This is going to sound dumb but I'm fed up of buying some meaningless programming book that I've been told to buy and doing nothing with it. Every tutorial or site I've seen just confuses you and doesn't offer any help to a new user. I mean I've got no programming skills what so ever, apart from knowing basic HTML... but who doesn't? lol. I would just really like to do something with my life, other than sitting around getting fat and doing a job I hate to live, just to be able to do that job another day. Like I said this is gonna sound dumb but can someone give me a step by step guide of what I need to do to get started? I get told to buy a c programming book, however you pick that up and it's all meaningless to me. I mean they never tell you where to start out, like what programs you'll need and they never give you tasks to do. So I'm left with some book that has taught me nothing lol. I'd just really love a step by step guide of what I need to do, starting from a guy who has nothing. So like....... 1. Go buy a mac. 2. Learn the basics from... etc etc. If you understand me??? I would just really love to be able to make an app on my Iphone that I could be proud of and say I've done that in my life. Just right now I'm so lost and I know you're all gonna say that you can't jump in the deep end.... but what shall I do? Cause like I said I always get told to buy some book and then what? lol. Thanx for whoever helps.... I'm just so lost. It was easy learning a language on my Ipod lol, just listened to podcasts and picked up so much. They started you from the very start and gave you everything you needed. If only learning how to program was so simple.
I am sure this has been asked before. Search the forums. I recommend tho going the Untiy path if you have no experience You can download Mac/Win version of unity for free and deploy apps for free. http://www.Unity3d.com - Check the forums there too. You can also download and play with the iPhone version similar to the Win/Mac version, just deploys for the iPhone but you need a mac. I made Lockdown (see sig) with Unity. - Matt mehware
OP, you seem a bit stressed over such a basic thing. It is simple, and yes, you should jump into the deep end. The only problem with that is, you have to know how to find the swimming pool, if you catch my drift. Go out and learn the very basic fundamentals of programming, the stuff a child could understand. Basic HTML isn't programming, its on par with editing a word document, so don't try to relate your learning to that. After you've passed the "program 101" stuff, familiarize yourself with your IDE, xcode + interface builder, then check out some source code to further understand how a final project is supposed to be put together. Doing so will help tremendously in your steps to join the App Store. Also, if you're fat and depressed, given the common story around here, being an indie iphone app developer will only make you more fat and more depressed. Good luck!
Honestly, if you don't know how to program , I wouldn't start out with iPhone -- it's not the easiest place to start. Hardware limitations, difficult programming language concepts, and an unfriendly programming environment. A lot of people get their start with Flash (Actionscript is the Flash programming language) and I would start there. All you need is to 'acquire' a copy of Flash (CS2, CS3, CS4... whatever is fine) and that's ALL you need. You can program right from inside Flash, do your animations, do your graphics... it's super easy to get something up and working quick, which is what most new programmers want to do. Start by getting a copy of Flash and then just google things like 'actionscript 3 beginner tutorial' and start trying it out. Some of the Actionscript tutorials you find might be more programmer oriented, so keep looking until you find something that looks easy and makes sense.
If you are serious about learning all of this, i would agree with others. Learn some of the basics first. Google for tutorials on programming, and try to stick to topics that are object oriented based. learning C++ might be a good way to start, it will help you in the long run understanding what going on behind the scenes in some Objective C calls. www.cprogramming.com is a good reference for basic topics and has enough code for you to browse so you can find out if you really want to make this plunge. IF you make it passed figuring out what object oriented programming is, pick up a book about Objective C and figure out the differences between the language you learned and Obj C. then pick yourself up this book - http://www.amazon.com/Beginning-iPhone-Development-Exploring-SDK/dp/1430224592/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267162310&sr=1-3 its a great reference for many iPhone topics. after familiarizing yourself with the SDK learn how to use the documentation in xCode and how to find info on developer.apple.com. on that site you will also find many code samples and tutorials to help you. in simple get a mac - any intel mac will work download the iphone sdk learn a programming language - C, C++, Obj C, C# are the most common on the iphone and in Unity3d. Objective C being the standard on the iphone learn the SDK get a developers license create an app/game submit to apple *when it comes to all of this no developer is going to hold your hand to figure it out, but most of us will answer less vague questions when you are lost.
If you've got a Mac, great. Go install XCode. If you're on a Windows, go install Cygwin. Make sure you check the options for "GCC" and/or "C Compiler" when you're installing. Now create a file called "hello.c". Doesn't matter where you stick it. Open it in Notepad or Textpad to edit it. (Make sure you set Textpad to "Format > Make Plain Text" mode.) Here's the code: Code: #include <stdio.h> int main() { printf("Hello World!"); return 0; } Copy and paste that into your text document. Save the document. Now open Terminal.app (Mac OS X) or a Cygwin prompt (Windows). Change the directory to where your "hello.c" file is. (If you're having trouble with this part, learn Unix before you try programming!) Type the following and press enter: Code: gcc -o hello hello.c Now type the following to run your program: Code: ./hello If everything worked, it should say "Hello World!". To recap, "gcc" is the program that turns your source code (hello.c) into a computer program. The "-o <name>" part tells gcc what to name the output file. If you don't include this, it will call it "a.out". Obviously, the "hello.c" part tells gcc what you want to compile. There you go. Your programming books should now make sense. Go forth and code.
