What is the easiest way for a non-programmer to learn the basics of creating iPhone apps?

Question

I am primarily a designer, with a fairly high level of understanding of CSS and HTML. I have an idea for a very simple iPhone application, mainly related to a timer, animated graphics and some sound. If I get more advanced, there may be some simple settings

I don't have an understanding of Objective-C or C of any kind, for that matter. (The closest I received Pascal's course 20 years ago.) In addition to making friends with a motivated developer to help me, what would be the easiest, most likely minimum learning method I need to know to create my own iPhone app?

Answer 1

If you have no programming experience, creating your own iPhone app will be a daunting task. The development for the iPhone is very similar to the development for the desktop Mac, it is a very complete and mature system.

I would honestly say stick with the web app for the iPhone. Mobile Safari provides some special hooks that let you get closer to your system than a regular web application. And sometimes that’s enough.

Answer 2

If you are really serious about this and ready to take some time to learn how to program in Cocoa, then how I would do it would be a combination of reading all that Apple has to offer along with a couple of good books both for reference and for more conceptual big picture / getting into Cocoa thinking material.

If you just want to try hacking something together that works, you will probably be best off using a combination of Apple example code and a lot of questions on different forums when you get stuck.

The books I would recommend would be Objective-C Programming, Stephen Kochan and Cocoa Mac OS X Programming from Aaron Hillegass . The former is a good introduction to Objective-C, and the latter is largely a Cocoa book. This is not a specific book for the iPhone, but pretty much everything in it (especially design concepts and design patterns) still applies. Keep in mind that you will not have access to the garbage collector on the iPhone. You must also be sure to read Apple on your own Introduction to the Objective-C 2.0 programming language .

In order for the real code to be viewed and adapted to your own needs, it’s hard to find anything better than Apple’s own code sample library.

You can also try these two forums for any SDK issues you may have, as well as, of course, Stack for more general material that does not fall under the NDA.

Answer 3

Take an iNVASIVECODE or Big Nerd Ranch course.

There are also iOS classes Stanford CS193 that are really good. Updated every term CS193p

/ * Updated links April 2015 * /

Answer 4

http://developer.apple.com/iphone/

They have pretty simple applications and good articles.

Answer 5

Join the iPhone Dev program and read their code samples (they are simple), as well as their manuals (very useful). I do not know another way.

Answer 6

Manning Publication has a book in the pipeline called the iPhone in action , which will cover the coding of web applications, as well as native applications for the iPhone. It is scheduled for release on January 09, but depending on how long Apple retains the NDA, it may take longer.

Answer 7

The easiest way is to use a web service designed for non-programmers. Find one that gives you the flexibility to create custom applications, not just similar templates. Check out http://www.Snappii.com

Answer 8

If you already understand HTML and CSS, you may need to use JavaScript and use something like Kendo UI Mobile or jQuery Mobile . Basically, you can create a one-page HTML5 application that can run on iPhone and Android devices. You can also play your strengths and not start from scratch! If you really don't want to learn objective-c, in which case just ignore this answer :)