iOS Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide (3rd Edition) (Big Nerd Ranch Guides) [Paperback]

Joe Conway (Author), Aaron Hillegass (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 29, 2012 | ISBN-10: 0321821521 | ISBN-13: 978-0321821522 | Edition: 3

Winner of a 2012 Jolt Productivity Award!

 

Updated and expanded to cover iOS 5 and Xcode 4.3, iOS Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide leads you through the essential concepts, tools, and techniques for developing iOS applications. After completing this book, you will have the understanding, the know-how, and the confidence you need to tackle iOS projects of your own.

Based on Big Nerd Ranch’s popular iOS Bootcamp course and its well-tested materials and methodology, this best-selling guide teaches iOS concepts and coding in tandem. The result is instruction that is relevant and useful.

Throughout the book, the authors clearly explain what’s important to know and share their insights into the larger context of the iOS platform. This gives you a real understanding of how iOS development works, the many features that are available, and when and where to apply what you’ve learned.

Here are some of the topics covered:

• Xcode 4.3, Instruments, and Storyboards
• ARC, strong and weak references, and retain cycles
• Interfacing with iCloud
• Handling touch events and gestures
• Tool bars, navigation controllers, and split view controllers
• Localization and Internationalization
• Block syntax and use
• Background execution and multi-tasking
• Saving/loading data: Archiving and Core Data
• Core Location and Map Kit
• Communicating with web services
• Working with XML, JSON, and NSRegularExpression
•   Using the Model-View-Controller-Store design pattern

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

 Joe Conway is the senior iOS instructor at Big Nerd Ranch and has been consulting on the iOS platform since its creation. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, he has been writing Objective-C and Cocoa code since the dawn of OS X. Joe wrote the materials for the exceptionally popular Big Nerd Ranch iOS Bootcamp course, on which this book is based.

 Aaron Hillegass, a former employee of NeXT and Apple, has nearly two decades experience programming and teaching Objective-C, Cocoa, and more recently, iOS. In 2001, Aaron founded Big Nerd Ranch and began developing intensive courses that teach programming in a focused, distraction-free environment. Aaron is also the author of Objective-C Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide and Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X.

Product Details

• Paperback: 590 pages
• Publisher: Big Nerd Ranch Guides; 3 edition (March 29, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321821521
• ISBN-13: 978-0321821522
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 1.5 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (115 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,461 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Computers & Technology > Apple > Development & Programming > iOS & App Development
  • #64 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Languages & Tools

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 76 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Lost in iOS? GET THIS BOOK. July 17, 2012

By Sean Conrad

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

**Before Buying**
Learn Objective-C, or another C-derived language. Seriously. Do it. Knowing Ruby or JavaScript or another web technology won't do; YOU MUST LEARN OBJECTIVE-C. If you don't know Objective-C, start with Big Nerd Ranch's other book: Objective-C Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide (Big Nerd Ranch Guides) (also on Amazon and also amazing). Once you know Objective-C, come back and buy this book. It's incredible.

**General Info**
I tried to use several iOS educational materials all over the web - paid and free - and I struggled with them all. They either assumed too much, or were just poorly structured for actual learning. Wandering around in code does NOT make a good learning experience.

So what sets Big Nerd Ranch's book apart? The authors are trainers/teachers by trade, and it shows - the structure of this book made learning easy, enjoyable, POSSIBLE. They aren't just wading through code and expecting you to get it; they outline what they are doing, and why, then show you the syntax, then fill in the gaps, then roll over it all with a fresh coat of learning paint. And in the end it's beautiful.

The authors also set up a discussion forum for the book and its Challenges on their website, which was a very handy resource. There, you can talk with people who are reading the book at the same time you are! compare answers, etc.

**Length**
To give you an idea of the scope of this book, it took me roughly 120 hours to complete (roughly 2.5 weeks working on it full time). I'm not sure if this is typical, or slow, or fast. But it's a 550-page beast. A beautiful, beautiful beast....

**Results**
When I started this book I had basically 0 programming background. I knew some Ruby, and can put together a very basic website using Rails. None of that mattered, though; none of that helped me here.

