fast USB 3.0 flash drive to get more storage, but with a macbook air, you can never add more RAM. So if you have to make a budget decision about RAM vs. storage, definitely choose the RAM, especially if you're gonna be using media software like Logic.

PS. If you're gonna discount the hackintosh because you're afraid it will be unreliable, I would rethink. It's not difficult to build a hackintosh assuming you get the correct motherboard (which is not hard to do, this is all easily available information on sites like tonymac). I built my hackintosh 2 years ago and it's been every bit as reliable as my macbook pro.

 

[1458279]

You will deeply regret going with 8GB of RAM if you do that. You can plug in a fast USB 3.0 flash drive to get more storage, but with a macbook air, you can never add more RAM. So if you have to make a budget decision about RAM vs. storage, definitely choose the RAM, especially if you're gonna be using media software like Logic.

PS. If you're gonna discount the hackintosh because you're afraid it will be unreliable, I would rethink. It's not difficult to build a hackintosh assuming you get the correct motherboard (which is not hard to do, this is all easily available information on sites like tonymac). I built my hackintosh 2 years ago and it's been every bit as reliable as my macbook pro.

+1 ... I've had mine for about 5 years and 3 different OS's. Total time to setup was just a few days work in total. Key is to get the right hardware.

 

[firewood]

It's very rare for iOS developers to only have Xcode open.

As I said, you only need more than 4 or 8GB if you are doing other stuff. I've never filled anywhere near 8 GB just using Xcode plus documentation. But the OP already has 2 windows laptops for other stuff (and likely doesn't need yet another one to hack). So the OP has no need to spend more just for iOS app dev. The minimum Mini or MBA 13 refurb will work just fine per the OPs request. Unless one (like you) is doing more and/or wants to spend time learning how to configure stuff.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

+1 ... I've had mine for about 5 years and 3 different OS's. Total time to setup was just a few days work in total. Key is to get the right hardware.

A few days? How little are you paid / how big is the savings that it was actually worthwhile for you to spend a few days to build a Hackintosh instead of just buying an actual computer from Apple?

Maybe you just did it for fun - I completely understand that - but you're telling Flight Plan to do it to save money.

Also, I find it funny you guys are saying that 8 GB isn't enough. My three machines have 4 GB, 2 GB, and 1 GB.

Admittedly, when I buy a new computer (whenever Apple releases a rMBP with Skylake), I'll be maxing it out.

 

[1458279]

A few days? How little are you paid / how big is the savings that it was actually worthwhile for you to spend a few days to build a Hackintosh instead of just buying an actual computer from Apple?

Maybe you just did it for fun - I completely understand that - but you're telling Flight Plan to do it to save money.

Also, I find it funny you guys are saying that 8 GB isn't enough. My three machines have 4 GB, 2 GB, and 1 GB.

Admittedly, when I buy a new computer (whenever Apple releases a rMBP with Skylake), I'll be maxing it out.

IIRC, the net savings was about $1,500. Few can net $1,500 in a few days. In fact, some estimates are that the average American saves $200/month. If they work full time, that's a net of $1/hour net savings. If someone can have a net savings gain of $1,500 in a few days, that would work out to $11,000.00 per month. Remember, all spending comes from the bottom line. How many Americans net save $1,500/month? Even if they did, that would equate to 1 month's net savings. Not such a bad deal.

Not to mention the assumption that I would have been earning during that same time, most don't come close to 100% time utilization.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

IIRC, the net savings was about $1,500.

Hm. That is substantially more than I was expecting. I was thinking you'd save around $300. Apple's profit margin is normally around 30%... so I'm guessing whatever you built cost you around $3500 and would have cost $5000 from Apple? To hit that price range, you must have been building something like a Mac Pro...

Why are you bringing up savings per month? Isn't earnings per month more relevant?

And we're not average Americans. If you're capable of building a Hackintosh, I'm guessing you make at least a bit more than average, and more likely you make a lot more than average.

 

[firewood]

IIRC, the net savings was about $1,500.

One doesn't even need to spend $1500 for a basic Mac (especially if one gets a refurb) just for iOS development, so any potential savings could end up far below that.

