Chapter 2. Web development or the SDK?

 

This chapter covers

  • The two types of iPhone development
  • Ways to program for the iPhone
  • Integrated project development

There are two ways you can develop for the iPhone. One approach is to write web pages for mobile Safari, using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and your favorite dynamic language. The other is to write native applications to run directly on the iPhone, using Objective-C and the iPhone SDK.

We strongly believe that each programming method has its own place, and that you should always ensure you’re using the correct one before you get started with any iPhone project.

2.1. Comparing the two programming styles

One of the things that might surprise programmers coming to the iPhone for the first time is the fact that web development and SDK programming can produce similar user-level experiences and support much of the same functionality. We’ve highlighted this in figure 2.1, which kicks off our discussion of the fact that web development and SDK programming are both reasonable alternatives when creating applications for the iPhone.

Figure 2.1. Though not identical, web programming (left) and SDK development (right) can produce similar output with similar underlying programming models.

2.2. A central philosophy: the continuum of programming

2.3. Advantages and disadvantages

2.4. Stand-alone iPhone development

2.5. Integrated iPhone development

2.6. Summary

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