effort to learn to program MacOSX/iPhone apps? Find programmers?

As I would like to advance an open source program's development:
How much of an effort would you think is it to learn to program less
sophisticated programs for Mac OS X and iPhone?

It is quite some time since my programming days.
I do have general understanding of object oriented programming, Unix,
several programming languages but never have done any programming on Mac
OS X.
The program involved would be of the kind displaying text and pictures
from a database (possibly simple text database), and interacting with it.

And how do I best get started with Xcode etc?

On a related topic: How do I find good programmers to do such work, both
on Mac OS X and iPhone?
Quite possibly I'd be best qualified to lead the project, ie specify
features etc.

TIA

Marc

 

A comfortable C programmer can become a competent Objective-C programmer
in hours. Becoming familiar with the Cocoa libraries is a much larger
task, but you can still learn enough to get "less sophisticated"
programs working in a day. It's very good on the immediate gratification
front, IMO.

First, make sure you are comfortable with C. If you've got experience
that includes UNIX and "several programming languages" I'd be somewhat
surprised if this is a lengthy task. If you've never done C at all, you
should get a copy of The C Programming Language.

<http://www.bookpool.com/ss?qs=0131103628>

After that it would be a good idea to at least skim

<http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/ObjectiveC/Int
roduction/chapter_1_section_1.html>

Just to take a quick look at the syntax, at least. Then get a copy of
"Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X" and work through it.

<http://www.bookpool.com/ss?qs=0321503619>

It's not iPhone oriented, but it will get you going with Xcode and
Cocoa, and much of that knowledge is transferable to the iPhone even
though iPhone's got its own variant of Cocoa. Between what you get out
of Hillegass' book and the online docs you should be fine.

You will also want to join Apple's developer program (which is free) to
make sure you have access to the latest version of the tools and docs.
You will likely want to peruse the options at
<http://lists.apple.com/mailman/listinfo> and sign on to the developer
oriented lists. And you'll want to subscribe to the
comp.sys.mac.programmer.* Usenet groups.

See prior paragraph. You'll also find *bad* programmers, to be honest,
but it'll take your own judgement to decide with whom you want to work.
There's also this site <http://www.macfreelancer.com/> for contracting
out work. It's an interesting idea but I'm not sure it's ever really
going to get off the ground. I picked up some decent contacts there, but
lately it seems like no one who posts a job there is willing to give
enough info to get a rational bid.

 

By first making sure they can reach YOU?
Such as providing a valid Reply-To adress...

 

(Marc Stibane) wrote in

That's the first test. Obviously, if you can't remove the
bye.mercialspammers.invalid from his email address, on your own without
supervision, you're not going to be much of an iPhone or OSX programmer.

Nice test, Marc. Congratulations....(c;]

 

My occupation is as a software developer. i've moonlighted programming
for the Palm, Blackberry, Windows Mobile. All of these can be program
off of the Windows OS (obviously Windows mobile ). i really like my
iPhone and would really like to program for it BUT i will not buy a mac just
for this purpose. There could be a ton of even more and better apps if Apple
created a programming platform for Windows, linux ...other than forcing a
developer to buy a mac to do so.

 

I wonder, if the SDK was opened up for Windows and Linux developers,
whether the proportion of Fart-based applications would change?

 

I have invested more than the USD 700 or the USD 1300 (retail, probably
cheaper as developer) it takes for a Mac mini or a MacBook in a few
occupations I have had up to now.
YMMV
I'd probably even fund the computer if that is what it takes

Marc

 

The cost of a machine suitable for iPhone development is so low that I
would question how serious someone is who's not willing to make that
investment. I would, in particular, question if they would be likely to
deliver a product actually worth using.

Visual Studio Standard edition lists for $300 and sells for a bit over
$250. VS Pro lists for $800 and sells for $700.

A used Mac sufficient for iPhone development runs about $350.

 

....yes ..i realize this ...its just the principle, considering all others
can be developed on a PC

 

And, frankly, you're overstating the investment by more than 100%. For
iPhone development, picking up an x86-based mini from eBay is sufficient.

 

Or VirtualBox

 

IMO You'd do better putting coding efforts towards helping more people,
rather than focusing on iToy purchasers.

A major worthwhile project is getting people to sucessfuly jump ship to
Linux from windows XP, when microsoft finally stops XP support - and
renders Vista/Win7 as an unworkable bloated successor.

At the moment, Linux is quite a lot rough around the edges for non-geeks
- and applications are not as user friendly as Mac OS desktop and XP.
Same with installation of those applications, and installation of hardware.

Lots of work there, some profitable as well.

 

No, people generally buy computers that they _can_ use and then get very
comfortable with the richness of tools they contain, and the fact that
someone else pre-installed a lot of it for them. Moving all of that
across to, say, Ubuntu is so stressful to them - call a geek....

Yup. It's about time someone started a proper 'jump ship' packaging
effort and removed the fussy bits (of which there are many). Ubuntu is
about as friendly as a cornered rat to some. Try configuring a printer
or wireless.

 

You must be joking

Have you ever tried Ubuntu? I'd go for that any time I am forced to use
Windows.

That I know, and I suspect that this (making Windows work and being paid
for it) is a major reason for its dominance. ;-)

Anyway, lets stop before we get into a flame war. The question was about
how to program Mac OS X and iPhone OS, not why.

Marc

 

Brakes applied ;-)