 

[1458279]

Hm. That is substantially more than I was expecting. I was thinking you'd save around $300. Apple's profit margin is normally around 30%... so I'm guessing whatever you built cost you around $3500 and would have cost $5000 from Apple? To hit that price range, you must have been building something like a Mac Pro...

Why are you bringing up savings per month? Isn't earnings per month more relevant?

And we're not average Americans. If you're capable of building a Hackintosh, I'm guessing you make at least a bit more than average, and more likely you make a lot more than average.

Ok, I have to dig a bit deeper into the numbers. It was several years back but I started off with an older/slower computer and reused the case/power supply and monitor.
The new stuff included:
Video card
Motherboard
CPU
Ram
SSD was added years later.

The compare was to the same power level MacPro. I think mine was more powerful at the time but still in the same ballpark. Again, this was years ago when I did this so the number might be fuzzy, but still in the ballpark.

Savings per month vs earnings per month.
Everything comes from the bottom line. If someone earns a net pay of $4K/month and has $3.5K/month in expenses they would have a net gain of $500/month. Anything they buy either cuts into expenses or comes from the net gain.

A person might have gross pay of $50K/year but at the end of the year they haven't gained $50K from those earnings. It doesn't matter what you earn, it matters what you keep. You can have two people, both making $50/year and have one doing fine while the other is going broke.

Savings per month is to net earnings as net pay is to gross pay... One you get to keep, the other you don't.

Another way to look at it is what do you have to show for your work effort last year or 2005?

How long does it take someone to put $1,500 in their pocket? If you account for housing/food/transportation and other cost of living, it changes the numbers.

 

[firewood]

For those few who need more than a minimal iOS dev system, I know several time-is-money app development consultants who use a MacBook Retina (and borrow a desk with a large monitor or two at client locations). Not playing with a PC for a day or two would easily allow them to bill enough extra hours to buy another MacBook (or two) for backup.

 

[AxoNeuron]

Hm. That is substantially more than I was expecting. I was thinking you'd save around $300. Apple's profit margin is normally around 30%... so I'm guessing whatever you built cost you around $3500 and would have cost $5000 from Apple? To hit that price range, you must have been building something like a Mac Pro...

Why are you bringing up savings per month? Isn't earnings per month more relevant?

And we're not average Americans. If you're capable of building a Hackintosh, I'm guessing you make at least a bit more than average, and more likely you make a lot more than average.

Most of Apple's computers these days use components originally designed for laptops, where they tried to engineer it to be as small as possible. Even the Mac Pro.

If you don't care about how large/ugly/power-hungry your computer is, you will get significantly more performance for the same amount of money since laptop components sacrifice power for size. This goes for most components anyways, but not all. Even if the desktop version of a part isn't more powerful it's usually still cheaper than the small laptop version.

My hackintosh cost significantly (50%) less than a similarly spec'd Apple machine because I didnt care about how big it was.

I can't recommend a hackintosh highly enough, it has been an absolutely magnificent experience with mine. Hell, just to get an Apple computer with a similarly powerful GPU would cost FAR more than I paid and the GPU in my machine is now 2 years old.

Also, your comment about RAM. If you were opening the same MASSIVE psd files I have to work with in Photoshop while working in Xcode on similarly massive iOS projects, WHILE also having several terminal SSH sessions, Safari, and time tracking windows open, 8GB of RAM would be completely inadequate. Sure, you could only have one or two apps open at a time and then close/open as needed but this slows you down. I don't think a situation where you have 10+ applications open at the same time is at all unusual for a commercial developer.

Then again, I do get a lot of work done on my 15" Retina MacBook Pro that only has 8GB of RAM. The display alone is amazing for development purposes. But I will never be able to work as quickly or as smoothly on it as I can with a machine that has 16GB+ RAM.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Also, your comment about RAM. If you were opening the same MASSIVE psd files I have to work with in Photoshop while working in Xcode on similarly massive iOS projects, WHILE also having several terminal SSH sessions, Safari, and time tracking windows open, 8GB of RAM would be completely inadequate. Sure, you could only have one or two apps open at a time and then close/open as needed but this slows you down. I don't think a situation where you have 10+ applications open at the same time is at all unusual for a commercial developer.

