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Objective-C and iPhone App Development

xanis

xanis

Lifer
I'm in the process on fleshing out my idea and working out the logistics for one of my class' semester project. My idea involves mobile apps, and I'd like to develop an iPhone app (if possible).

I've been looking into it and my biggest concern is learning Objective-C. Everything else is fairly well-documented and straightforward, and the design isn't an issue either (it's what I do).

So my question is this: How hard would it be to learn Objective-C? I know absolutely nothing about OOP, so I'd be starting from scratch. Do you think that it's doable, or am I just a glutton for punishment?
 
xanis said:
and the design isn't an issue either (it's what I do).
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xanis said:
I know absolutely nothing about OOP
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Can you explain this? It appears to be a contradiction.

This depends on the complexity of the application. As far as OOP goes, a simple application could be built with only the bare minimum of OO knowledge, but it will suffer if you ever want to extend the application. Complex applications generally require a more concerted design effort and a greater knowledge of OO principles and practices.

I don't know Objective C myself, but from what I've read it's rather primitive compared to most modern languages, I hope you're comfortable with manual memory management and don't use generics too much.

How much time do you have to accomplish this?
 
Sorry, I should have been clearer: I'm a Graphic Designer, so the visual aspects of the app aren't what I'm concerned about. I'm concerned about my ability to execute the design.

I'd say I have about 13-14 weeks to accomplish this. If it turns out to be undoable, I have a backup plan to do a look (and function) -alike web-based version in Flash.
 
xanis said:
I'm in the process on fleshing out my idea and working out the logistics for one of my class' semester project. My idea involves mobile apps, and I'd like to develop an iPhone app (if possible).

I've been looking into it and my biggest concern is learning Objective-C. Everything else is fairly well-documented and straightforward, and the design isn't an issue either (it's what I do).

So my question is this: How hard would it be to learn Objective-C? I know absolutely nothing about OOP, so I'd be starting from scratch. Do you think that it's doable, or am I just a glutton for punishment?
Click to expand...

Flash CS5 isn't out yet. There's no release date either, except sometime in 2010. So the only way to make an app is through Objective-C and the iPhone SDK.

You can develop apps on a Hackintosh, but if you have a Mac, then it makes things easier. Objective-C is like C, except there are objects. So it's like learning C/C++, with Cocoa Touch on top of that. Give a month or 2 to learn the language and some Cocoa Touch, and another month to create a very simple app.
 
invidia said:
Flash CS5 isn't out yet. There's no release date either, except sometime in 2010. So the only way to make an app is through Objective-C and the iPhone SDK.

You can develop apps on a Hackintosh, but if you have a Mac, then it makes things easier. Objective-C is like C, except there are objects. So it's like learning C/C++, with Cocoa Touch on top of that. Give a month or 2 to learn the language and some Cocoa Touch, and another month to create a very simple app.
Click to expand...

I have a Mac. Like I said, I don't know jack shit about programming languages, so your comparison to C/C++ doesn't really help me. 😛
 
If you don't know languages like C and C++, don't try to learn Objective C. You need to be a programmer to do anything remotely complex. It will be a big waste f your time unless you go take a college level programming class or three.

C is my second language and I'm not liking going the Objective-C route. The flash road looks more interesting, I'm just curious how much Adobe will support it.
 
I found obj-c very easy to learn and to use. The memory management thing is overplayed, it's not that bad at all. In most cases autorelease pools handle it for you. If you move from the iphone to osx development then you get garbage collection and it's a 100% non issue.

There are many good books out there that can teach you objective-c providing you have solid programming fundamentals under your belt already.
 
Thanks for the responses. I think at this point I'm going to do a web analog in Flash so as to save myself a lot of unnecessary time and pain.
 
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