Beginning iPhone 4 Development: Exploring the iOS SDK [Paperback]

David Mark (Author), Jack Nutting (Author), Jeff LaMarche (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 28, 2011 | ISBN-10: 143023024X | ISBN-13: 978-1430230243 | Edition: 1

Beginning iPhone 4 Development is here! The authors of the bestselling Beginning iPhone 3 Development are back, with the same excellent material completely updated for iOS 4 and written from the ground up using the latest version of Apple's Xcode 3. All source code has been updated to use the latest Xcode templates and current APIs, and all-new screenshots show Xcode 3 in action.

Beginning iPhone 4 Development is a complete course in iOS 4 apps development. You’ll master techniques that work on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. We start with the basics, showing you how to download and install the tools you'll need, and how to create your first simple application. Next you’ll learn to integrate all the interface elements iOS users have come to know and love, such as buttons, switches, pickers, toolbars, and sliders. You’ll master a variety of design patterns, from the simplest single view to complex hierarchical drill-downs. The confusing art of table building will be demystified, and you’ll learn techniques to save and retrieve your data using SQLite, iPhone’s built-in database management system and Core Data, the standard for persistence that Apple brought to iOS with the release of SDK 3.  

And there’s much more! You’ll learn to draw using Quartz 2D and OpenGL ES, add multitouch gestural support (pinches and swipes) to your applications, and work with the camera, photo library, accelerometer, and built-in GPS. You’ll discover the fine points of application preferences and learn how to localize your apps for multiple languages. You'll also learn how to use the new concurrency APIs included in iOS 4, and make robust multithreaded applications using Grand Central Dispatch.  

• The iPhone 4 update to the best-selling and most recommended book for Cocoa touch developers  
• Written in an accessible, easy-to-follow style  
• Full of useful tips and techniques to help you become an iOS pro

NOTE: For iPhone 4S or iOS 5 apps development, please instead check out the next edition of this book, Beginning iOS 5 Development - now available.

What you’ll learn

• Everything you need to know to develop your own best-selling iPhone and iPad apps
• Best practices for optimizing your code and delivering great user experiences
• How to create “universal” apps for both iPhone and iPad

Who this book is for

Anyone who wants to start developing for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

You can discover more about this book, download source code, and find support forums at the book's companion site, at www.iphonedevbook.com.

Table of Contents

1. Welcome to the Jungle
2. Appeasing the Tiki Gods
3. Handling Basic Interaction
4. More User Interface Fun
5. Autorotation and Autosizing
6. Multiview Applications
7. Tab Bars and Pickers
8. Introduction to Table Views
9. Navigation Controllers and Table Views
10. iPad Considerations
11. Application Settings and User Defaults
12. Basic Data Persistence
13. Grand Central Dispatch, Background Processing, and You
14. Drawing with Quartz and OpenGL
15. Taps, Touches, and Gestures
16. Where Am I? Finding Your Way with Core Location
17. Whee! Gyro and Accelerometer!
18. iPhone Camera and Photo Library
19. Application Localization
20. Where to Next?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dave Mark is a longtime Mac developer and author who has written a number of books on Mac and iOS development, including Beginning iPhone 4 Development (Apress, 2010), More iPhone 3 Development (Apress, 2010), Learn C on the Mac (Apress, 2008), The Macintosh Programming Primer series (Addison-Wesley, 1992), and Ultimate Mac Programming (Wiley, 1995). Dave loves the water and spends as much time as possible on it, in it, or near it. He lives with his wife and three children in Virginia.

Jeff LaMarche is a Mac and iOS developer with more than 20 years of programming experience. Jeff has written a number of iOS and Mac development books, including Beginning iPhone 3 Development (Apress, 2009), More iPhone 3 Development (Apress, 2010), and Learn Cocoa on the Mac (Apress, 2010). Jeff is a principal at MartianCraft, an iOS and Android development house. He has written about Cocoa and Objective-C for MacTech Magazine, as well as articles for Apple’s developer web site. Jeff also writes about iOS development for his widely-read blog at http://iphonedevelopment.blogspot.com.

Jack Nutting has been using Cocoa since the olden days, long before it was even called Cocoa. He has used Cocoa and its predecessors to develop software for a wide range of industries and applications, including gaming, graphic design, online digital distribution, telecommunications, finance, publishing, and travel. When he is not working on Mac or iOS projects, he is developing web applications with Ruby on Rails. Nutting is a passionate proponent of Objective-C and the Cocoa frameworks. At the drop of a hat, he will speak at length on the virtues of dynamic dispatch and run time class manipulations to anyone who will listen (and even to some who won’t). Nutting is the primary author of Learn Cocoa on the Mac (Apress, 2010) and Beginning iPad Development for iPhone Developers (Apress, 2010). He blogs from time to time at Nuthole.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 676 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1 edition (January 28, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 143023024X
• ISBN-13: 978-1430230243
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 1.3 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #415,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 57 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the best February 5, 2011

By David Fisher

Format:Paperback

I teach a college iOS development course and this is the book I require students to purchase for that course. I've been using the Beginning iPhone 3 Development book in the past and I'll move on to using this book now. Still the Holy Grail of getting started with iOS development. No better way to get started.