Then again, I do get a lot of work done on my 15" Retina MacBook Pro that only has 8GB of RAM. The display alone is amazing for development purposes. But I will never be able to work as quickly or as smoothly on it as I can with a machine that has 16GB+ RAM.

SSH doesn't consume enough to warrant mentioning.

Try Coda instead of Xcode. I've heard it's better than Xcode at not using all of your memory.

Not sure why you need Photoshop and Xcode open at the same time.

 

[Flight Plan]

Hello again!

I am watching your back-and-forth with interest.

Yes, I probably will continue to do most of my artwork on PC. That's my working platform and not likely to change soon; especially now in the last week because I've been researching new systems (laptops and desktop equipment). I more and more feel that Apple isn't interested in people like me who really want to push the limits. It's not hard to find PC makers who do support the enthusiast. Enthusiastically, even! So yeah. My signature times 100 is pretty much how I feel right now on a Saturday night. And no, I haven't been drinking.

I am keeping my options open for the moment, could eventually go either way between MBA or MBP. But I'm still very much turned off on MBP because right now it just feels like I'd be paying more and getting less for my money. Really, I welcome anybody to help me understand how MBP is the best way forward, and maybe I'll change my mind. But right now, I feel as though I'd be rewarding Apple for mediocre design, mediocre effort, mediocre execution, and a lackadaisical attitude toward me. Yeah, it feels a little bit personal.

As for the issue having art programs open concurrently with coding programs. As mentioned above, my art will still be done on PC except for maybe minor tweaks; so I'll probably be 95% PC. I think it may be a good idea for me to set up a fast NAS for network access (I have a slow one from Western Digital right now), so that I can do most of my artwork on one computer and immediately access it on all other devices attached to my network.

There are probably other ways I can improve my workflow too. This is stuff you learn as you start getting into the mud, right? Given that, I'm not so worried about "solving all conceivable problems" at this point. I just want to see if coding for iOS might be something I'd like to do.

But seriously, I value the input you've all provided so far. Many thanks!

 

[1458279]

You mentioned "fast NAS" ... I looked into NAS a few years ago. What's considered fast by todays standards?
Back then I think it was a network connection that was the slow point, has that improved?

Those 4 bay raid NAS systems looked pretty sweet.

 

[moonman239]

Just want to point out that you don't actually need a Mac to develop for iOS. On Windows, you can create an iOS app in a .NET language using Visual Studio. You can also use the Adobe AIR software tools.

As for Mac laptops, I think it really depends on what you want to do. If you plan to develop compute-intensive apps (such as games with 3D images), you may wish to use a MacBook Pro.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Just want to point out that you don't actually need a Mac to develop for iOS. On Windows, you can create an iOS app in a .NET language using Visual Studio. You can also use the Adobe AIR software tools.

You need to sign the app, which can only be done on a Mac, to load it onto an iPhone or to the App Store. So while it's true that 99.999% of app development can be done on any machine, the final 0.001% must be done on a Mac.

 

[AxoNeuron]

You mentioned "fast NAS" ... I looked into NAS a few years ago. What's considered fast by todays standards?
Back then I think it was a network connection that was the slow point, has that improved?

Those 4 bay raid NAS systems looked pretty sweet.

You can get a NAS with thunderbolt, which is unbelievably fast. You can also use a hybrid RAID setup to increase speed as well as data redundancy, so that reading/writing data is actually faster than the transfer speed of any individual disk. So let's say you're writing a 50GB file to your NAS. Instead of writing it to a single disk, a good RAID system will break that 50GB up into "chunks" that can be simultaneously written to multiple disks to increase speed exponentially. Once written to disk it can back the data up to additional disks. A good thunderbolt NAS these days can be incredibly fast as well as secure.

 

[AxoNeuron]

Hello again!

I am watching your back-and-forth with interest.

Yes, I probably will continue to do most of my artwork on PC. That's my working platform and not likely to change soon; especially now in the last week because I've been researching new systems (laptops and desktop equipment). I more and more feel that Apple isn't interested in people like me who really want to push the limits. It's not hard to find PC makers who do support the enthusiast. Enthusiastically, even! So yeah. My signature times 100 is pretty much how I feel right now on a Saturday night. And no, I haven't been drinking.