If you have a mac, then that's fine but if you don't have mac then you my suggestion would be not buying one right now. Since you have no basic programming knowledge, you will have very hard time learning how to program in Objective C for iphone. First learn basic programming. C/C++ is a good programming language to start. Assuming that you have a Windows PC, you will first need to download an IDE for C/C++. There are many but I suggest you to download MS Visual C++ 2008 Express Edition. It is freely available for download at: http://www.microsoft.com/express/Windows . And for tutorials for basic C/C++: www.cplusplus.com
While I agree learning C is a good place to start I have a hard time understanding why so many insists learning C++ is a good idea for someone who wants to learn to develop for the iPhone. Obviously knowing more languages is useful if you want to become a developer but Objective-C/C++ are kind of similar when it comes to complexity/abstraction. As Objective-C is the language Apple have developed (almost) all their APIs for there's really little point in learning C++ before going on to Objective-C. It's kind of like insisting that someone who are moving to Portugal should learn Spanish before they learn Portuguese...
The only reason I suggested him to learn C/C++ is because I don't think he has a mac. If he does, then he can directly jump into Objective C, init? And since C++ is object oriented, it would be good for him to have basic idea about classes and stuffs.
I mentioned it above, but I recommend against C for beginners, mainly because as a language, it's kind of confusing (including C++) To do anything, you need to import a bunch of libraries. You have to manage memory, and understand pointers. For just pure programming, I recommend Java because the basic language has a lot of stuff built-in that's helpful for beginners. It's also more friendly in terms of memory management. However, neither C++ nor Java are good for games (initially) because getting graphics and stuff like that on the screen is HARD. OP will get discouraged by doing the 'boring' programming stuff. It's important to have a good foundation, but sometimes to make that happen, you need to accomplish something. When you're dealing with command-line compilers and cryptic commands, it's hard to get excited. Compiling Obj-C "Hello World" from a .c file on the command-line is a long road to writing an iPhone game. Seriously, give Flash a shot. It is the path of least resistance for a newbie to complete a game. Not to mention, CS4 has support (I believe) to compile Flash > iPhone application format.
Thanx for the replies, I went out and got a book on Java from my friend and he said it was the first programming book he ever read... http://www.bluej.org/ Like some others have said, once you've learnt something basic it is easier to carry that forward onto something that is more complex. I just really hope this gets me into it and doesn't send me down a side path lol.
The most important thing I think, to getting to be a good programmer, is probably just dedication. And in order to stick with it you have to enjoy the actual process of programming a lot, as that's the only way you'll end up dedicating the required time to being good at it. At the beginning it does seem very overwhelming, feels like you can't understand A, until you understand B, and you can't understand B until you understand C, etc. But this is just the way it is, programming has a steep learning curve. But don't let this discourage you, just proceed with what you do understand, the things you don't will eventually start to make sense (as long as you stick with it). Follow the advice given so far. Start with the basics of programming, probably C is a good place, just get the feeling of how a progam flows, how to use variables, functions etc. Once you start to get comfortable with that learn Object Oriented programming (C++ and Objective C). Or even Java, the important thing is to try and get to grips with the concepts. You have to build yourself up to a level where you can start to think about making an iPhone game. And most importantly, just write lots (and lots) of small programs! Good luck Sprit for iPhone - http://spiritapp.com
There is also Gamesalad for quick game making.I guess there is several approaches to it, and I also wouldnt start on the iPhone.As always, its best to start simple. Where I worked, programming internships were based around match three games and the like, to learn the basics.
Here is the list: - buy a mac, new mini-mac with snow leopard will work (yes you need one if you're really serious about it) - enrol in the Apple iphone dev program ($99) - download and install the iphone SDK - buy the book "Beginning iPhone Development " from Dave Mark & Jeff LaMarche (it starts very basically with a Hello World iphone app) - buy a C/Objective-C book - start with the "Beginning iPhone Development" book, write your first simple apps and see how they are running on your iPhone. This will give you further motivation to continue - read the Objective-C book before you start writing your first serious app
Is the Macbook air worth it? The one I'm going to purchase but I dunno if I should just go with the larger pro?
I've always thought that the MacBook Air was little bit underpowered for its price. That isn't to say that you can't develop with it. It will work; I just think that it doesn't make sense to buy one unless portability is your absolute, number one priority. I mean, just compare the feature set with the $500-less expensive MacBook. You will get more features and expansion for a lower price. I would only get the MacBook Air if you are thinking that you will be carrying it everywhere and you are absolutely dreading the weight difference.
Ok thanx for the advice, I'm going to buy one now so I'll have a look in person. Gonna get myself into so much debt lol, just frigging wanna do something with my life though, rather than ending up repairing pcs 20 years later, wishing I too the plunge. I learnt how to map make using Hammer for Counter Strike so I'm hoping all editors are pretty much the same. Just hate being able to make a map and then not being able to program so you end up making maps that never compete with Dust2. Thanx for the help guys anyways.
I started out with Scratch(a long time ago, when I was about 9) which uses blocks you clip together to make games. Then I moved on to flash, when I was fairly proficient with that, I moved on to Java,which is what I still use today.
If you want to do this as a hobby, then that is one thing, but if you want this app to represent your business I would advise you to pay for it. I am working in the gaming industry for years and I would not even consider learning Objective C, just because there is so much talent out there that you can hire.
