macOS Beginner: I Want to make my own App...

[AlmightyG5]

Hey guys, First off I'm a beginner and have practically no experience with programming and xCode. However!...I want to make my own app.

This is what I want my app to be: Videogaming collection organizer

Features:
-Organize your videogames
-Boxart
-info list (name,system,# of players...list goes on)
-Spot for screenshots
-5 star rating
-etc.

Now that you have an idea of what i want to do...maybe you could help me with deciding if I sould use Cocoa,Carbon,Java,C, whatever. Also some sites that might help me. I mean...how much programming knowlage will I need for this. I also need to learn xCode.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Doctor Q]

Just to make sure, is your goal to learn programming in a particular language, learn programming in general, learn the Xcode tool, or perhaps just to have the application you want be built?

I ask because there could be a lot of work involved to start learning to program from scartch. Perhaps you'd like to make that effort (and I approve) but you should know that if you want results faster there are other choices, such as programming with a product like Realbasic.

Database products can help you store and manage data such as a videogame collection. Some people even use spreadsheets or word processors for recordkeeping and do just fine.

And there are probably some applications that might be close to what you want already.

 

[pooky]

I'd recommend not trying to program an app yourself, but looking into something like MySQL. Unless you want to learn programming, that is.

 

[Glenn Wolsey]

Delicious Library does this

 

[AlmightyG5]

Just to make sure, is your goal to learn programming in a particular language, learn programming in general, learn the Xcode tool, or perhaps just to have the application you want be built?

I ask because there could be a lot of work involved to start learning to program from scartch. Perhaps you'd like to make that effort (and I approve) but you should know that if you want results faster there are other choices, such as programming with a product like Realbasic.

Database products can help you store and manage data such as a videogame collection. Some people even use spreadsheets or word processors for recordkeeping and do just fine.

And there are probably some applications that might be close to what you want already.

Thanks. I want to make my own app and if learning a language is the only way to do it...the i guess i will learn. But could you tell me more about RealBasic and Databases. I want to make this app apealing because i would like to put it on the net for others to use. So the best way to make an apealing app and the fastest without learning much is the way I want to go.

 

[dylan]

Delicious Library does this

And very well. Check it out. Unless of course you just want the experience of creating an app. But maybe try something that hasn't already been done well.

 

[Doctor Q]

Glenn Wolsey already pointed out a great solution that already exists: Delicious Library.

REALbasic (I miscapitalized it before) is a programming language and programing environment rolled into one. You still have to write programs, but the language is simple enough and the builtin REALbasic tools are powerful enough that it can be much easier to use than a conventional programming language or a general purpose development environment. It would still take learning, however.

To get an idea how REALbasic looks, click through their guided tour. It's not the only self-contained programming environment for the Mac, just one I happen to be familiar with. Applications you build with it can be run under Mac OS or Windows.

Database programs like MySQL (free) and the pricier commercial varieties do basically the same thing - store your data and let you retrieve it again. Many (not all) are based on the relational model, where everything is organized into tables. Dealing directly with languages to insert rows in tables and find them again (usually done with the SQL language) can be painful, so various products provide friendly front-ends and let you build your own screens and scripted applications to manage your data.

Some applications used to manage and present database information let you build an application using the interface of your operating system (so you are building real Mac applications) and some use a web browser for the user interface so the part you program runs on a server (which could also be your Mac) and produces web pages as output. Many developers use FileMaker to build standalone applications. Apple uses WebObjects to create database-driven web pages.

I'm mixing apples and oranges a bit here (big commercial tools and little handy ones), but you might poke around reading up on programs like these to get an idea what's out there.

And other members here are likely to post names of other products you might look at.

 

[Demon Hunter]

Learning to program from scratch is not an easy task. I would recommend you start small with some of Doctor Q's great suggestions. It will take less time, and allow you to see if investing energy in full-blown programming is worth it to you.

Many employers look for people who know FileMaker or MySQL.

 

[robbieduncan]

This sort of app is basically what CoreData is designed for. You can get the "database" bit done for free and just worry about the UI. Add is some bindings and you can get a really simple version of this running with almost no code.

 

[DavidLeblond]

Here's an excellent tutorial on that core data thing. I think this may get you on your way!

 

[Les Kern]

I use Realbasic, so right off I am being partial to it. The NICE thing is, that the app you describe can be completely built using the User Manual... no fancy add-ons. HOWEVER, RB will cost you a few bucks... not cheap. Xcode is free, but H-A-R-D for a newbie. There's Revolution also. I tried that, it's similar, but easier than RB...
RB, however, makes cross-platform apps... even Linux apps.
Depends on if you want to make this one-time app (use Xcode to save dough and bite the bullet on the learning curve I guess) or if you want to persue building apps in the future (Xcode for Mac, RB for everyone) OR if you want EASY, but have the dough (Rev). The database I use is SQL, which RB handles well. They also have a built-in db, but it's SLOW... but good enough for smaller apps. You'll need SQL for your idea I think.
Personally, I went with RB becasue I want to make money AND have fun... and let's face it... Windows has a pretty big market share!

 

[robbieduncan]

The database I use is SQL, which RB handles well. They also have a built-in db, but it's SLOW... but good enough for smaller apps. You'll need SQL for your idea I think.
Personally, I went with RB becasue I want to make money AND have fun... and let's face it... Windows has a pretty big market share!

SQL == Structured Query Language. It is not a database, or even a product, but a set of specifications implemented by many relational databases (Oracle, Sybase, SQL Server, MySQL etc). I imagine you are talking about MySQL (as it's free and commonly used).

CoreData is very cool in that it hides the actual implementation database away. It can use text XML, binary XML or SQL based datastores. The current implementation has all 3 available as choices. If you are only storing a small amount of data text based XML is fine. If you want to use quite a lot of data choose the SQL backend. At the moment this is implemented using SQLite which is realy fast.

 

[Les Kern]

SQL == Structured Query Language. It is not a database, or even a product, but a set of specifications implemented by many relational databases (Oracle, Sybase, SQL Server, MySQL etc). I imagine you are talking about MySQL (as it's free and commonly used).

RB talks sql schema and it's faster than the built-in RB-db... MySQL is what I use, true.