iOS Jeez this is hard!

[waffles123]

I've been practicing iPhone coding for about 2 weeks ever since I got this book. However, I'm still having a very tough time. How long did it take you to "break through" the WTH barrier? Any websites or other books you recommend? BTW, this is my first computer language.

 

[Menge]

Took me about 2 to 3 weeks to get used to all the conventions. iPhone programming isn't difficult. You should try some Linux C/C++ programming: now THAT's difficult!

 

[gr8tfly]

I might be jumping to conclusion, but you say you don't have any programming experience - I take that to mean you don't have much CS background (software design & development (object or otherwise), operating systems, memory management, etc.).

To put it in perspective: Stanford is in the 10th week of an online iPhone Application Programming course, Prerequisites: C language and programming experience at the level of 106B or X. Recommended. UNIX, Object-oriented programming (OOP, OOD), graphical toolkits.

In other words, there's huge amount of training which is required to make sense out of what you're diving into. Yes, you can do some simple apps by modifying samples, but you won't be able to go much further.

There was another thread along similar lines - it mentioned the fact that successful apps (except for the fluke here and there) have not one, but teams of developers. Many of those have degrees in CS - a bit different than picking up a book and jumping in.

I haven't done design and development for a few years now (ret.), but my advice comes from around 30 years in software engineering (embedded - assembly & high-level (incl. 'C' & 'C++'), also X-windows and Windows APIs and a smidgen of Mac). I'm thinking of playing around with the iPhone SDK (maybe even OS-X, too) - but, since I have the foundations, picking up a new language (Objective-C) and API isn't that big a deal.

Take some time out and at least get the gist of object oriented design and basic software design concepts - then, go back to the iPhone book. You won't feel so overwhelmed (the 'WTH' syndrome ) and you'll have more fun doing it! Enjoy!

 

[jpyc7]

Took me about 2 to 3 weeks to get used to all the conventions. iPhone programming isn't difficult. You should try some Linux C/C++ programming: now THAT's difficult!

I hope you're right. I am just starting to learn iPhone programming. So far I have only read a few chapters of the Kochan Obj-C 2.0 book. I haven't gotten to the memory management stuff yet, but that and the gui programming is what worries me the most.

 

[BlackWolf]

I hope you're right. I am just starting to learn iPhone programming. So far I have only read a few chapters of the Kochan Obj-C 2.0 book. I haven't gotten to the memory management stuff yet, but that and the gui programming is what worries me the most.

since there is an interface builder, the GUI stuff is pretty easy. but keep really good attention on memory managment!

to get to the topic: you can catch the basics(!) in a few weeks ... but to get really good and make big applications, it takes much longer.

 

[kainjow]

I haven't gotten to the memory management stuff yet, but that and the gui programming is what worries me the most.

IMO memory management is the hardest thing to learn for newcomers. If you already have experience in programming and managing memory it's not as bad, but remembering all the rules and best practices takes a while.

 

[CocoaPuffs]

I've been practicing iPhone coding for about 2 weeks ever since I got this book. However, I'm still having a very tough time. How long did it take you to "break through" the WTH barrier? Any websites or other books you recommend? BTW, this is my first computer language.

There's your problem, you are not reading the right book. Try learning basic programming first before you read a book that expects you to have basic programming knowledge.

 

[Darkroom]

you are for sure starting off ahead of yourself if you find this book difficult. i'm certainly not the most seasoned programmer, and i can assure you i'm defiantly not the fastest learner, but this book ("Beginning iPhone Development") is one of, if not the easiest development books i've ever read. that's not to say it lacks substance, since it's also one of the best development books i've ever read.

try reading the following 2 books first before jumping back into Cocoa Touch:

1. Absolute Beginner's Guide To C (1994)
2. Programming In Objective-C 2.0 (2009)

you might also want to check out a 3rd book about programming for Mac OS X, since Cocoa and Cocoa Touch are extremely similar, and in lots of situations the same.

3. Cocoa Programming For Mac OS X (2008)

it will come, but slowly. like with learning anything complex, practice makes perfect (and patients goes a long way).