Chapter 1. Getting started with iOS development
This chapter covers
- Xcode and Objective-C
- Getting to know Xcode
- A Hello World example
I’ve been developing professionally for over 20 years in about every language and platform, but I believe iOS development is some of the most exciting, fun, gratifying, and challenging work I’ve ever done. I love iOS development.
Not only is it appealing from a developer’s standpoint, it’s also the leading mobile platform. This means that there’s lots to do, with lots of growth and changes, and plenty of support out there from Apple, forums, other developers, books, conferences, and so on.
With the growth of iOS and other mobile platforms, tablets, which nicely bridge traditional computers and smart phones, are now a huge market. These mobile devices allow for more opportunities for development, and iOS lets you develop for both platforms simultaneously.
In this chapter, we develop an iOS application (or app). We need to go over a few topics, including setting up the development environment, but by the end of the chapter, you’ll have your first app. Let’s go!
Xcode is the primary tool for developing iOS (and OS X) applications. It’s free from Apple and helps with a variety of development-related tasks including user interface (UI) design/development, revision control, and more.