DevFright

Learning Programming

Resources

I thought I would create a resources page that helps you quickly and easily find what tools you need to learn and get working on creating apps. Some of the items are mandatory and some are of a benefit which means not essential, but highly recommended from my own personal use of them.

Hardware

  • A Mac – The software needed to create apps for iOS devices is a Mac (or Hackintosh) running OS X. This will more than likely be your most expensive purchase if you don’t have one already. When I say a Mac, I also mean MacBook Pro, Air, Mac Mini and various other current devices. If you want to look for a cheap option to this, check out my post on finding a cheap mac for iOS development which gives a few hints and tips on where to find one. To run the latest version of Xcode (the software to create apps), you need to be running Lion or Mountain Lion. There might still be an older version around that works on older operating systems, but that will likely be phased out in the next couple of years.
  • Optional – iOS Device – Although you can create iPhone and iPad apps by using a simulator on a Mac, my personal recommendation is that you get an iOS device (preferably an iPhone and iPad) for testing on a physical device. The simulator is good at a few things, but doesn’t make any use of sensors within the iPhone such as the gyro, accelerometers as well as the cameras, GPS etc… Some of them are simulated, but to fully test it is best to use an actual device.

    • Software

  • Xcode – Xcode is the software that you need to install on the Mac so that you can create your apps. It has everything you need to write code, read documentation and test the app. This software is free.
  • PaintCode – is an optional bit of software. I came across this a few months ago and liked what I saw, so I installed it. The software lets you create resolution-independent drawings that can scale from non-retina to retina devices without tweaking. It uses vectors and automatically converts your drawings to code that can be copied and pasted in to your Xcode project and be called on. The price is quite high at $99.99, but if you want to make an impact and more easily work with a drawing as an object that can be more easily manipulated then I highly recommend it.

    • Services

  • iOS Developer Account – There are two options when registering for an iOS developer at Apple. The first is free and simply gives you access to a wealth of resources to help you create iPhone and iPad apps. The second option is to enroll as a developer. For an individual or business the cost is $99 and this is required if you want to test on a device. Likewise, if you want to submit an app to the app store you also need to pay the $99 yearly fee.

    • Study Resources

  • iOS App Development for Non-Programmers – is an amazing set of books (currently 3 in the series) that help you learn the basics (and advanced) features of Objective-C and Xcode. I wrote a review here.
  • iTunes U – is another training system that allows you to learn Objective-C. The courses recommended before getting to Objective-C are the CS106A and CS106B courses which cover Java and C++ respectively. These are taught by experienced developers and are easy to follow on with. The only downside of not being at Stanford is that you are on your own and have to keep committed.
  • SoftwareHow – SoftwareHow is a fantastic resource for iOS developers. A list of 100 blogs can be found to highlight some of the best blogs for iOS development.

    • I’ll be updating this page as I come across more helpful resources.