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Sams Teach Yourself iPad Application Development in 24 Hours (Sams Teach Yourself -- Hours) ReviewThis is an adequate book for an experienced programmer wanting an easy introduction to developing IOS apps. However, its content was already somewhat out of date when it was published in August, and is about to be seriously out of date within a matter of days when Apple introduces not just IOS 4.2 on the iPad, but XCode 4 on the Mac. The book covers XCode 3.2 and iPhone OS (now known as IOS) 3.2.
When I first received my review copy, I noticed that it was extremely similar to a similar SAMS book, Sams Teach Yourself iPhone Application Development in 24 Hours (2nd Edition) (Sams Teach Yourself -- Hours) by the same author along with a coauthor, Sean Johnson.Many chapters are copied nearly word for word. A lot of the flaws that I saw in that earlier book persist. The downloadable sample files are dated February 2010, before the iPad was even released ... and yet this book was not available until August 2010. A lot happened in the iPad world in those 6 months, and none of it is in this book, yet it is in books by other publishers who got their manuscripts to market faster.
Most examples from the earlier iPhone book are not truly redesigned to take advantage of the large iPad display, as is recommended by Apple to developers porting iPhone apps to the iPad. instead, the content is just spread out over the larger surface. The focus here is on development and not interface design / user experience, so I can only criticize the examples so much ... however, at least one truly designed-for-iPad sample would have made sense for this updated and repurposed book.
The Sams "24 hour" book series format can be seen as both a plus and a minus for a book such as this. The plus is that each "hour" is a digestible amount of content, possibly with exercises. The minus is that 24 such lessons is not quite enough to cover everything ... but it would be hard to have 28 chapters in a book that requires that there only be 24.
The book sets an impossible goal in the introduction: "No previous experience with Objective-C, Cocoa, or the Apple developer tools is required." But, prior programming knowledge is required as is reading various Apple documents or other books on Objective-C and more.
Page 7 of this August 2010 book says that "The specs of the [iPad's] processor will eventually become clearer, but are still mostly guesswork at the time of this writing." We cannot fault the author for completing his manuscript very early in 2010. We can, however, fault the publisher for not getting the book out the door until August when this sentence, and many others, just look silly.
Hour 1 leads the reader through joining the free Apple Developer program, but does not clarify the value and limitations of the iPad / iPhone simulator that is part of the developer tools. It very nearly pushes the reader into joining the $99 program which allows for testing developed apps directly on a connected iPad, describing provisioning and more. Much of the chapter assumes that the user has indeed joined the paid program, giving various steps that are inappropriate until an application has actually been developed. Instead, in my opinion, the reader should not be encouraged to part with $99 (and start the 12 month clock ticking) until he or she has actually developed something that it makes sense to run on a real iPad and not the simulator. Some readers may have plenty of fun just with the simulator and others may decide that iPad app development just isn't for them.
Hour 3 on Object-Oriented Programming and Objective-C claims that object-oriented programming is distinct from imperative programming, rather than a type of imperative programming. Then, he presents half a page in total in answer to the heading "What is Objective-C?" followed by "Now that you have an idea of what OOP and Objective-C are, let's take a look..."
In general, there are lots of typos, concepts presented before they are needed, and, in my opinion, lack of clarity on some of the concepts presented. For me, the writing style grates. Still, anyone with some programming background but new to IOS will benefit by more than the small purchase price. But, the similar book Beginning iOS 4 Application Development appears to be better organized, written and illustrated and is a bit more current and deep. No book at this writing yet addresses the big changes of IOS 4.2 on the iPad which arrives this month, or the nice improvements in development workflow in XCode 4 which also arrives soon. Both of these technologies have been available to developers for several months now; updated books should not be far behind. But, if you want to get started today, this or the other book mentioned above will get you off the ground.
Sams Teach Yourself iPad Application Development in 24 Hours (Sams Teach Yourself -- Hours) OverviewThe clear, easy-to-understand tutorial for developers who want to write software for today's hottest new device: Apple's iPad! Figures and code appear as they do in XcodeCovers iOS 3.2 and upIn just 24 sessions of one hour or less, learn how to build powerful applications for today's hottest tablet device: the iPad! Using this book's straightforward, step-by-step approach, you'll master every skill and technology you need, from setting up your Xcode development environment to utilizing the full iPad screen real estate for touchable interfaces, integrating maps and media, to improving the reliability and performance of your software. Each lesson builds on what you've already learned, giving you a rock-solid foundation for real-world success!Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the most common iPad development tasks.Quizzes and Exercises at the end of each chapter help you test your knowledge.By the Way notes present interesting information related to the discussion. Did You Know? tips offer advice or show you easier ways to perform tasks. Watch Out! cautions alert you to possible problems and give you advice on how to avoid them.Printed in full color• Learn the features of the Xcode development suite• Prepare your system and iPad for efficient development• Get started fast with Apple's Objective-C and Cocoa Touch• Understand the Model-View-Controller (MVC) development paradigm• Implement advanced application interfaces with interactive widgets and web-connected interfaces• Enhance the user experience with popovers and other iPad-only UI features• Build interfaces that adjust to the iPad's orientation• Read and write data, and navigate it with table views• Implement media playback and recording capabilities • Integrate your software with the iPad's email, photos, iPod, and address book applications• Create map and location-based services• Sense motion with the iPad accelerometer input• Discover the tools for building universal iPad/iPhone/iPod touch applications• Distribute your applications through the App Store
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