I am keeping my options open for the moment, could eventually go either way between MBA or MBP. But I'm still very much turned off on MBP because right now it just feels like I'd be paying more and getting less for my money. Really, I welcome anybody to help me understand how MBP is the best way forward, and maybe I'll change my mind. But right now, I feel as though I'd be rewarding Apple for mediocre design, mediocre effort, mediocre execution, and a lackadaisical attitude toward me. Yeah, it feels a little bit personal.

As for the issue having art programs open concurrently with coding programs. As mentioned above, my art will still be done on PC except for maybe minor tweaks; so I'll probably be 95% PC. I think it may be a good idea for me to set up a fast NAS for network access (I have a slow one from Western Digital right now), so that I can do most of my artwork on one computer and immediately access it on all other devices attached to my network.

There are probably other ways I can improve my workflow too. This is stuff you learn as you start getting into the mud, right? Given that, I'm not so worried about "solving all conceivable problems" at this point. I just want to see if coding for iOS might be something I'd like to do.

But seriously, I value the input you've all provided so far. Many thanks!

If you're going to be doing all your graphics work on a different computer and will *ONLY* use Xcode on the mac (with no other heavy-duty programs open at the same time) then by all means get a MacBook Air or Pro. I do have to say, the display on the retina macbook pro is absolutely jaw-dropping, I love it a lot. It is excellent for software development and graphics work. The MacBook Air, on the other hand, has a pretty awful display. It's pathetically awful, actually.

I still think you should choose the Hackintosh option. I mean, you could probably do it with an existing computer you already own, just back up the hard drive first and you'll be good to go. Apple will never sue you for building a hackintosh, and it's every bit as reliable and dependable as a macbook bought from Apple. The best part is you can dual-boot into windows or OS X depending on what you plan to do. My own development machine can boot in to OS X, Windows 10, or Ubuntu depending on the work I want to do, and I'm absolutely loving it. My hackintosh was a far better investment than a mac would have been. The performance PER dollar is unrivaled by any mac.

 

[KALLT]

I run Xcode on my 2008 13.3" 2.4 Ghz MacBook with 8 GB of RAM and an SSD, plugged into an external display. I use Safari and other programs alongside of it and have no issues aside from a relatively slow startup of the suite (maybe 20 seconds or so). You definitely don't need an expensive Mac for this if all you want is an entry into the ecosystem. The simulators do require a bit more horsepower, but it depends on whether you need them at all or with high performance. I use my own devices for testing. With the latest version of Xcode in El Capitan you can run applications on your own devices without paying for a developer licence. The only thing you have to worry about hardware-wise is that Apple tends to reserve updates of Xcode and the corresponding SDK for the latest versions of OS X. You should make sure that the Mac model isn't too old (El Capitan runs on 2007/2008 hardware still, but it is likely the last major release for them).

As for the Hackintosh, regardless what some people here are trying to argue: it is a copyright violation. It is proprietary software and you need a licence to run it, the terms of which are dictated by Apple. Perhaps Apple doesn't enforce it against consumers, but you don't want to bring yourself into a position where your relationship with Apple is based on counterfeit software, especially when you are planning to register for a developer licence and distribute your app in the App Store.

A very good starting point are the free online video courses at udacity.com. They have beginner's courses for Xcode, Swift and UIKit, as well as more advanced courses for networking and persistent storage. I can really recommend it.

 

[firewood]

You need to sign the app, which can only be done on a Mac ...

Which can be in the "cloud", run via VNC and/or as a Remote Desktop. Perhaps for rent by the hour. Reportedly there are even USB virtualizers that allow you to debug (perhaps slowly) on a local iOS device from a remote Mac. Not that I recommend this (since a refurb or older used Mini, cheaper than an iPhone, runs Xcode just fine), but it is a possibility.

 

[1458279]

A very good starting point are the free online video courses at udacity.com. They have beginner's courses for Xcode, Swift and UIKit, as well as more advanced courses for networking and persistent storage. I can really recommend it.

