Objective-C seems to be quite fashionable at the moment and it’s something I’ve been meaning to learn for a while. Objective-C is an extension of the C language and so allows you to do normal C programming but with added extras like Objects. If you’ve done any programming before you might have heard of Object Orientation (OO). I’m not going to explain it here but it’s not a new idea and is implemented in a number of languages such as Java and C++. I’ve never done C++ but at uni we were taught Java and then introduced to the more utilitarian C (of which many languages, including Java, are descendants). Objective-C is the language of choice for the various Apple platforms (including iPhone) and as a hardened Apple fanboy with the desire to create iPhone apps; Objective-C is a prerequisite.
What I’ve found to be helpful to getting my head around Objective-C quickly (making use of the OO languages I already know) is a series of screencasts and a book called Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X. I watched the screencasts first to see if I could get interested in it enough to stick with it and found that they were created in such a way that you can get stuck straight into the code. They’re US$5 a time but I found the first 2 very helpful (at the time of writing there was only 2 of the series). Apple also has a number of resources available for free (requires registration) on the Developer site. From my perhaps limited experience of development environments I’d have to say XCode is one of the best I’ve used and makes coding a very logical and easy process. XCode, various other applications and even an iPhone simulator are available to play with through your free developer membership.
I’m still working my way through the book but I hope to be making my own apps for the iPhone soon. All that remains is to actually by one!
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