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Best way to learn to write iOS apps?
10-26-2014, 06:47 AM
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#1
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NC
Posts: 21,305
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Best way to learn to write iOS apps?
Might as well add another DIY skill, and I did coding many, many years ago so the methodology isn't entirely foreign to me - but the "languages" certainly will be.
I found a full time 30-day course in Chicago - but it's $9000 - not sure I want to learn that badly.
So those here who have already managed to learn current app development skills, what's the best way to learn iOS app coding on a limited budget?
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Retired Jun 2011 at age 57
Target AA: 50% equity funds / 45% bonds / 5% cash
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10-26-2014, 07:25 AM
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#2
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Navarre
Posts: 141
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 Quote:
Originally Posted by Midpack
Might as well add another DIY skill, and I did coding many, many years ago so the methodology isn't entirely foreign to me - but the "languages" certainly will be.
I found a full time 30-day course in Chicago - but it's $9000 - not sure I want to learn that badly.
So those here who have already managed to learn current app development skills, what's the best way to learn iOS app coding on a limited budget?
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Apple's development site is very good.
https://developer.apple.com/
There is a website called meetup.com. I found a group in my area that develops apps. They get together often to share ideas. Some of them offer inexpensive courses. Maybe you can find somthing similar.
I typically learn from books but there isn't a lot out on the new programming language Apple is developing. Swift is suppose to be easier and faster than Objective C, so I want to wait and make a comparison before I commit to another language.
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10-26-2014, 07:26 AM
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#3
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 103
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Books.
iOS development is based upon the C-family of languages (C, C++, Objective C). Apple has just released a new language called Swift which we can expect to see and hear more from in the future. You can write iOS apps in any of them.
After learning one or more of those languages, you'll then need to learn the iOS framework. There are good books for both.
Xcode, the software development suite (for actually coding, editing, compiling, and debugging your project), is available on the App store. It's excellent.
Last but not least, unless you're doing this for the fun of it, is a great app idea.
__________________
Jeff
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10-26-2014, 07:33 AM
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#4
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 2,593
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If you are interested in creating an app that will run on iOS devices only, then Swift is the way to go currently. However, my suggestion would be to consider a cross-platform technology such as PhoneGap or Xamarin that would not lock you in exclusively to the iOS ecosystem. A further advantage of PhoneGap is that it lets you build apps using nothing more than HTML and Javascript, which are probably going to be easier to pick up quickly than something like Swift. My two cents...
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10-26-2014, 07:34 AM
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#5
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
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Join Date: May 2005
Location: Lawn chair in Texas
Posts: 14,183
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If I suddenly think of a killer app that needs developed, I'll hire some youngster to write it for me...
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Have Funds, Will Retire
...not doing anything of true substance...
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10-26-2014, 09:56 AM
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#6
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2006
Location: west coast, hi there!
Posts: 8,809
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What are you planning to do with this Midpack? I'm just curious and you don't have to give away anything if it's not a good idea.
Some years ago I did C and a little C++ work. To me it feels like one can quickly get so deeply into specialized skills that the original intent gets lost. On the other hand, it could be a kick seeing your app on a smartphone or tablet.
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10-26-2014, 11:14 AM
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#7
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Northern Illinois
Posts: 16,603
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I bought a few books (ios3) and became an Apple developer a few years ago. I wrote a couple of apps but never had enough spare time to really get into it. I haven't written any since.
I would think that you could get enough info online and from a few books to write some apps.
Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum
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10-26-2014, 11:41 AM
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#8
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Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 10,725
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Ive coded Android mobile apps, and also mobile web sites for any mobile platform. Unless you want to go objective c, you could try jquery or phone gap, and you'd have an app that runs on more than just apple.
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10-26-2014, 12:16 PM
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#9
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 1,894
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Haven't ventured into the app world ( don't have smart phone ), maybe if they had a FORTRAN compiler 
Here's an article with an overview of the subject, some already touched on in previous posts
I Want to Write iOS Apps. Where Do I Start?
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10-26-2014, 01:57 PM
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#10
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Chicago area
Posts: 431
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Try some of the Udemy courses, the apple developer website, and a book or two and you should be in good shape.
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10-26-2014, 04:56 PM
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#11
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Northern Ohio
Posts: 3,182
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Midpack
Might as well add another DIY skill, and I did coding many, many years ago so the methodology isn't entirely foreign to me - but the "languages" certainly will be.
I found a full time 30-day course in Chicago - but it's $9000 - not sure I want to learn that badly.
So those here who have already managed to learn current app development skills, what's the best way to learn iOS app coding on a limited budget?
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If you have a little time (and you'll need some time to come up to speed on this) iTunes U has Paul Hegarty's excellent Stanford course Developing iOS Apps for iPhone and iPad available for free:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/course/d...or/id733644550
previous iOS 6 version is at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/course/c...ng/id593208016
Paul Hegarty goes way back to NeXT and knows the language and frameworks about as well as anyone around.
