Learning iPad Programming: A Hands-on Guide to Building Apps for the iPad

by Kirby Turner

Learning iPad Programming walks you through the process of building PhotoWheel (free on the App Store), a photo management and sharing app that leverages every aspect of iOS 5. With PhotoWheel, you can organize your favorite photos into albums, share photos with family and friends, view them on your TV using AirPlay and an Apple TV, and most importantly, gain hands-on experience with building an iPad app. As you build PhotoWheel, you’ll learn how to take advantage of the latest features in iOS 5 and Xcode, including Storyboarding, Automatic Reference Counting (ARC), and iCloud. Best of all, you’ll learn how to extend the boundaries of your app by communicating with web services. If you want to build apps for the iPad, Learning iPad Programming is the one book to get. As you build PhotoWheel, you’ll learn how to Download the free version of PhotoWheel from the App Store today! Share your photos with friends and upload to iCloud, all while learning how to build the app.

Genres: Apple, Reference, Technical, Nonfiction, Programming

384 pages, Paperback

First published October 13, 2011

Reviews

[Dylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book teaches iPad programming by having the reader implement an application that utilizes various features of iOS 5 and Cocoa. While the feeling of having a fully functional application by the end of the book was definitely rewarding, I feel much of the material in the book could have been made more concise. I felt I spent much of my time copying code from the book to build the application, instead of focusing on actually learning the "how" or "why" behind the concept.

However, I do feel I gained a decent amount knowledge from this book and got my hands dirty in a lot of different areas. I feel the information contained in this 700 page book could be trimmed down to around 300 to 400 pages to provide an optimized reader experience.

Overall, if your goal is go through the entire process of creating an application for the iPad this book great although longwinded. If your goal is a higher level understanding of Objective C, Cocoa, or iPad programming in general, I suggest looking for material with a less hands on approach.

[Eric Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found I didn't like this book much - I thought it was a Big Nerd Ranch book, it isn't, but did it's job in refreshing my memory and taught me a few things.