Developing On The iPad – Taking The First Steps

24 Jun 2010 | iPad Development |

As you probably know, there are hundreds of thousands of apps already for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, but there is a huge market for new iDevice apps on a daily basis we even review apps here!

ipad-app-development

Let us assume that you have registered as a developer with Apple and download the SDK (Software Development Kit) but you have never made an app in your life where do you start?

Apps on the Apple devices are coded in Objective C  if you are familiar with programming in C, you will be able to get your head around this with no problems at all, but this is for those taking their first tentative steps.

However, to become a developer takes time and dedication please do not think that you will be able to download the SDK and make amazing apps it will take you time to get your head around developing.

The main premise of programming in object orientated, and you will need a good understanding of this. OO programming essentially a paradigm that uses objects and structures that consist of datafields and methods but all of this will make more sense as you progress.

There are a number of frameworks that exist and provide functions for the iPad and iPhone which you will come across. These are:

  • Foundation Framework
  • UI Kit
  • Cocoa Touch

You will need to get to grips with these before you can really get started, but there are any number of resources to help you speed you way through these processes.

We are going to get a little bit technical here just to explain a little more about Objective-C and give you a little background.

As already explained it is an OOP (Object Orientated Programming) language but is not standardized. Objective-C came about after Brad J. Cox added SmallTalk-80 extensions to the already well known language, C.

If you have never programmed in your life, it is probably worth hopping over to Amazon or Ebay and picking up a beginners guide to help get you started because on the Internet, you will find millions of references to code where we are sure that whilst most are right, there may be more straight forward ways to achieve results.

Just remember not to rush, take your time and do your research. Join some development forums and groups and ask questions. Many of these members will be only too happy to impart their knowledge and help newcomers out, so listen, and learn.

 

You might also like to read:

Developing on the iPad – What Does Code Look Like?

So You Want to Become an iPad Application Developer? Introduction

iPad App Development: Developing a Good Human Interface

iPad Development: Impressive Beauty to Behold

iPad Apps Development: Introduction

 

 

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