How To Get Started in iPhone Development

September 6, 2011 RJ Grunewald

It's fairly common for people to have all sorts of ideas of great apps that they wish were available on the app store. The best ideas for apps come from having a simple idea that you would like on your device. It doesn't come from an idea that you think would make you rich, but something that you'd like to use. XCode

Unfortunately an idea is not going to get you very far; nobody is going just do the work for free while you get the benefits of the revenue. For many that means your app ideas never become anything more than an idea. For others that are willing to put in a little work (and have a bit of engineering mind to put to use), they can turn an idea into an app.

In fact, when I started with my very first app, the only programming experience I had was some HTML that I did in 8th grade and a QBASIC class in high school. Hardly enough to get started in the world of Objective-C and Apple's iOS frameworks. Thankfully, I decided that making my iPhone fart would be funny enough to put some work into learning how to make an app.

Here Are Some of the Resources that I Utilized in Getting Started:

Programming in Objective-C - this book is probably the most boring and everything you learn in it won't actually get you to the point of making an app. But it helps you learn the programming language, which is an important place to start.

Code

Beginning iPhone 4 Development - this book is the best iPhone book for beginners. I still think everyone should start with the first book, especially if you have no programming experience. This book will teach you how to use apple's tools and start actually writing code that resembles an app.

Watch Tutorials Online - you'll first want to make a "hello world" app, which is the first step to learning any programming. You can also do a similar tutorial in the book, but sometimes it's easier to watch people type the code. Another beginner tutorial would make an app that plays a sound when you press a button (which is how i learned to make whoopie cushion). Stanford also offers an incredible iPhone programming course on iTunesU. It is not really a beginner level course, but once you get moving into the programming world, I'd make sure to have this on your list.

Get Developer Tools - download xcode from the mac app store for free; it will have a simulator to test your newly learned skills and make sure your app works before launching it on the App Store.

Join Some Forums - chances are if you run into a problem, somebody else has also had that problem. Google is your friend. There are also some incredible forums, both unofficial and official, that can help you find the answers that you need whether you are a newbie or a veteran.