Objective-C for Absolute Beginners: iPhone, iPad and Mac Programming Made Easy

by Gary Bennett, Brad Lees, Mitchell Fisher

Overview

It seems as if everyone is writing applications for Apple’s iPhone and iPad, but how do they all do it? It’s best to learn Objective-C, the native language of both the iOS and Mac OS X, but where to begin? Right here, even if you’ve never programmed before!

Objective-C for Absolute Beginners will teach you how to write software for your Mac, iPhone, or iPad using Objective-C, an elegant and powerful language with a rich set of developer tools. Using a hands-on approach, you’ll learn to think in programming terms, how to use Objective-C to build program logic, and how to write your own applications and apps.

With over 50 collective years in software development and based on an approach pioneered at Carnegie Mellon University, the authors have developed a remarkably effective approach to learning Objective-C. Since the introduction of Apple’s iPhone, the authors have taught hundreds of absolute beginners how to develop Mac, iPhone,and iPad apps, including many that became popular apps in the iTunes App Store.

What you’ll learn

• The fundamentals of computer programming: how to understand variables,design data structures, and work with file systems
• The logic of object-oriented programming: how to use Classes, Objects, and Methods
• The flexibility of Apple's developer tools: how to install Xcode and write programs in Objective-C
• The power of Cocoa and Cocoa touch: how to make Mac OS X applications or iOS apps that do cool stuff

Who this book is for

Everyone! This book is for anyone who wants to learn to develop applications for the Mac or apps for the iPhone and iPad using the Objective-C programming language. No previous programming experience is necessary.

Table of Contents

1.  Becoming a Great iPhone/iPad or Mac Programmer 
2.  Programming Basics  
3.  It’s All About the Data  
4.  Making Decisions About...and Planning Program Flow  
5.  Object Oriented Programming with Objective-C  
6.  Introducing Objective-C and Xcode 
7.  Objective-C Classes, Objects, and Methods 
8.  Programming Basics in Objective-C  
9.  Comparing Data  
10.  Creating User Interfaces with Interface Builder  
11.  Memory, Addresses, and Pointers  
12.  Debugging Programs with Xcode  
13.  Storing Information
14.  Protocols and Delegates  

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781430228332
Publisher:	Apress
Publication date:	08/24/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	292
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Gary Bennett is president of xcelMe.com. xcelMe teaches iPhone/iPad programming courses online. Gary has taught hundreds of students how to develop iPhone/iPad apps, and has several very popular apps on the iTunes App Store. Gary's students have some of the best-selling apps on the iTunes App Store. Gary also worked for 25 years in the technology and defense industries. He served 10 years in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear engineer aboard two nuclear submarines. After leaving the Navy, Gary worked for several companies as a software developer, chief information officer, and resident. As CIO, he helped take VistaCare public in 2002. Gary also co-authored emiPhone Cool Projects/em for Apress. Gary lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with his wife, Stefanie, and their four children.
Brad Lees has more than 12 years of experience in application development and server management. He has specialized in creating and initiating software programs in real-estate development systems and financial institutions. His career has been highlighted by his positions as information systems manager at The Lyle Anderson Company, product development manager for Smarsh, vice president of application development for iNation, and IT manager at The Orcutt/Winslow Partnership, the largest architectural firm in Arizona. A graduate of Arizona State University, Brad and his wife, Natalie, reside in Phoenix with their five children.
Mitch Fisher is a software developer in the Phoenix area. He was introduced to PCs back in the 1980s, when 64K was a lot of memory and 1 Mhz was considered a fast computer. Over the past 25 years, Mitch has worked for several large and medium-sized companies in the roles of software developer and software architect, and had led several teams of developers on multi-million dollar projects. Mitch now divides his time between writing iOS applications and server-side UNIX technologies.

Table of Contents

1. Becoming a Great iPhone/iPad or Mac Programmer
2. Programming Basics
3. It’s All About the Data
4. Making Decisions About…and Planning Program Flow
5. Object Oriented Programming with Objective-C
6. Introducing Objective-C and Xcode
7. Objective-C Classes, Objects, and Methods
8. Programming Basics in Objective-C
9. Comparing Data
10. Creating User Interfaces with Interface Builder
11. Memory, Addresses, and Pointers
12. Debugging Programs with Xcode
13. Storing Information
14. Protocols and Delegates