offering an iPod Touch/iPhone (and hope Apple tablet... one can hope)
programming course during the spring semester. I did some reading this
summer on Objective C and Cocoa and became a little discouraged about the
steep learning curve. It's probably a better idea to just jump in and
start playing as John Thurner suggests.
Last spring I started a group on the Independent School Cooperative ning
(http://iscoop.ning.com/group/iphonesoftwaredevelopment) for those
interested in working on creating and teaching a course about developing
software for the iPhone, the iPod Touch and the coming Apple tablet. This
might be a good place to share information on an ongoing basis.
I've copied the series of messages on the subject from ISED over to a
discussion on the Ning so it is easy to refer back to.
Fred
-------------------------
Fred Bartels
Head - Computer Department
Rye Country Day School
914-925-4610
A forum for independent school educators <ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU> writes:
>Keith,
>
> In my opinion those new to iPhone/iPod Touch programming should
>just jump right in. Of course it helps to have knowledge of another
>programming language (procedural or object-oriented) in the sense that a
>knowledge of core programming concepts and data structures may have been
>learned. The advantage of NOT knowing any other programming language is
>that
>there are no concepts and/or habits that have to be unlearned. Objects and
>messaging in Objective-C and the Objective-C language/syntax may then seem
>"natural" since they know no other way. Having said that there is an awful
>lot to learn -- Objective-C, basic programming concepts and data
>structures,
>object-oriented programming concepts, Xcode and Interface Builder, design
>patterns, the Cocoa Touch APIs, and memory management. As other posters
>have said Objective-C is a superset of C and you can mix Objective-C with
>C++. I think a course in iPhone/iPod Touch can be done for those new to
>programming if it is structured properly. Snow Leopard (coming in the next
>few weeks or so I would imagine) includes a really nice enhancement to
>Xcode
>in which the Clang Static Analyzer has been integrated into the build
>process. Memory leaks are highlighted with bubble messages and curved line
>arrows point to the offending source which makes it easier to eliminate
>these types of problems.
> Two discussions on the cocoa-dev mailing list may provide you with a
>broader perspective on learning Objective-C and Cocoa: Guidance for
>Cocoa's
>Steep Learning Curve from the cocoa-dev archive at
>http://www.cocoabuilder.com/archive/message/cocoa/2008/5/15/206700 and
>How
>Hard is it to Learn Cocoa - Survey? at
>http://www.cocoabuilder.com/archive/message/cocoa/2008/5/25/208234 .
>However, your mileage may vary since it is from the perspective of
>professional software developers and writers. And as another poster has
>said
>there are a lot of tutorials on the web as well as books to help the
>learning process by "playing" by writing toy apps.
> Have fun -- I know the students will!
>
>Regards,
>Danton Chin
>Blog: http://iphonedeveloperjournal.com/
>
>On Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 9:15 AM, Keith E Gatling <keith@gatling.us> wrote:
>
>> I've got a quick question out there for anyone who might have the
>answer.
>> When learning how to write apps for the iPod Touch and the iPhone, does
>it
>> help to have previous programming skills (like Java or C++), or can one
>> just
>> jump right in? I've been asked to prepare to teach just such a course
>next
>> fall, and want to know what I'm getting myself and my potential students
>> into - especially if THEY don't have any programming background.
>>
>> Thanks.
>> --
>> keg
>>
>> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
>* *
>> Keith E Gatling - Computer Instructor
>> Manlius Pebble Hill School
>> 5300 Jamesville Rd
>> DeWitt, NY 13214
>> 315.446.2452
>> Blog: wordfromg.blogspot.com
>> Website www.gatling.us/keith
>>
>> Some teachers teach subjects. Others teach people.
>> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
>* *
>>
>> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
>> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons,
>attribution,
>> non-commercial, share-alike license.
>> RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L
>>
>
>[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
>Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution,
>non-commercial, share-alike license.
>RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L
[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L
