This is the only book I know of that covers how to create web apps (ie. web sites that are specially designed to work on the iPhone and look similar to an actual application, but are not actually applications you install on the phone). It provides a good jumping off point and reference on how to do that. In fact, half of the book is dedicated to it, so if that's what you're looking to do, this is the book for you.
However, if you want to write iPhone applications that you actually install on the phone and could sell through the AppStore, I'd suggest you find a different book unless you are a very experienced Objective-C programmer. I've programmed for 20+ years, in a variety of languages, including for mobile devices, but never in Objective-C or for the iPhone. After reading a review of this book on Slashdot, I thought this would be a great way to learn how to code for the iPhone. I couldn't have been more wrong. The book does give you all the basics, including a short intro to Xcode and interface builder, but this half of the book seems disorganized, rambling, and doesn't provide enough detail for a seasoned, but new to the platform, programmer to pick up what they'd need to be able to really develop an actual app. The examples are extremely rudimentary, and right when I thought I was past the elementary ones and getting into the "real guts" of iPhone programming, the book starts giving overviews of the other frameworks, leaving me with just enough knowledge to write a few variations of "hello world" type apps, but not enough to really understand how to get things wired up properly.
If you're new to Objective-C programming and want to develop apps for the iPhone, I'd recommend Programming in Objective-C 2.0 (2nd Edition) (which actually has a small section about iPhone programming, but this is more to learn Obj-C and as a reference), and Beginning iPhone Development: Exploring the iPhone SDK (a new edition of the book comes out revised and updated for the 3.0 SDK on July 20th, 2009)
ISBN-13: 978-1933988863
ISBN-10: 193398886X
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Customer reviews
Top reviews from other countries
Ian Thain
One of the best iPhone Dev Books IMHO
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 30, 2009Verified Purchase
Sage Nagata
まずはこれで基本をマスター
Reviewed in Japan on May 1, 2009Verified Purchase
