Beginning iPhone Development

As I mentioned in my last post, I am going to be talking alittle about my experience as I’ve started to learn the ropes of iOSdevelopment. After getting set up todevelop iPhone and iPad applications there was a lot to learn. When I opened my new Macbook Pro I starteddownloading the bare essentials to begin my development. First thing I did was download and installLion. This was a great move, as Imentioned in my last post. After that, Idownloaded and installed Xcode 4, which requires Lion. It too is awesome. Over the years, I have opened Xcode 3 on myiMac a couple of times. I tried to writea few console apps in Java, but always found my way back to the confortable confinesof Eclipse as my IDE of choice. Ofcourse, when it comes to iOS dev, Apple has really tried to level the playingfield for everyone and create a sense of consistency in everything they’vedone. Part of that is requiring us touse Xcode as our IDE. Xcode 4 is, atleast on the surface, a great leap forward for Apple’s IDE. It integrates the needed tools such asInterface Builder and a code editor into a single window. With the full screen mode in Lion, Xcode is avery capable IDE and very easy to use for new comers to iOS development. After getting everything installed, I wasrearing to have a go at my first app: Hello World iPhone edition.

I learn best by doing, not reading. I’ve always hated reading textbooks andenjoyed doing projects. As I began towonder where I was going to learn to tackle this new framework and learn thetricks of the trade, I naturally started looking for sample projects thatlooked interesting. In my search I cameacross a course that was offered at Rose-Hulman University. I found this course offered in the form of afree podcast listed in iTunes. I quicklylearned the basics of navigating Xcode (though the examples were from version3,they were easily converted to version 4). I learned the basics of Interface Builder and how to quickly attachinterface elements to my code. Thisprocess is even more intuitive and painless in version 4 of Xcode. I learned how to make my Hello Worldapplication work on both iPhone and iPad. The course was structured in a natural and easy way to help you progressslowly but surely to master the needed techniques to be able to develop prettycool apps. With this new-foundknowledge, I am excited to now go about developing my first app to list in theApp Store. I am not planning anythingtoo complicated for my first App Store app, just a simple Score Keeper likeapp. We’ll see how it goes, and I’ll tryto keep you updated as I continue to learn the ropes of the iOS and App Storebusiness. Until next time, reach for theClouds!