Labs and videos from our course, tries to follow along with the book (rather loosely):

CSSE490 iOS Development course website:
[...]

CSSE490 iOS class videos on iTunes
[...]

No promises that I'll grade your quizzes over the reading. ;)

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Guide for New iPhone Developers February 20, 2011

By Jeff

Format:Paperback

This book is a great introduction for new iPhone developers. I have the SDK3 version and recently went out and got the SDK4 edition just because it makes such a great reference and teaching tool.

I still refer to this book even after publishing several apps in the App Store already. This book was able to hand hold me through my first app and when I was ready to try things on my own, I still found myself referring back to it for certain areas. What I came to realize is that any app you develop will not have every piece of functionality this book shows you. So every new app I develop I find myself using the book for reference each time. Whether it's table management, retained data management, or multi-view apps, this is an excellent book that covers all of the essential areas

This new edition has been brought up to date with SDK4 and all sample code you can download has been updated, as has the book itself.

This edition now includes a chapter on considerations for the iPad when developing your app. This is essential if you want easy portability of your app from one device to the next.

Probably my most referenced section is on tab controllers and table controllers. This is the life blood of many apps and the author gives great examples that incorporate not just the basics, but more advanced controls that allow you to customize and personalize your app.

My only gripe is that the more in depth I get in app development, the more I realize there are further table customizations that aren't covered. An introductory book can't cover everything, and in searching the publisher's site, I see they have a table view specific book, Pro iOS Table Views, coming out later this year. Sign me up!...

The source code included in the book is sound and I haven't run into a problem with it, which I have for other titles that include source code with them.

What most impresses me with this book is the author's ability to explain the meeting behind every code addition and continue to build on established knowledge with each chapter with repeating themselves.

In coming in to this book, I would suggest some prior basic knowledge of Cocoa and Objective-C. While I have done extensive coding in other languages, I have never worked in these. While I managed to pick things up quickly (once you know how to program, it's mainly a matter of learning the new syntax of each language), I can see how this may slow down users who are completely new to programming.

In summary, I would highly recommend this book not just to beginners, but app developers with a little experience under their belts, but who have not yet developed apps that explore every little nook and cranny of the SDK. Read more ›

42 of 51 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars NOT FOR XCODE-4 April 2, 2011

By New MAC user

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The Title should include "...for xcode-3"

The book may be great for xcode-3 but it can't be used for xcode-4 there should be a clearly visable diclaimer. If you search for Xcode-4 on Amazon you get this book, which implies its the latest and greatest.

Buried in the discription the write-up says xcode-3 but it's hard for a new user that is "Beginning iPhone 4 Development" to notice the difference. The screen-shots are totally different: unfortunately the text references the screenshots throughout making it unusable.

If you are a new developer and using Apple's new tool DON'T buy this book...it will only confuse you.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A good start! February 27, 2011

By Ally Morgan

Format:Paperback

I spent a day at the bookstore thumbing through similar selections in the computer section before deciding to buy this book. It is better than most iPhone app development guides. The information is well-organized and contains useful examples, plainly laid out. The sample code is extremely helpful. If however, like me, you're a true beginner, this won't be enough to launch your first app. You'll want to do tons more internet research and have a few more books in your arsenal, but this one is a great start for the budding developer.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Beginner Book February 16, 2011

By Daniel Drayton

Format:Kindle Edition

This is an excellent book to use to begin learning how to develop iPhone apps. It assumes you know a majority of the Objective C language (if you don't, read Programming in Objective C 2.0 by Stephan Kochan). This book uses great examples each chapter (examples that are actually up to date with the latest iOS release, unlike the Big Nerd Ranch book). The authors walk the reader through each example early in the book, then lighten up on the hand holding as the book progresses into later chapters. This is by far the best book I've read on iPhone programming thus far. Only issue I have so far is with the Kindle edition, there are a lot of spacing errors, but it doesn't detract from the content and there are no errors in the code examples.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wouldn't recommend developing without it. July 21, 2011

By Evan Foote

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

A little background:
I've been programming for almost 9 years now. I started out with an obscure form of BASIC meant for easy game development. After that I learned Java, and C. For the past 2 years, I've been working full time programming for the Consumer Electronics field (Blu-ray Players and Cable Boxes).

My friend asked me to do app development for them, told me about their idea. I agreed it was a good idea, and decided to go full in for iOS development. After spending $1600 on Apple products, I found myself stuck. As "intuitive" as Apple claims to be, their IDE leaves much to be desired.

I bought this book to help speed up the process, and I have to say I'd recommend it.

The book goes into detail about anything and everything you'd want to know, without being boring. It steps you through how to write iOS apps, giving clear examples and guiding you through XCode's interface (including small reminders about how to do things you may not remember). Without this book, I'd have given up on App development a long time ago.

Note: If you're not familiar with programming at all, I would STRONGLY suggest that you try learning a different (and free) language first, like Java or C. iOS development is pretty costly (need a mac, need an ipod or iphone and a license to develop on them).