iOS possible to be self-taught?

[Whitecloak]

Assuming one is intelligent, motivated and has the time to commit, is it possible to learn Objective-C and Cocoa at home without ever taking any formal classes?

Using several excellent books, and the free resources available online, as well as frequenting forums like these for specific question/problems can it be done?

Would 8 months to a year be a reasonable time-frame?

All of this without any programming knowledge whatsoever.

 

[white89gt]

I taught myself objective-c, and I think I've got a pretty reasonable grasp of it. However, I had a strong C/C++ background before starting with objective-c.

 

[zoomvroom89]

Assuming one is intelligent, motivated and has the time to commit, is it possible to learn Objective-C and Cocoa at home without ever taking any formal classes?

Using several excellent books, and the free resources available online, as well as frequenting forums like these for specific question/problems can it be done?

Would 8 months to a year be a reasonable time-frame?

All of this without any programming knowledge whatsoever.

Yes.

 

[mccannmarc]

Definately, I started out about 8 years ago by teaching myself C/C++ (a lot of people recommend not, but I picked it up pretty easily), then taught myself assembler by writing an OS kernel and I've recently taught myself objective-c and cocoa within the last 2 or 3 months. Once you have a grasp of how to break down a task into small steps, the language of choice becomes less of a hurdle. If you want any help you can always PM me and I'll be happy to assist

 

[sushi]

Assuming one is intelligent, motivated and has the time to commit, is it possible to learn Objective-C and Cocoa at home without ever taking any formal classes?

Using several excellent books, and the free resources available online, as well as frequenting forums like these for specific question/problems can it be done?

Would 8 months to a year be a reasonable time-frame?

All of this without any programming knowledge whatsoever.

Yes you can.

However, a good instructor can be very beneficial. Coding is a science and an art combined. An good teacher or two can open up the possibilities.

 

[mccannmarc]

It depends how deep you want to take your knowledge, its entirely possible to become just as proficient at programming when self taught as someone who has had the best possible education. A lot of it is all about trial and error and a hell of a lot of research. Now i don't profess to be an expert at all but I'd say I'm just as if not more knowledgeable than someone who has done a degree in software development as I've been able to learn things my own ways and I have decided what I do and dont like as opposed to being taught by someone with an opinion. This has worked for me as thats the way I prefer to learn, I've never been good in classroom situations.

Sushi is right though, you cannot beat experience and thats where a teacher will come in advantageous! It's all too easy to give up when the going gets tough when you are teaching yourself and you will find its often simple things that seem the hardest, if you persevere though you'll find yourself getting more and more knowledgeable by the day and its a good feeling.

 

[wchua24]

well as long as you research first then you can definitely do it.