Become an iOS ninja in 3 days!

This unique and exclusive three-day course by Aral Balkan, author of the critically-acclaimed Feathers app, introduces you to Objective-C, the iOS SDK for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, and Apple’s Xcode development environment (updated for Xcode 4). The course is aimed at developers with little or no knowledge of iOS development.

Unlike purely academic courses, this is a pragmatic curriculum by a published iPhone developer, aimed at giving you a solid real-world foundation in developing and deploying iPhone applications using the iPhone SDK and Apple’s tools. Furthermore, Aral is an Experience Designer and you will be learning not just how to develop iOS apps but how to build apps that conform to Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines and to getting tips on user experience.

The course always uses the latest iOS SDK and covers iOS4, iPhone 4, and Xcode 4.

The class size is limited to 12 students to ensure that you receive personal instruction.

Special offer for independents and freelancers

There are a limited number of Independent ninja tickets at just £499 that are only open to freelancers and independent designers and developers. Grab yours today. (This offer is not open to companies with more than 1 employee).

Day 1

Introduction to the iOS Platform and design considerations, Objective-C programming language, and Xcode.

Topics introduced include XCode 4, Interface Builder, the iOS SDK, a brief look at C, Objective-C, workflow, classes, objects, instance variables (ivars), methods, properties, protocols, UIKit, outlets, actions, and developing a workflow for working with UIKit components and performing common tasks using both Interface Builder and programmatic approaches (with tips on when to use which).

Other topics include handling rotations, memory management, organizing your code, logging and debugging.

Day 2

Reinforcing and expanding the foundations.

Topics covered include using more complex components, including table views. Introduction to data sources, and delegates. Saving state. Performing view transitions and modal views. You will also see how you also already know how to develop for the iPad and we will cover some caveats specific to iPad development that you should keep in mind while designing and developing iPad apps.

The day ends with an example that uses Core Animation and custom touch handling (with circular hit testing) to animate and blow up the world (a “Goodbye, world!” example).

Day 3

Building a real-world app.

On the last day we will build a real-world Twitter-based example that uses all the skills and techniques we learned previously. This example will serve as a stepping-stone to start building your own first iOS app.

Topics covered include building table-based drill-down navigation, loading data and assets asynchronously to build non-blocking UIs, working with web services (via JSON/XML/etc.), understanding and using categories, and using third-party libraries.

At the end of the course, you will have the knowledge and skills to start building your first iOS app. You will have learned how to work with XCode and Interface Builder and know the foundations of developing iPhone applications using Objective-C and the iPhone SDK. Armed with this knowledge you can quickly learn to use any of the thousands of APIs in the iPhone SDK and create awesome iPhone apps.

Praise for Aral’s previous training courses:

• “Brilliant explanations and analysis” – Samantha Grant, Tribal DDB
• “Aral’s enthusiasm is contagious.” – Neil Webb, Cambridge University
• “Enthusiastic, clear, helpful, professional” – Raymond Warren, Ebay
• “I’m very impressed… excellent.” – Stephen Hamilton, MRM Partners

Read more testimonials from past students.

Prerequisites:

1. Bring your own Intel-based Mac laptop.
2. Register as an iPhone Developer (this is free).
3. Download and install the latest iPhone SDK and XCode.
4. Knowledge in Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) in at least one programming language.

Membership in the iPhone Developer Program ($99/yr) is not required but necessary if you want to test applications on your own device. Remember to bring along your iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad to test on.

Experience in an object-oriented programming or scripting language and previous development experience is expected (e.g., JavaScript, ActionScript/Flash, Java, C++, etc.) The course will expect knowledge of basic programming concepts (like loops) and basic object-oriented programming concepts (like inheritance) and familiarity with the concept of event-based programming. Experience in Objective-C or XCode is not required.