But by the end of this book, I felt like a true (albeit novice) iOS Programmer. I feel that way because of two things:

(1) After reading this book, I can download almost any App from the App Store and explain how it could be built. And then build something just like it.

(2) A good friend of mine has been an iOS developer for 2 years now, and after reading this book he and I can have conversations - REAL conversations - where we trade best practices and so on. Make no mistake, for him the syntax is automatic whereas for me I still have to think about it. He's been through TONS of real App creation, whereas I'm mostly practiced in the fundamentals. But he's not bored!

Imagine having a conversation with Stephen Hawking where he doesn't find you boring. Sure, he's 100x smarter than you, but you can hang with the man! That is how I feel about other iOS developers now, and it feels GOOD.

**Conclusion**
Do all the challenges. Get lost in them and frustrated and use the forums. Get familiar with StackOverflow.com. But start by learning Objective-C and then getting this book.

Highly recommended. 5-star. If you've always wanted to bring to life the things in your head, this book might be a life changer. Read more ›

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Just right. May 2, 2012

By Maris Berzins

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm a rusty old developer who decided to get his hands dirty again. I had previously tried the O'Reilly "Programming iOS 4" book and found it really wanting. I could never get into a good groove -- I didn't like the examples/samples, the way the concepts were being introduced wasn't intuitive. The book just wasn't for me. A few months later, I decided to try again. Since iOS 5 was out, I needed a new book. I saw a number of positive reviews for the BNR book and decided to give it a try. I immediately enjoyed the book and found myself much more engaged. The pace is good, the examples are interesting and they do a great job of introducing key concepts. I really appreciate the fact that in a short amount of time, not only am I learning more about the iOS foundation, but I'm also exploring the use of key features, like location and maps. Even though I used to write a lot of code, I don't feel this book is too dumbed down. I really feel this book has accelerated my learning curve of iOS.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Much Clearer than 2nd Edition April 12, 2012

By sgarg

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I found this edition of the book to be a little simpler to understand than the second edition. It may be due to the fact that Apple now supports ARC and the authors don't have to worry about explaining it. But overall, I think they really went back and tried to explain things in the clearest ways possible and at least through the first five chapters, everything has been making a lot of sense. It is hard for people not very familiar with programming (like myself) to grasp some of the concepts like delegation but I found that reading through the chapters slowly and working through examples is building a solid foundation. I would highly recommend using this book to start iOS development.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Better and Bigger than the previous one. March 28, 2012

By Jose L. Rivera

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This books helps to ease your learning curve if you are interested to start development for the iOS 5 platform.
Excellent explanation on ARC, strong and weak references, and retain cycles.
New chapters on using gesture recognizers, storyboards, NSRegularExpression, and the iCloud.
You will enjoy also the chapter on the the Model-View-Controller-Store design pattern.
The writing style is the same, but in my opinion the topics are clearer than the previous editions.
Also, for Code that you should delete is struck through, making it clear what is needed to be deleted (Your eyes catch them right away).
Oh, I almost forget. You do not want to miss the story on UIStoryboard.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat outdated with iOS 6 debut February 9, 2013

By Patrick Keshishian

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Before buying this book I looked on Big Nerd Ranch's (BNR) site to see if they planned on publishing a new edition since iOS 6's release. Their web-site claimed, since there were no major changes with iOS 6, there were no plans to update their book. So I ordered the 3rd edition.

As I started to work through the material and exercises, it became more and more evident that in fact iOS 6 did bring about many changes, which really require an updated edition to this book and its material. e.g., quite a few interfaces have been deprecated with iOS 6. These changes make it quite frustrating to follow the material in the book. One is constantly forced to look up changes when the code examples do not work as advertised in the 3rd edition.

To their credit, the Big Nerd Ranch folks provide on their web-site a discussion forum, which has proved useful in following-up on some of these changes. The reader has to cross-reference a web-forum as she studies the material in this book.

Other than that, this book seems very well written and the end of chapter challenges are well thought out to get the reader to do some extra legwork, or thinking about how to solve problems. Again the BNR web-forum is a nice place to visit for discussions on solutions to these challenges.

I'm currently midway through this book. I reserve the right to update this review after I complete my study of this book :)