Master, what is the best way to mastering iPhone Development?
Grasshopper, here are my seven steps to becoming an iPhone Developer. Tread carefully and you will become a wise man...
- Buy an Intel Based Mac & a Device - though the iPhone/iPod Touch device isn't 100% necessary for this early stage, as the iPhone simulator that you will get with the SDK is free and more that capable for initial development. Saying that, there is no replacement ultimately for having a device.
- Join the Apple Developer Connection - It's free at http://developer.apple.com/ This is a great place to check out the very good Apple Documentation and gain access to some of the Developer videos on iTunes. I have enjoyed watching the TechTalks World Tour series, which gives a good introduction to many subjects from the Apple Evangelists.
- Download the Apple iPhone SDK - It's a large download, but be patient, as with this software you can develop applications that run on iPhone and iPod touch. Once installed you will have access to the Xcode IDE, Instruments, iPhone simulator, frameworks, samples and more. Mastering this step as well as the next step will be your goal!
- Learn Objective-C, Cocoa Touch - Books are a great start and I would recommend investigating the two that I'm reading... iPhone SDK Development - Bill Dudney, Marcel Molina, Chris Adamson (Pub. The Pragmatic Bookshelf) and iPhone in Action - Christopher Allen, Shannon Appelcline (Pub. Manning), though I know there are others available and more yet to hit the shelves. I'm also looking forward to the free Stanford University iPhone Development Course which is available via http://www.stanford.edu/class/cs193p/cgi-bin/index.php and the lectures that will be made available on iTunesU http://itunes.stanford.edu/. Each week, in the 10 week class, there will be a number of subjects covered in the tutorials and assignments set, that will build upon each other. OK for those of us that are not on campus, as we have the ability to take our time over each, but its a great concept and solves the age old problem of getting actual exercises. Now you have the inner power, you must channel it Grasshopper.
- Write an iPhone application - though coming up with a cool idea can be easier said that done. As part of the process Develop & Test using your newly acquired skills, finally on a device (See below).
- Join the iPhone Developer Program - this costs $99 for an individual year and will allow you to deploy/distribute your application to a limited number of devices that you have identified, via the iPhone Developer Portal. Remember, one man can succeed as well as many others
- Submit your iPhone application to the iTunes App Store, this process is also part of the iPhone Developer Portal
And only then will you know true iPhone Harmony!
Thank you Master... I can now travel armed with my iPhone and its arsenal of applications
Ian
tags: iphone development
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