Is udacity.com free? I saw where they wanted some $200/month. Also noticed they offered Swift, looks like Swift is taking over at least on the teaching side. I wonder if the job market is embracing Swift.

 

[KALLT]

Is udacity.com free?

Both. They offer paid 'nano degrees' in addition to free courses. They have quite a bit of free material.

 

[Flight Plan]

You mentioned "fast NAS" ... I looked into NAS a few years ago. What's considered fast by todays standards?
Back then I think it was a network connection that was the slow point, has that improved?

Those 4 bay raid NAS systems looked pretty sweet.

I should have clarified. A "fast NAS" to me would be pretty much anything NOT running those awful 5400 RPM "green" hard drives. They take WAY too long to access and transfer data. Muddy slow.

I run Xcode on my 2008 13.3" 2.4 Ghz MacBook with 8 GB of RAM and an SSD, plugged into an external display. I use Safari and other programs alongside of it and have no issues aside from a relatively slow startup of the suite (maybe 20 seconds or so). You definitely don't need an expensive Mac for this if all you want is an entry into the ecosystem. The simulators do require a bit more horsepower, but it depends on whether you need them at all or with high performance. I use my own devices for testing. With the latest version of Xcode in El Capitan you can run applications on your own devices without paying for a developer licence. The only thing you have to worry about hardware-wise is that Apple tends to reserve updates of Xcode and the corresponding SDK for the latest versions of OS X. You should make sure that the Mac model isn't too old (El Capitan runs on 2007/2008 hardware still, but it is likely the last major release for them).

If I buy any Mac used, it would be a reasonably current one; most likely from the refurb store.

As for the Hackintosh, regardless what some people here are trying to argue: it is a copyright violation. It is proprietary software and you need a licence to run it, the terms of which are dictated by Apple. Perhaps Apple doesn't enforce it against consumers, but you don't want to bring yourself into a position where your relationship with Apple is based on counterfeit software, especially when you are planning to register for a developer licence and distribute your app in the App Store.

I agree that it's a copyright violation or at the very least, it can be interpreted as a copyright violation, which could even one day impact one's opportunities and ability to make a living. So no Hackintosh for me.

A very good starting point are the free online video courses at udacity.com. They have beginner's courses for Xcode, Swift and UIKit, as well as more advanced courses for networking and persistent storage. I can really recommend it.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[1458279]

I should have clarified. A "fast NAS" to me would be pretty much anything NOT running those awful 5400 RPM "green" hard drives. They take WAY too long to access and transfer data. Muddy slow.

I was thinking a 3X SSD raid but I was under the impression that the weak link was the connection in both speed and length.
I use external drives via USB3, and they work well for backups, but not quite as good as a NAS would be. Last I checked, IIRC the 1G network interface was highest rate.

SSD's are so cheap now, an SSD raid shouldn't be too expensive. Upside of a NAS is that you could use if across several computers if needed.

 

[Essenar]

So I'm thinking of writing apps for iPad and iPhone. I have no idea if I'll ever want to sell anything I write, but I figure it can't hurt to learn (more on that later).

I am a Windows user, and have 3 Windows systems, running Windows 7, 8.1, and 10 respectively. I have never owned a Mac, even though I love doing art, music, and other creative work on my computers.

I know that I'll need a Mac computer for iOS development. As you can see by my signature, I am very disappointed in Apple's lack of groundbreaking product development for enthusiast customers, so I am hesitant to buy an MBP, which I see as overpriced and under capacitized. In fact, I do not want to reward Apple's lack of entrepreneurial spirit by buying anything more than the laptop and whatever I need to learn to code for iOS.

Well that's just like, your opinion, man.
The Mac is actually a better buy than the Surface Book. It's faster in all renditions up to the $1800 discrete graphics option. Comes with more memory too. Plus the resale value because, while you might not think it's very innovative, the keyboard is a dream to type on (better than any other keyboard I've typed on in my entire life on a laptop, I've used ThinkPad T series and SteelSeries MSI laptops) which is important given how many lines of code you'll have to type just to get anything running properly.
The CPU is fast, the storage is fast and it's built very well. Issues are rare and few and far between.