And the price is right.
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10-26-2014, 05:00 PM
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#12
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Northern Ohio
Posts: 3,182
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sengsational
Ive coded Android mobile apps, and also mobile web sites for any mobile platform. Unless you want to go objective c, you could try jquery or phone gap, and you'd have an app that runs on more than just apple.
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If you want to program iOS I highly recommend you take a little time and learn Objective-C. It's a great language and really not hard to pick up if you know C and any other modern OO languages. Apple continues to improve it.
Of course, having said that, Swift is pretty interesting and over the next few years may well become the preferred language for developing on iOS.
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10-26-2014, 05:03 PM
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#13
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NC
Posts: 21,305
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mpeirce
If you want to program iOS I highly recommend you take a little time and learn Objective-C. It's a great language and really not hard to pick up if you know C and any other modern OO languages. Apple continues to improve it.
Of course, having said that, Swift is pretty interesting and over the next few years may well become the preferred language for developing on iOS.
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I don't know so I'm asking in earnest, why wouldn't I just try to learn Swift instead of Objective-C? It sounds like it's easier, and seems to be getting good reviews.
__________________
No one agrees with other people's opinions; they merely agree with their own opinions -- expressed by somebody else. Sydney Tremayne
Retired Jun 2011 at age 57
Target AA: 50% equity funds / 45% bonds / 5% cash
Target WR: Approx 1.5% Approx 20% SI (secure income, SS only)
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10-26-2014, 05:13 PM
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#14
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Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 10,725
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Midpack
I don't know so I'm asking in earnest, why wouldn't I just try to learn Swift instead of Objective-C? It sounds like it's easier, and seems to be getting good reviews.
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New languages can fall out of favor. The most conservative approach would have you learning a language that was well established (tons of other people have invested a lot of time to get good at). That means, if the lanuage is still viable, there should be a future.
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10-26-2014, 05:18 PM
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#15
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sengsational
New languages can fall out of favor. The most conservative approach would have you learning a language that was well established (tons of other people have invested a lot of time to get good at). That means, if the lanuage is still viable, there should be a future.
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I'd probably go with Swift for the novelty factor and it achieves your goal of writing an iOS app. Odds are in the favor of this language, since this is what Apple is betting on for all future development. I wouldn't be surprised if Objective-C gets less focus going forward. Plus, Objective-C isn't much different than Swift, in the sense that only Apple supports the language. I think the only way Swift wouldn't become popular is if there was a sudden shift a way from Apple devices. I doubt that'll be the case in the near future.
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10-26-2014, 05:40 PM
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#16
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Location: Northern Ohio
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Midpack
I don't know so I'm asking in earnest, why wouldn't I just try to learn Swift instead of Objective-C? It sounds like it's easier, and seems to be getting good reviews.
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I only suggest Objective-C because there are so many more resources for learning it. Lots of example source code too. Swift was announced just last summer and it's a bit of a moving target, although it did come out of the beta stage in September.
While Objective-C and Swift are not the same language, they share a lot culturally (and use the same runtime under the hood as well as Automatic Reference Counting (rather than garbage collection like Java)). You use the same Frameworks to actually get most of the work done in a program. So moving back and forth is pretty easy - you can easily mix both Languages in the same app.
Swift playgrounds are an excellent way to start learning to program iOS. You can even open the Swift book from apple (free in iBooks) as a playground and access the programming examples in it. Nifty.
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10-26-2014, 06:49 PM
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#17
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Portland
Posts: 4,946
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If you learn modern Objective C coding, Swift can be learned in a matter of days. (By modern, I refer to the style of use currently encouraged, relying on the Automatic Reference Counting (ARC) runtime rather than trying to do your own retain/release object management.)
You'll find the biggest task is learning the frameworks that you will be relying on. Your own application logic will look similar in all the supported languages, with all the 'heavy lifting' in those frameworks. The framework interfaces you'll be using are all specified in Objective C, as is all the documentation for them. It's easier to start there.
My own experience has always been to 'throw the first one away', so I suggest just writing your initial app in Objective C to learn the frameworks, and then rewrite in Swift or Objective C once you've figured out how you should have written the app.
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01-28-2015, 07:07 AM
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#19
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gone traveling
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: DFW
Posts: 7,586
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HFWR
If I suddenly think of a killer app that needs developed, I'll hire some youngster to write it for me...
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+1, unless you want to code simply for some intellectual stimulation, why bother, unless you have thought of a new killer app and even then, such an app could be handed to professionals for development while protecting you IP rights.
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01-28-2015, 07:38 AM
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#20
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Northern Ohio
Posts: 3,182
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DFW_M5
+1, unless you want to code simply for some intellectual stimulation, why bother, unless you have thought of a new killer app and even then, such an app could be handed to professionals for development while protecting you IP rights.
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Because it's fun and enjoyable?
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