You don't NEED to develop in native iOS code either. You can build a Hackintosh, use Xamarin or Unity to develop, which will be in C# and can be compiled in Xcode and uploaded to the iTunes Connect (I published my first app using Unity/C#, it's actually a very good language and very solid in OOP and sub classing).

Your negative attitude about Apple versus Microsoft is also not good if you want to be a developer. When you've developed apps a lot, you learn that having loyalties is kind of pointless, just use whatever works best for the money.

I guess I am thinking of buying a MacBook or MacBook air. But I need help. Details to follow.

1. CPU: What is a good minimum-to-middle range processor for iOS development?
2. For iOS development, what should I be looking for in terms of memory, graphics, and disk space?
3. What software tools will I need?
4. What types of educational help are out there?

Are you going to be developing 3D games? If not, then honestly any MacBook will be good. I work full time as a developer, have zero issues developing, deploying and building and I use a 2011 Sandy Bridge MacBook Pro 13" base, upgraded to 16GB of ram and a 250GB SSD.
You can develop on iOS with 4GB of ram and 128GB of storage space and an integrated Intel GPU. That's how great Apple is at designing an IDE.
This really depends on how much you want to spend. If you want something upgradeable, I think you should pick up a refurbished or second hand 2012 MacBook Pro 13" because it has thunderbolt, two USB 3.0 ports, can be upgraded to a 1TB SSD or 16GB of ram fairly easily. The battery life is decent and even 3 years after its release, it's a very capable machine.
If you wanna spend $1300-1500, a Retina 13" is light, fairly powerful, very well equipped with ports, great keyboard and trackpad, Industry leading screen quality and will have enough ram to be future proof.
If you wanna spend around $1000, I think you should try to get a refurbished 13" Air with 8 or 16GB of ram but beware, with upgrades the Air gets close to Retina price and the Retina is absolutely better buy for the price.
If I were you, not even knowing if you'll enjoy doing this: I think you should find a 2012 MBP on Amazon second hand for like $550-650 and an 8GB ram kit. This gives you plenty of storage space, plenty of CPU power and an upgrade route in case you actually DO enjoy doing this.
You'll need Xcode, which is free.
Education?
This depends: Do you wanna get a job or make your own applications. If you want to get a job, then learn Objective-C.
I recommend two books: Big Nerd Ranch 4th Edition and Programming in Objective-C by Stephen Kochan. Swift is nice, but the industry is still heavily Objective-C dependent. Plus you can always learn Swift after you learn Objective-C.

If you just wanna build your own apps, I would say maybe go with Swift, but I'm not sure about Swift books. I will say that regardless of which path you choose, you should definitely go on iTunes University and watch Stanford's CS193P (iOS Development in Swift or Objective C). It's free, it's a full semester course and it will give you a TON of information.

Do you know how to program already? If you don't, there's other sources I recommend:
CS50x also on iTunes University. It's a C based introduction to programming. I also recommend Free Code Camp and Odin Project.

Other: For my coding tasks, I expect I'll use an external ergo keyboard, trackball (I am left-handed and use a Logitech Marble Mouse because it works for lefties or righties). I plan to use one or two 27" IPS external monitors (not Apple brand). So with external mouse, keyboard, and monitor, I plan to pretty much keep the lid of the Mac closed.

k.

There will be times when I'll travel, however; so the laptop's built in keyboard, pointing hardware, and screen will be used from time to time. The screen especially, should be easy to use, and probably should be a Retina screen. The keyboard should probably have a separate "calculator" set of keys, and should also lend itself to touch-typing, with raised "bumps" on critical keys, such as "F", "J", and calculator "5".

Mac is compatible with almost any third party keyboard except Thermaltake Poseidon keyboards. I recommend Cooler Master QuickFire Rapid with MX Brown keys.

Coding Background: I do have some scripting and coding experience in C++, Java, and Visual Basic, along with mainframe computer experience in COBOL, assembler, PL/1, Rexx, and CLIST. The first three are compiled languages and the latter two are scripting languages.

Okay, TLDR. But can anybody recommend to me where to begin?